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Appendix A – Questionnaire to Exxon Mobil Employees

Dear respondent,

The following questionnaire is part of qualitative research, which means there are no wrong nor correct answers. It is intended to analyze your insights to help us build a business plan for a holding company manufacturing bioplastic in Europe; this is a virtual company, i.e. it is merely an academic exercise.

You are being asked in this questionnaire due to your professional expertise in the area of petroleum-based polymers/plastics, nevertheless, please try to combine both your prior work- related experience and your opinion.

Name: _____________________________________

Job tittle: _________Sales Rep____________________________

Do you wish to be anonymous? : Yes / No

Question 1.

From your previous experience, define what is bioplastics and how do you think companies manufacture/produce bio-based plastics.

I unfortunately cannot comment on production technology.

Question 2.

Most of the feedstock used in the production of bioplastic comes from corn, sugarcane, sugar beet, or cassava, and these are food sources. What are your thoughts regarding using food sources to produce alternatives for traditional plastics?

I am not a believer.

Today already the world is short of food and water, and using food sources as feedstock for plastics does not seem like a good idea as there are other more sustainable alternatives.

The solution is rather to be found in plastics waste recycling( direct recycling into e.g. recycle bottles, or recycling/transforming via pyrolisis into new feedstock) and in phasing out single-use plastics and move towards more sustainable materials, or rethink packaging design.

Question 3

For the year 2019, the worldwide production of bioplastics was around 1% of total petroleum- based plastics: 2.11 million tons. According to European bioplastics, by the year 2024, it will only increase to 2.74 million tons. What do you consider is the main driver for this small production in comparison with traditional oil-based plastics production?

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See above answer to Q 2

Question 4.

Seeking for a circular economy bioplastics’ added value is that at the end of a product’s lifespan it can be industrially composted and eventually turned into biomass (or compost) that will go back to the soil to enrich it and start the cycle again of growing feedstock, whereas with traditional plastic at the end of a product’s lifespan it should be recycled and reused into new products. Which of those alternatives seem to be more efficient/sustainable for you?

I believe that there is more potential in plastic recycling either to feedstock or directly into recycle enduses. It can be done on a larger scale.

Question 5

Indicate your level of agreement with the following statement from 1 to 5, where 1 means

completely disagree and 5 totally agree, and explain why: “All plastic converters will shift to bio- based polymers in around 50 years from now, mostly due to regulation impositions”

Zero : bio-based cannot provide for 100% of todays’ plastics production. Food shortage/water shortage/environmental/logistics will be the limiting factors. There are several good alternatives being worked today. Governments, Industry and EU are cooperating to introduce plastics strategy and support circular economy. (See Alliance to End Plastic Waste of which EM is a founding member).

Recycle, collect, waste treatment, …will be licence to operate for the industry.

Question 6.

Laws and regulations aside, taking into consideration that bioplastic products are usually more expensive than those petroleum-based, and if both types of materials had the same properties regarding flexibility, durability, plasticity and so on, how do you consider a bioplastic manufacturers can (should) compete in the current market?

It will be similar to Bio-products, Small niche market , higher priced that will find their way to select endusers. Focus on ‘Green label ‘ market and target a specific enduser.

Question 7.

Do you personally rather buy bioplastic products instead of traditional plastics? Why? If you do, please give examples

Not yet. Trying to avoid single –use plastics instead , and maximize recycle packaging.

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Job tittle: Payables Specialist

Question 1.

Bioplastic is an alternative for a standard plastic material, which is 90% of contamination in the oceans, already eatable by the fishes and people as a “free ingredient”.

What’s important bioplastic is made eg. of corn, not oil. To be honest I am not focused on this topic, so I have no idea how the companies produce bio-based plastic. Note please as well I work for an oil company ;).

Question 2.

My thoughts are very positive, especially when I think about a natural environment, which is totally destroyed now. It’s always better to use natural products if possible and save the globe.

Question 3

1) Big companies, which earn by producing plastic based on oil;

2) Probably bio plastic production is more expensive as it’s still something new;

3) People somehow got used to the plastic (standard one), so not all of them are looking for eco solutions;

Question 4.

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It would be good to find a solution “in the middle”. Till now we have produced so much plastic, that anyway we shall do our best to recycle it and use again, but same time eco steps should be done to develop bio-plastic options.

Question 5

I truly believe we have a big problem with the environment, which will end up as people dying because of a lack of water, food and to high temperature, but still the business and money made on plastic are enormous, so the big companies will fight till the end to keep it.

