Behaviour shift key to ending plastic use

Southeast Asia is no stranger to the plastic crisis.

- Celine Kusnadi

Despite growing awareness and countless "reduce, reuse, recycle" campaigns, single-use plastic consumption remains stubbornly high.

The big question is, why?

Plastic pollution is not just a waste management problem — it is also a behavioural issue. At its core, plastic use is a human-driven problem. Habits, convenience, and social norms often override good intentions, even when its consumers understand the harm plastic poses to the environment. Without addressing these behavioural drivers, policies and technologies will always fall short.

Achieving net-zero plastic waste requires a change in how people think about and interact with plastic — and that starts with behavioural science, which offers powerful tools to design plastic reduction strategies by addressing these psychological and social drivers. While bans and taxes can help with compliance, they often fail to foster lasting change.

Effective interventions must include financial incentives, visual cues, and social influence to make sustainable behaviour feel easier, more attractive, and more rewarding.

This approach is central to a pioneering initiative led by the Regional Knowledge Centre for Marine Plastic Debris at the Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia, in collaboration with the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) and Rare's Center for Behavior and the Environment.

The programme piloted behavioural interventions across four Asean countries, with measurable results.

In Indonesia, a project at the University of Indonesia which is implemented by the Center for Southeast Asian Studies aims to reduce plastic straw and cup usage by altering the default option in canteens and cafes.