Marketing mix applied to plastic waste reduction

Abstract

In the last 50 years, plastic has become an indispensable material in human life. The volume of waste generated by this material has become one of the most important problems of pollution of natural environments, causing irreversible damage by micro-plastics to the food chain, and by macro-plastics to marine and terrestrial species. So far, much emphasis has been placed on the role of the consumer and his responsibility in providing an adequate response to the end of life of plastics, however, little if any research has been done on the role of marketing in this problem. One of the components of this conflict is that this discipline is an organizational function that completely influences the life cycle of the product from its conception, therefore, this article seeks to provide concrete proposals on how marketing can contribute to the reduction and management of plastic waste. Based on this problem, a review of the literature on the relationship between marketing and plastic was conducted, and reports from different non-profit organizations, recognized institutions, and recycling companies were analyzed, investigating the main challenges posed by the current organization of the plastics industry and the potential solutions to the generation of this type of waste. Following the literature review, the implications of this information from a marketing point of view were analyzed in order to elaborate a series of proposals aimed at concretely reducing the amount of plastic waste produced. These proposals are organized based on the definition of the marketing mix, namely: Product, Price, Promotion and Place (4 Ps). For each of the 4 Ps, recommendations are established such as materials to be favored, pricing criteria, possible types of communication and effects on logistics. In addition, concrete examples are provided for the management of these types of problems.