Although 59 percent of the Brazilians surveyed said that preserving the environment is more important than ensuring economic growth, just 18 percent considered it their personal duty. Sixty-one percent of the respondents said environmental responsibilities lie with public institutions, according to the survey Sustainability Here and Now, of Brazil's Environment Ministry and the Wal-Mart Brazil network. The poll consisted of 1,100 interviews in 11 state capital cities.

Sixty percent said they are willing to stop using plastic shopping bags, but 21 percent were unaware of alternative garbage containers. Seventy percent said they throw out batteries with their regular trash, 66 percent do so with medications, and 39 percent dump used cooking oil down the drain.

“These figures show that environmental communication remains a challenge. Information is essential for the population to know how to proceed,” journalist Adalberto Marcondes, who drafted the survey report, told Tierramérica.