Question 6.

I think that the competition needs to be based on the environment problems reasons and by showing all the time the real examples. If you throw a plastic bottle to the ocean, there is a big possibility that some fish will eat it. Later you will it that fish, so in the end you eat plastic as well – that’s one of the points.

Question 7.

Do you personally rather buy bioplastic products instead of traditional plastics? Why? If you do, please give examples.

I’d prefer to buy bio-plastic products, because it’s simply better for the globe, so for me and you too.

Name: Stephane Ernotte

Job title: Olefins Commercial Mgr Do you wish to be anonymous? : No

Question 1.

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Plastic sourced from feedstocks that are not conventional hydrocarbons Bio feeds / residues used to replace hydrocarbons

Question 2.

Not defendable long term. Only if second / third generation bio feeds ie residues from primary food sources. Bio plastic cannot result in deforestation.

Question 3

Insufficient access to adequate quantities of feed and cost compared to hydrocarbons

Question 4.

Can’t eliminate any ; need to progress all alternatives.

Traditional plastic recycling requires a large scale collection process which will contribute to less plastic pollution.

Question 5

2 : not enough bio feed ; big part of solution will be plastic recycling

Question 6.

Laws and regulations aside, taking into consideration that bioplastic products are usually more expensive than those petroleum-based, and if both types of materials had the same properties

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regarding flexibility, durability, plasticity and so on, how do you consider a bioplastic manufacturers can (should) compete in the current market?

It can be used as a marketing argument. Coca Cola made large advertisement several years ago that they would switch part of the bottles to bio PET …. Then went silent

Question 7.

Have not seen much on offer ; no real choice in supermarkets.

I personally do not trust the bio concept until it is fully demonstrated that it is based on real waste and nothing else.

Job title: _Aromatics Scheduler____________________________________

Question 1.

I believe bioplastics are created by cracking biofuels. These biofuels can come from the fermentation of crops and/or algae

Question 2.

As long as these crops are not competing with that meant for human consumption, then I see no issues with it. As long as a similar setting to that of paper industry can be stated (where trees are replanted every year and there should not be any deforestation), where there is a clear difference between human consumption and fuel generation, the system should work

Question 3

Lack of technology, smaller scale, more expensive feedstock and higher running costs Question 4.

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I do not think we should have to make a choice between these two, the ideal solution should include both the recycling and the possibility to turn the bioplastic to biomass/compost. The option to turn bioplastics into biomass/compost seems more sustainable, but it will depend on the water consumption and the resources consumed in the process. Recycling plastic an expensive and inefficient process; but I believe both technologies still need to be developed further to make them more attractive and efficient

Question 5

3 – I believe that regulations will determine the way many things are done in the future and will create the missing economic incentive for companies. However, doing the full switch to

bioplastics would only be possible of there is enough biofuel production and the technology to do it. The balance between food competition and biofuels should also be fully regulated to ensure this is possible. However, I do not believe the fossil fuels (and the consequent plastic) can be completely replaced by bio ones

Question 6.

The most obvious one is grants from governments. However, newer generations have a more

“green” mindset and are willing to spend a little more money on things that are better for the environment, and attracting these customers would be key for these companies. Education would also be key to make the switch.

Question 7.

I am not aware of any bioplastics in the market. If there were, I would need to consider in what kind of products they are used. I would prefer to spend in bioplastics if they are used for other than single-use products

Job title: EMEAF Olefins C4 Scheduler

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Do you wish to be anonymous? : Yes

Question 1.

Bioplastics are plastics that are produced based on organic feedstock such as corn starch or lactic acid (as the opposite of the traditional plastics for which the feedstock comes from oil

derivatives). The plastics are then produced by polymerizing the monomer molecule. A widely known bio plastic is PLA (Poly Lactic Acid).

Question 2.

As long as the feedstock is produced with GMO’s (therefore not recommended to be consumed by humans or animals) and that the overall impact on the environment (including LCA (Life Cycle Analysis)) is lower vs the usual plastic that is based on a derivative from oil, I am ok with it.

Question 3

The main driver is that the current industry led by the big players (ExxonMobil, Total, Shell, BP,...) still needs heavy investments in order to perform this feedstock switch in an already challenging economic situation where investments are required to maintain the current production units.

As long as there will not be clear and firm directives from governments requiring these big companies to progressively switch feedstock, the incentive to do it will not be there, as the return of investment of this feedstock switch is not optimal for the stockholders.

Question 4.

