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Open Access Original Research Issue
Consumer perceptions and behaviors toward take-out food plastic packaging reduction: A case study of college students in China
Circular Economy 2023, 2 (3): 100052
Published: 09 September 2023
Downloads:13

With the prevalence of online take-out food, the increasingly generated single-use plastic packaging waste has aroused public concern in the context of combating plastic pollution globally. The majority of present studies have focused on product design and policy design to influence the corporate behaviors in packaging waste management. Few attentions have been concentrated on consumer perceptions, a neglected vital factor in commercial practices, which determines whether the proposed measures can be effectively applied. This study takes college students, the main consumer group of take-out who are most likely to receive new environmental protection concepts, as a case study and employs the contingent valuation method to investigate their perceptions and behaviors toward emerging plastic packaging reduction approaches and taxation mechanisms. It was found that packaging circulation was preferred mostly with a proportion of 73.20% of the respondents, while taxation mechanism was more favored by those who have higher daily expenditure on meals. Gender, living costs and ordering frequency could significantly influence the acceptance levels. Therefore, a circulation mechanism using cabinet near take-out food hot spots and third-party cleaning services could target students and officers as pioneers. Regarding the taxation approach, it was suggested that the payment that most of the respondents could accept is 1.5 CNY. This study serves as a reference for the reduction of plastic waste from take-out packaging on campus, and provides a possible model that could reduce the environmental impacts of take-out food packaging through both taxation and circulation measures. The findings are expected to bring primary insights for take-out food plastic packaging reduction in China. For future studies, the methodology of this study was also well-prepared to investigate a larger scale of consumers and develop a more universal policy.

Open Access Review Article Issue
Recycling spent lithium-ion batteries using a mechanochemical approach
Circular Economy 2022, 1 (2): 100012
Published: 16 September 2022
Downloads:52

Under the goal of global sustainable development, the new energy vehicle industry is evolving rapidly, leading to a proliferation of spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The recycling of LIBs is key to the sustainable development of the new energy industry, which is consistent with the concept of circular economy as well. And the green extraction of critical metals is the core part of the development. As an alternative to traditional pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy, emerging mechanochemical technology provides a new approach for high efficiency and green recycling of critical metals from spent LIBs, as it has the advantages of easy operation, flexibility, and short processing time. This article reviews the state of the art of mechanochemical technology in the recycling of critical metals from spent LIBs. Based on numerous practices, a framework including mechanochemical activation, organic reaction, inorganic reaction, redox reaction, gas-solid reaction, and solid-phase synthesis was constructed. These practices have proved that mechanochemical technology can provide a greener and more sustainable solution for recycling critical metals from spent LIBs. The metals can be transformed into high-value metal products at room temperature and under ordinary pressure, leading to efficient recycling of critical metals and significant reduction of wastes.

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