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Breaking free from single-use plastics: The power of policy, social support, and culture
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Researchers applied an extended norm activation model to survey data from 545 Nigerians, finding that cultural practices, social support, and policy changes each independently shape personal norms and intentions to reduce single-use plastic food packaging — and that context-sensitive regulatory frameworks are essential for effective behavior change.
The global spread of single-use plastic food packaging is an emerging environmental crisis with far-reaching ecological and socioeconomic consequences. Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, faces a growing dependence on SUP for food packaging, driven by economic pressures, urbanisation, and entrenched cultural practices. This trend has led to widespread environmental pollution and heightened public health risks. Despite the urgency, current policies remain fragmented, underenforced, and essentially detached from local cultural contexts and community needs. This study aims to identify the key drivers and strategies to effectively reduce reliance on SUP in food packaging in Nigeria. The norm activation model was extended to incorporate cultural practices, social support, and policy changes. A total of 545 legitimate questionnaire responses were analysed using a partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The key findings indicate that cultural practices shape personal norms and social support for reducing SUP in food packaging. Social support favourably promotes intentions and behaviour toward SUP reduction in food packaging. The results further indicate that policy changes significantly enhance individuals' personal norms, intentions, and behaviours regarding the decrease in SUP in food packaging. This study proposes holistic, context-sensitive strategies that integrate cultural values with effective regulatory frameworks to reduce SUP and safeguard public health in Nigeria.
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