A case study with the Canada Plastics Pact
When the Canada Plastics Pact – a collaborative working to eliminate plastic waste and advance a circular economy for plastics – wanted to understand how Ottawa residents would respond to reusable packaging initiatives, they turned to Viewpoints to map the terrain.
Between March 14-31, 2025, we surveyed 700 Ottawa residents who make purchasing decisions for their households. This created a picture of public attitudes, behaviours, and barriers around reusable packaging.
The results reveal a city ready for reuse and refill systems, with existing habits and behaviours, but with a need for more education opportunities to reach full adoption. We’ve highlighted some of them below – for more details and a deeper dive into all the findings, you can see the full report here.
The awareness-action gap
While 62% of Ottawa residents say they’re familiar with reusable packaging as a concept, only 25% have used such packaging, and 34% of those who use it, use it regularly.
This suggests a gap between awareness and action. People understand the concept but haven’t yet made it part of their routine.
Pre-filled reusable packaging shows lower awareness and adoption. 29% of residents are familiar with these systems, and 20% have tried them. This presents a challenge around the adoption of pre-filled reuse initiatives, while signaling an opportunity to educate and activate a new user base.
What people are already buying (and what they want)
When we asked which products Ottawa residents have purchased in reusable packaging, three categories emerged as early leaders:
- Dry, bulk goods topped the list at 57%
- Cleaning products followed at 44%
- Personal care products came in at 40%
Looking forward, interest remains strong in these same categories. Between 60-63% of residents expressed interest in purchasing cleaning products, laundry products, and dry bulk foods in pre-filled. This alignment between past behaviour and future intent suggests these product categories offer the clearest path to scaling reuse systems. It’s also important to note that these are products customers have gotten used to seeing in reusable packaging formats; signaling the importance of large scale implementation that helps to move reuse from familiar to the norm.
Younger consumers (aged 18-29) showed 2.5 times more likelihood than seniors to purchase beverages and personal care products in reusable packaging – a demographic divide that could shape rollout strategies.
Three barriers that matter
When we asked what might prevent people from buying products in pre-filled returnable containers, three concerns came out on top:
- Cleanliness perception (30%)
- Brand loyalty (25%)
- Perceived cost (24%)
Each barrier suggests a specific intervention. Cleanliness concerns call for transparent communication about sanitization processes. Brand availability needs to be prioritized in initial rollouts. Cost perceptions require clear messaging about deposit-return mechanics.
Location, location, location
Where people want to return packaging matters enormously for system design. Our results showed strong preferences for:
- The purchase location (65%)
- Any supermarket or retailer (61%)
This preference for returning items where they were purchased suggests the need for integrated retail solutions rather than separate collection points.
Why people care (or don’t)
The motivations behind reuse adoption were primarily community oriented. When asked why reusable packaging matters to them:
- 65% cited reducing plastic waste at home
- 53% wanted to reduce waste in their community
- 47% aimed to slow climate change
- 44% wanted to fight pollution and keep the planet clean
Meanwhile, 44% wanted to save money through packaging reuse, and 30% wanted to align with their personal values and lifestyle choices.
Only 6% said they didn’t believe that reuse or refill packaging is important – a small opposition base.
Looking forward
Ottawa’s residents are signaling readiness for reuse systems. They’ll return packaging where they shop and will follow their favourite brands through packaging transitions.
For organizations considering reuse initiatives in Canadian cities, Ottawa offers an encouraging proof of concept: the market is there, the willingness exists, and the barriers are surmountable. The question isn’t whether consumers will adopt reusable packaging systems, but whether those systems will be designed with enough attention to user experience and practical convenience to meet people where they are.
Methodological notes
Our survey was fielded in both English and French, using a panel sample. We used quotas for age, gender, and region to ensure representativeness, with weights applied where quotas weren’t met. All 700 respondents were adults who lived in Ottawa and were responsible for household purchasing decisions for home and personal care products. The margin of error for a probability-based sample of the same size is approximately ±3.7% at the 95% confidence level.
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The Canada Plastics Pact is working to eliminate plastic waste and pollution while advancing a circular economy for plastics. This research will inform reuse initiatives in Ottawa and other Canadian urban centres.
If you’re interested in running similar public attitudes research on an existing or potential initiative, contact us below.