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Given that not all oil-based plastics have the same recycling properties/capacities (PE, PP, PS,…), it is hard to find an easy solution to recycle the latter. In order to make it work, governments and individuals should already do a proper sorting of these different kinds of plastics (which is for sure not easy).

I for sure think that compostable bioplastics are easier to deal with for a circular economy because they (normally) have a single use outlet (that is compost) vs the oil-based plastics Question 5

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Question 6.

Unfortunately, their only way to compete is through government subsidies, because it is in the nature of the users of the products to opt for the cheapest solution, as most of the people’s first preoccupation is self and family preservation (saving money) vs taking care of the environment through eco-friendly purchases.

As long as the governments don’t step in, it’ll unfortunately be hard to significantly increase the market share of bioplastic manufacturers.

Question 7.

I personally rather not buy products with plastics in the base case and opt for plastic-free solutions (bulk or reusable containers).

Name: Romana Kalousova

Job tittle: Customer Account Specialist, ExxonMobil Do you wish to be anonymous? : No

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Question 1.

- Plastics made of natural products like corn, sugar-cane, etc. which are considered to be environmentally friendly – they should turn into compost by the end of its life

- Companies use certain molecules of these products which are processed by specific technological processes into the final form and give to these bioplastics specifics similar to regular plastics and then can be used for ex. in the food industry as packaging

Question 2.

- To produce ONLY bioplastics would mean to significantly increase the agriculture of these crops which would lead to different sort of problems for ex. burning down the woods due massive need of corn-, sugarcane- and other – field expanding.

- Also, using food sources for creating plastics if there is a huge number of people in the world suffering from poverty and hunger seems unreasonable.

Question 3

- One of the reasons can be that it is more expensive to produce bioplastics in comparison with the regular oil-based plastics.

Question 4.

- Ideally bioplastics would be more sustainable when not taking into consideration the

“problems” related to the production. Mostly in developing countries there are not any systems for recycling the traditional plastics and they do not have enough education how to handle the plastic waste yet which is very problematic.

- Unfortunately, also in the developed countries many people do not care about the

environment/are not aware enough and do not recycle plastics which leads to the problem of not possibility to reuse those plastics into new products and lots of oil-based plastics

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Question 5

- 2 – most companies producing plastics have been working on technologies and systems how to reuse these plastics again and they have been progressing in that.

- I think the oil-based plastics will remain but we will be able to recycle/treat them more efficiently as I believe there will be a big development in those technologies.

Question 6.

- Using a good marketing strategy by pointing out the advantages that bioplastics will bring – decreasing the plastic waste, environmental friendliness, etc.

- Society must get more information about bioplastics - A good campaign which will lead to increasing the demand of these products.

Question 7.

- Before buying a product, I do not check whether a bioplastic or traditional plastics were used.

- From a perspective of a regular consumer, I rather pay the attention to a final product inside of the plastic instead of analyzing the packaging itself.

Name: Marist Fernando

Job title: EMEAF Aromatics Scheduler Do you wish to be anonymous? : No

Question 1.

From experience and base knowledge alone (and no use of the internet and search engines), I believe Bioplastics refer to plastics that are produced from a feedstock of ‘biodegradable’ origin (such as farmed and grown food product, or plant matter such as algae), such that the feedstock can be returned to its natural state via degradation at the end of its product life as a bioplastic.

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I think the overall process required to create the plastic will be very different to traditional

plastics; it most likely require a lot more time for similar output (due to the time required to grow the feedstock), but the output product will have a lot of the desired qualities of traditional plastics it is intended to displace.

Question 2.

As long as the food source utilised can be harvested in a sustainable manner, without harming the future ability of mankind to harvest said food type for human consumption, then I have no

opposition to using food sources as alternatives for traditional plastic.

Question 3

I suspect it is the high cost of production, high complexity, high investment required for

expansion, and ultimately current low ‘mandatory’ demand (either imposed by law or customer) vs. traditional plastics. I suspect we simply do not have the regulatory need or the financial business case to grow the bioplastic capability any further (but I do note 2.11 million tons to 2.74 million tons represent a 30% increase in capacity over 5 years, which percentile wise is not an insignificant increase, however I’m aware it will be a very small absolute increase when compared vs. total plastics demand increase expected between 2019 – 2024)

Question 4.

