While just 15% of people say the environment is the top issue that matters most to them right now—placing it below jobs and the economy, health care, and immigration—a new Axios|SurveyMonkey poll reveals underlying worries about the environment to be widespread. A large majority of people (87%) say they’re concerned about environmental pollution due to plastic waste, including more than half (53%) who say they’re “very concerned.”
Young people age 18 to 24 were slightly more likely than older adults to say they’re concerned about environmental pollution due to plastic waste. Environmental issues are a particularly important for this cohort: they are the only demographic subgroup who name the environment as the issue that matters most to them right now—at 30% for 18 to 24 year-olds, twice the overall average.
While this concern is high, consumers are not quite as willing to make necessary changes in their own behaviors to help address the plastics problem. Most people (89%) were willing to use reusable shopping bags instead of paper or plastic bags, but fewer said they were willing to pay more for products that have completely recyclable or biodegradable packaging (73%) or to pay a higher municipal tax rate to fund recycling programs (62%).
Read more about our polling methodology here.
Click through all the results in the interactive toplines below:
Question text:
Which one of the following issues matters MOST to you right now?
How concerned are you about environmental pollution due to plastic waste?
How willing are you to pay a higher municipal tax rate to fund recycling programs?
How willing are you to pay more for products that have completely recyclable or biodegradable packaging?
How willing are you to use reusable shopping bags instead of paper or plastic bags?
*consumers
