A Study on Challenges for Adoption of Reverse Vending Machine: A Case of North Bengaluru, India
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17501/26510251.2019.1202Keywords:
Reverse Vending Machine, Willingness, Plastic, Convenience, InvolvementAbstract
India will be producing 80-85 MT of Solid waste by 2030. Given the alarming quantity it is
imperative to bring in methods which will alleviate the problem especially the plastic waste. One of the
products which helps in effective disposal of plastics is the Reverse Vending Machine (RVM). An RVM is
a device which accepts bar coded plastic bottles and returns digital cash or redeemable coupons. The field
study and literature show that reverse vending machine is not used extensively. This study attempts to
explore the challenges for adoption of eco-friendly products like RVM. A conceptual model was built using
the variables identified through literature review. The variables identified included awareness, willingness,
incentives, convenience and involvement. A survey was designed and data was collected from 246 citizens
to understand their views. Structural Equation Modelling was used to test conceptual model. The results
emphatically show that willingness to adopt RVM was influenced by factors of involvement, convenience,
awareness and incentives in that order. It is also intuitive that when involvement is high then there is an
attempt to become aware and adopt eco-friendly methods which is reiterated by the results. Hence citizens
have to get involved either by their own interest or by enforcing through legislation and policies to use
RVM. The study concludes by recommending more policies and strategies like “bottle bill”, “European
Union Plastic Strategy” and Recycle Refund Systems to be mandated across the world to encourage
citizens to use methods which will keep our environment plastic free.
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