Packaging Design Can Make Consumers More Willing to Sort Their Waste, Study Finds

A study by Jiajun Zhao, Bin Li and Haotian Tong, published in Resources, Conservation & Recycling Advances in July 2026, suggests that the way packaging is designed can influence whether consumers sort it correctly after use. The researchers introduce a new concept: Packaging Waste-Sorting Friendliness (WSF).

The authors define WSF as the consumer’s perception of how clearly and practically a pack supports correct sorting. It describes how easy the sorting process feels, rather than the presence of any specific design feature. According to the study, companies are already redesigning packaging to make sorting easier, by reducing the number of materials, simplifying disassembly or reducing the need for cleaning, but these efforts remain fragmented and offer little explanation of why some designs change behavior while others do not.

 

Four Experiments, One Mechanism

The team ran four online experiments with consumers in China. Each experiment used a different way of making packaging easier to sort.

1. Food containers: Participants were more willing to sort bio-based containers that can go directly into food waste than conventional plastic containers that must be separated first. The researchers link this to perceived ease of use.
2. Milk tea cups: A cup printed with pictorial and textual sorting instructions increased sorting intention. Some participants were also shown Shanghai’s official sorting rules for milk tea and the effect of the instructions was stronger among those who did not see the rules.
3. Shanghai and Beijing: Using the same milk tea cups, the researchers compared residents of Shanghai, where sorting rules are enforced more strictly, with residents of Beijing, where enforcement is more gradual. The on-pack instructions made a bigger difference in Beijing.
4. Bottle labels: Participants read that the label belongs to a different waste category from the bottle. Being able to tear the label off along a perforation, instead of cutting it with scissors, increased sorting intention. The effect was stronger among consumers who were more aware of the environmental benefits of sorting.

 

Design Matters Most Where Rules Are Weaker

The Shanghai and Beijing comparison is perhaps the most relevant finding for policymakers. Where sorting is strictly enforced, consumers tend to sort regardless of the pack. Where enforcement is weaker, a well-designed pack has more room to make a difference. Environmental awareness worked in a similar way: consumers who already understand the benefits of recycling responded more positively to sorting-friendly features.

The authors suggest that policymakers can promote sorting through consumer-facing design support as well as regulation. The study measured sorting intention rather than actual behavior and the authors propose field tests in more regions with different levels of enforcement and environmental awareness, to show where packaging design can best support existing rules.

 

 

The European Context

The study was conducted in China, but its findings touch on issues that the EU is now addressing through legislation. The PPWR, specifically, introduces harmonized labels with information on material composition to help consumers sort packaging correctly, alongside design-for-recycling requirements.

The finding that design has a greater effect in markets where sorting rules are less strictly enforced, is particularly relevant. Clear instructions, labels that come off easily and fewer components to separate are design choices that producers already control.

 

Conclusion

The study offers evidence that sorting behavior can be influenced at the design stage, through features as simple as a perforated label or a clear instruction on the pack. Its results come from consumer intention rather than measured sorting rates, and from a single country. Even so, it gives packaging designers a practical framework for thinking about how a pack will be handled after use.