Webboh Lab, the first permanent observatory on Gen Z born from Webboh‘s meeting with the Sylla research institute, involved 15,000 teenagers, aged between 14 and 17, to collect opinions, behaviours and perceptions regarding the topic of glass recycling and the use of packaging created with this material. The survey, conducted by Webboh Lab for CoReVe – the national consortium for the collection, recycling and recovery of glass packaging waste in Italy – highlighted some key points of interest.

VIRTUOUS BEHAVIOUR AND AWARENESS

The survey showed that three out of four teenagers (more than 76%) always separate glass, while only 5% said they rarely or never do it. Of these: 38% do not separate glass because they don’t think about it, 21% have someone to do it for them and 14% believe there is not enough information about recycling.

Glass recycling is very common among teenagers, as they generally prefer the use of glass packaging as it is more sustainable.

Young people are taught correct behaviours, such as separate waste collection, by their parents and schools, making it a recognised and widespread practice. Most interviewees believe that the good example of others and more information can motivate us to improve the collection of glass.

The data analysed also showed that two out of three teenagers (67%) are aware of the possibility of endlessly recycling glass without losing quality, while 65% of them are aware that incandescent bulbs and crystal glasses cannot be recycled together with ordinary glass. Finally, 85% of young people know that recycling a glass bottle reduces air pollution by 20% compared to that produced to make a new one.

As regards behaviour in Italy, 56.8% of interviewees believe that Italians pay enough attention to separating glass and that it is very important to do so (70.9%). 60% of children think that in 10 years glass recycling will be more widespread and 74.7% are in favour of penalising those who do not separate glass from other waste.

GROUPS:

Expansion of the answers obtained with respect to issues related to glass recycling and environmental sustainability has made it possible to identify four groups of adolescents with similar answers on in-depth topics.

Proactive recyclers (34%)
They are young people with a strong pragmatic and proactive tendency towards glass recycling, and are highly motivated and hands on as regards the actions taken. They attach great importance to protecting the environment and reducing pollution: they are extremely aware of the environmental issue and are convinced that recycling glass is a great help. In general, they are consistent in their behaviour towards sustainability, consumption choices and daily practices of waste separation, reuse and recycling of materials. They actively correct other people’s incorrect behaviour and they also agree to sanction those who do not separate their waste. They ask for more information to encourage separate waste collection and the virtuous example of influencers and famous people.

Recycling utilitarians (28%)
Teenagers in this group focus on the functional and utilitarian aspects of recycling, but they are much less motivated when it comes to issues related to environmental sustainability. They recognise the importance of glass as a material that is not harmful to the ecosystem and are familiar with recycling bins. Despite this, they are not particularly motivated by the concept of recycling or by the environmental impact that it may have. They are a little less virtuous as regards separating glass than the average person. To stimulate recycling, they propose economic incentives and are against the introduction of penalties for those who do not separate their waste.

Recycling theorists (23%)
Those that are disenchanted with recycling and are the least interested in the issues of recycling and the environment.
They reveal a more poetic and symbolic vision of glass, attaching a special value to its purity and its capacity for rebirth, however, they are less virtuous in separate waste collection, finding it complicated and demanding and remaining less sensitive to the issue of environmental sustainability in general. They claim to be motivated to recycle glass for its infinite reuse but are less concerned with practical details, such as using the correct bins or removing caps.

Poets of transformation (15%)
The young people belonging to this group are very involved in the issues of environmental sustainability and are very aware of related issues. They differ from the first group, the proactive recyclers, for their more romantic and idealistic vision: they see glass as a poetic and special material, and they prefer glass packaging for its unique characteristics. They are the most informed about correct glass recycling practices. They recycle much more than the average person, they are in favour of any incentive that promotes the dissemination of good practices and they are also in favour of penalties for those who do not separate glass correctly. Finally, they adopt, in general, a sustainable lifestyle and feel like active protagonists, attaching importance to the correct management of glass, since they are motivated by the environmental value of recycling.

“The survey is very interesting and allows us to understand what young people think and how they behave,” stated Gianni Scotti, President of CoReVe. “In general, there is alignment among children between environmentally sustainable behaviour, environmental awareness and glass recycling. Almost all of them – as many as 90% – think that the climate crisis is a serious matter and that glass recycling is a fundamental part of reducing pollution. But CoReVe’s challenge is speaking to the 5% that rarely recycle to make it clear what a waste of environmental and economic resources it is not to recycle glass properly. The work we are doing with influencers, creators, schools and territories goes precisely in this direction. Italy’s good recycling rate is, in fact, not taken for granted but must be maintained and, if possible, improved. This is why it is essential to know what Gen Z thinks and what behaviours they adopt,” Scotti concluded.

“This research has attracted a lot of interest among children, it is a generation that is well informed on and aware of environmental issues. The analysis of the data allowed us to identify 4 groups of teenagers with similar answers to the in-depth topics, each with a different leaning towards glass recycling. This has made it possible to collect very targeted information for the customer,” says Furio Camillo, Scientific Director for Sylla. “Webboh Lab confirms itself as a very effective tool for the strategy, marketing and communication of brands and companies that find an interesting target in Gen Z.”

Webboh is the flagship media for Gen Z. Created in April 2019, it has been part of Mondadori Media since February 2023. It currently has a fanbase of 4.5 million followers across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and WhatsApp, 70% of which are under 24. The website receives 3 million unique monthly users (source: Audiweb last quarter 2024). It is in the top ten most influential Italian media companies on social media, as well as the first targeting Gen Z for engagement and video views (source: Italian Top Media Rankings for First Communication made by Sensemakers). The topicality, authenticity and interest generated by the content is guaranteed by a bottom-up editorial model: the community is involved in every part of the creative process.

Webboh Lab, a partnership between Webboh and the Sylla research institute, with Scientific Director, Professor Furio Camillo, is the first Permanent Observatory on Gen Z. Webboh Lab’s commitment is to gather the voice of the younger generation, investigate and explore issues to convey them to those who make decisions for them, the adults of tomorrow.