I believe the bioplastic model is more sustainable, however given the time required to ‘grow’ said feedstock it will simply be very inefficient, and unable to meet growing world demand for plastic products. And hence I support a system which works to encourage and grow the bioplastic industry, while providing incentives to increase recycling and strive to reach a circular economy for traditional plastics also. We need both solutions to grow simultaneously for the sake of climate, and to retain human ‘way of life’ / comforts

Question 5

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3 – I think certain regulators will try to impose such a shift from traditional plastics to complete usage of bio based polymers, but I do not think the technology or the economics (profitability) will enable such a swift change (50 years is most likely too short of a time span to achieve said result). I think we will reach approx. 40-60% bio-based polymers in 50 years (40-60% traditional plastic to remain in circulation).

Question 6.

Governments/regulators must provide tax or other financial incentives for bioplastic manufacturers, and the manufacturer should charge more from the consumer also. And the consumer should be educated as to why it matters to spend more to enable growth of this climate critical industry.

Regulators could also charge a levy from traditional plastic manufacturers, which in turn would force them to increase the price of their products also, hopefully closing the gap between the price paid by consumers for bioplastics vs. traditional (and hence increasing the incentive for consumers to choose the ‘greener’ option).

Question 7.

If the bioplastic can achieve the same service / function as its traditional plastic equivalent, and is within +10% of the price range (chosen for argument sake) of the traditional plastic equivalent, I would be willing to buy the bioplastic product. I would do this as I’m increasingly climate conscious and eager to do my bit to help.

Name: Michaela Lautierova Job title: Receivables SME

Do you wish to be anonymous? : No

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Question 1.

Plastics produced from vegetable sources.

Question 2.

Better for environment , renewable

Question 3

The cost is lower with the traditional and characteristics of traditional one are better businesswise therefore preferred

Question 4.

First, as recycling process is quite expensive and polluting

Question 5

2 – I believe traditional plastics will remain in the market. Bio based might increase but won’t replace completely the traditional ones.

Question 6.

Laws and regulations aside, taking into consideration that bioplastic products are usually more

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regarding flexibility, durability, plasticity and so on, how do you consider a bioplastic manufacturers can (should) compete in the current market?

Emphasize the health and environment advantages, plus come up with another benefit that bio plastic can offer instead of traditional one. Try to reduce the costs of manufacturing

Question 7.

I always prefer BIO plastic if I have the choice, if it is food related or cosmetic related, despite higher price

Job tittle: _Olefins commercial rep Do you wish to be anonymous? : Yes

Question 1.

Bioplastics are plastic materials produced from renewable, biological sources instead of fossil resources like regular polymers. Some of these types can also be biodegradable (seems to be an extra feature?). Not sure if the opposite it true: so that materials that are biodegradable, yet not made from bio-sources, are also bioplastics

In terms of production, you need a biomass based source (eg cellulose / potato / corn waste if I’m correct? Remember in university we did a project on how to make polymers starting with a potato ).

Question 2.

Even though using biomass sources can have an advantage over using fossil sources, I still believe they should not compete with the world food supply. In that sense I believe the ‘third generation ’bio based products (eg algae etc) should be more suited.

Question 3

For the year 2019, the worldwide production of bioplastics was around 1% of total petroleum- based plastics: 2.11 million tons. According to European bioplastics, by the year 2024, it will

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only increase to 2.74 million tons. What do you consider is the main driver for this small production in comparison with traditional oil-based plastics production?

I am not sure the technical capability would already be there to upscale? On the other hand, I would assume it is available and anything can be done as long as companies / governments stimulate these investments… (probably similar as what we are seeing for renewable energy, progress takes slow and you need legislation etc to make a true change).

Also wondering if there are any hurdles in terms of quality for bioplastics (eg can you use them for food packaging etc?) – could they be used in all similar applications as regular plastics?

How would these bioplastics compare price-wise with regular polymers? Assuming these are more expensive, I would think some groups of people would still want to use these (out of principle / vegan / bio lovers etc), yet for others the price delta might not justify purchasing the bio-version? (or others might just simply not be aware of the difference…)

Also looking at developing countries where priority is only on welfare and not on sustainability (yet) – as these are large countries with high populations, this might also play a role?

Question 4.

The biodegradation is the most sustainable in my opinion (in a way, the problem goes away

‘automatically’). I am wondering though how long it would take to bio-degrade? Assume the purpose is not that people can just throw it everywhere, as I can imagine it will still take a while for it to disappear?

For regular plastics recycling, you need quite intensive logistics to make it happen (either for mechanical or chemical recycling options).

Question 5

2-3

I believe the timescale of 50 years is too short (not saying it would be technically infeasible (as I don’t know that) but I simply think change does not happen that fast…) I do agree there will be more and more regulation impositions, mainly when it comes to banning certain plastic

applications and / or use of recycled materials. I have not seen this trend (yet) on use of bio- sources to manufacture plastics, so therefore 50 years sounds fast to me.

