The continued quest to better recycling behaviour

Abstract

During 2010 a national survey on waste management service delivery and recycling behaviour amongst metropolitan households was conducted. WasteCon2010 conference attendees were also surveyed in parallel and on a voluntary basis. This paper reports on results from the WasteCon2010 survey and compare some of the findings with those from the national survey. Awareness of the importance of recycling, and having the know-how, improves the possibility that respondents will recycle, but the effect size is medium to small (R2=0.25). The Theory of Planned behaviour explains 44% of the variance in recycling behaviour, which could be ascribed to the more than 90% WasteCon delegates that recycle, compared to the less than 30% of the national survey sample. The effect of convenience on the likelihood to recycle is confirmed by the reasons why people do not recycle. Positive recycling behaviour is more likely if recyclables are collected at kerbside than when recyclables have to be dropped off at collection points. Further studies on the effect of knowledge and perceptions of convenience of recycling is needed in areas with different socio-economic status to be able to design recycling schemes and awareness creation drives for maximum recycling participation.