Question 6.

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Using the current movements on climate / sustainability etc. Advocating for ‘a better world’.

Creating the awareness with people on how their behavior can make a change.

There is high energy from populations wanting a change, but the difficulty is that for this to happen, people will have to start to change themselves (which in my opinion is often the problem ). They have to start buying more sustainable products.

Question 7.

I am not certain to be honest if I use bio or traditional plastics. I am focused though on limiting my plastics usage in general (eg, cotton bags for fruit and veggies, not using plastic water bottles but a re-usable can etc…). Now I am typing this I am wondering how the disposable bioplastics (single-usage?) will compete with these re-usable variants?

Job tittle: _______Credit Advisor______________________________

Do you wish to be anonymous? : Yes / No : Yes

Question 1.

Bioplastics are plastics made from natural, i.e biological sources such as corn/wheat instead of hydrocarbons. I would imagine that there is still some kind of industrial process (which requires energy like the traditional process) to convert the raw corn into its basis form of starch and then the starch is fundamentally Carbon and Hydrogen- the building blocks of plastic.

Question 2.

I believe that the use of feedstocks is bad, as it raises the price of basic food required for people in these communities (I,.e. corn in mexico for tortilla) by replacing feed land for land used for

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this “industril purpose”. Additionally the bio farms are probably not privately held, but held by companies producing on industrial scale with genetically modified crops and high use of

pesticides/ fertilizers to enhance yield.

Question 3

Your questions assumes that the increase is a good thing, not everyone agrees; and your question assumes that a 23% increase is bad- what % of total plastics will this be in 2024? Despite

companies claiming to preach Corporate Sustainability they still care about the bottom dollar, and will produce to the cheapest level of accept public tolerance on the whole. While some niche sompanies may go all in for BIO Plastic.

So to answer your question the public demand for bio plastic isn’t high enough for companies to produce products (likely at a higher price) at the level you’re implying. Companies producve what the market wants.

Question 4.

First let me say the biggest problem of plastics is that they are neither composted or recycled, the huge plastic pile in the Pacific ocean or the dirty rivers of Nile or Ganges prove this. Proper disposal of plastic thru one of your two solutions would solve 99% of the issues with plastic.

As I’m skeptical that bioplastics can be efficiently composted, and believe they make recucling harder, I would prefer to focus on recycling as that technology is further along and likely more plastcs can be made from non bio mateials and thus ultimately thus more of that plastic that could be resused.. But again broadly speaking both as options of disposal and reuse are fine.

Question 5

5 totally agree: politicians (who will want to get elected) will listen to ill informed but vocal minority of people and make laws for this despite science that likely has no clear answer just so

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Question 6.

Given the price discrepancy, the should market positively the environmental benefits and negatively market the others downsides

They should also lobby the government for carbon taxes to raise the prices of their competitors to equal or higher than theirs, then they can just compete on price: which is what the silent majority care abuot.

Question 7.

I buy on price, whatever is cheapest and don’t care about the environmental impacts. If prices were same would prefer traditional recycled over Bio as believe bio is actually worse on a source to end user basis.

Name: Marcela Loudova

Job tittle: Back Office Manager, EM Chemicals Corporation Do you wish to be anonymous? : No

NOTE: I consider myself far away from being an expert. I am not a chemical engineer by education. I have been working for a Chemicals company for around 18 months, however, in the area of Customer Service, neither in Sales nor in Manufacturing. I am replying to this questionnaire purely as a common plastic user and a newspaper reader.

Question 1.

Plastics made of organic materials, plants or other biological materials.

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I am not familiar with the methods of production, I would assume they are synthetically produced.

Question 2.

Food based plastics are by all means more environmental friendly and as long as we can grow crops, we cannot run out of the sources.

However, I have heard that you cannot simply through bioplastic on compost and expect it to turn into soil, they break down under very special conditions. Additionally, there is still quite a big proportion of population that starve and growing crops to supply plastics rather than to feed hungry people is something I personally feel very strongly against. Not talking about the fact that the Czech landscape has dramatically changed with all the yellow rape fields.

Question 3

I am surprised about this statement, I would think otherwise. Sustainability is getting more and more attention. Manufacturers start to listen to the calling getting ready to swap petroleum for other alternatives (e.g. plants). I think that one reason for the relatively small production is profit, any good idea needs to be commercialized.

Question 4.

To me each of the alternatives has pros and cons. Regarding the bioplastics, the question remains how environment friendly the process of industrial composting is, how effective as well as costly it is.

Regarding recycling, I do understand that not all plastic can be reused into a new plastic product but the manufacturers should invest into technologies that would convert the used plastics into feedstock whenever possible.

In both the alternatives, we all need to take personal responsibility (or should be motivated externally, e.g. by deposit) and ensure the used plastic is recycled.

Question 5

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3

• I believe eventually we will run out of petroleum/ gas, not sure if within 50 years though.

• The society has become much more socially responsible than ever in the past, however, I would think this is only true about the developed countries; there are still countries (within Asia, Africa) where this topic is not in the center of attention.

• Economics/ cost will continue to play a role so as long as the non-bioplastics will be cheaper than bioplastics, there will be a proportion of population that will prefer the

Question 6.

• Be honest & transparent – I have seen advertisements where the bioplastics manufacturers claim that it is fully compostable and I think some of them have been taken to a court for misleading

• Use less of food sources, leverage other biological material, as using food for plastics does in my opinion lead to ethical/ moral discussions

• Have a good marketing strategy: e.g. address population which will be more likely to invest into those products, population with the right attitude/ personal responsibility as well as enough money

Question 7.

Do you personally rather buy bioplastic products instead of traditional plastics? Why? If you do, please

I cannot say that I completely ignore traditional plastics, however, I try to limit the usage of plastics, buying unpacked food, limiting usage of plastic bags (when I want to buy vegetable in the supermarket I carry cotton bags with me, etc.), carrying glass bottle with water when travelling, etc. And I do recycle and teach my kids to recycle too.

As for bioplastics, I do have some, e.g. for camping with my kids I have bioplastic cutlery and plates, however, I have to admit that I am not fully aware of all the products that are already available on the market made of bioplastics.

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Appendix B – Survey

Select how committed are you with recycling plastics:

A. I never do it/I´m not aware of how to recycle

B. I occasionally do it, only if the bin for recycling plastic is easily accesible C. It´s an usual practice for me

D. It´s a must for me, I researched how to recycle properly and I follow it

2. Main motivation to recycle

A. Recycling is mandatory where I live

B. I genuinely think it has a good impact on the environment

C. I don’t think it has a big impact on the environment, but recycling is better than doing nothing D. I dont recycle

3. Indicate your level of agreement with the following statement: “Plastics and plastic products are necessary in our life, ever since plastic was man-made industrially, approximately 60 years ago, our standards of living have increased: food can be packed and preserved easily, many jobs have been created, it boosted many countries’ economies and technology improvements were possible because of plastics. The downside is the way plastics are being discarded (thrown away) and I play a big role in it”:

A- Completely disagree

B- Disagree: Plastics are no good for us anyhow C- Agree

D- Completely agree: we should be accountable for the goods we use daily and its consequences E- Neutral

4. Do you know what bioplastics are?

Yes No

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5. The bioplastics industry aims to replace (mainly) non-durable products such as plastic bags, disposable utensils, plastic plates and cups, straws or disposable food containers. From all the occasions you have used above mentioned products, how many times they were bio-based (made from natural resources and biodegradable)

I never checked if they were bio-based products 0-20%

20%-50%

50%-80%

80%-100%

If your answer was A, B or C continue with question 6, if not then continue with question 7

6. What drives your low consumption of bioplastics?

Bioplastic products are usually more expensive than regular plastics

Im not educated about what are bioplastics and its advantages/disadvantages Where I live the bioplastics supply is very low

I don’t think buying bioplastics would make a big difference in the world

7. What are the main reasons for you to buy bioplastic products?

It is well seen by the society where I live

I care about the environment and I believe bioplastic products do not harm it I have researched about bioplastics and I’m aware of its advantages/disadvantages I support green-sustainable lifestyle

8. Bioplastics can be a good solution to replace petroleum-based plastics because of its characteristics of compostability- they can be biodegraded in special facilities and later on be used

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as compost (organic matter rich in nutrients that is used in agriculture for many beneficial reasons).

In order to compost properly an industrial compost is needed and this is costly. How willing are you to pay an average-price tax from your municipality to finance such compost facility and increase the amount of plastic recycled?

I would oppose to this policy

I would consider it if I’m shown with data that it will have a big impact on the environment….convinced

I’m willing to do it - mostly because of social pressure/to not contradict the majorities I’m totally willing to do it - I would even help to promote the policy in my community

Other, specify