ENGAGING THE PUBLIC EFFECTIVELY IN RECYCLING ACTIVITIES: A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH

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ENGAGING THE PUBLIC EFFECTIVELY IN RECYCLING
ACTIVITIESA SYSTEMATIC APPROACH

• Dr Ian Williams

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Influences on Recycling

• Household recycling requires
• People willing to recycle
• Supporting infrastructure
• Household recycling predominantly a voluntary
  activity
• Essential that attitudes to recycling and
  infrastructure preferences are understood to meet
  (modest) goals
• Each LA to adapt to its own socio-economic
  conditions
• Possible to have 1 recycling system adopted by
  all?
• Recycling rates vary greatly across UK
• Difficult to provide reasons for particular
  schemes success or failure w/o detailed
  understanding

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Recycling Scheme Design

• CIWM (2004) overview of systems good practice
  for kerbside colln of recyclables and compostable
  waste
• Research on recycling scheme design has shown
  that
• No single, ideal design for such a scheme
• Characteristics and needs of community should
  dictate scheme's design
• Regional and local variations in quantity and
  composition of household waste impact upon
  performance of recycling schemes
• Local context important successful change in
  design of one scheme may not necessarily be
  replicable elsewhere

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Recycling Scheme Design (cont.)

• Important design variables - kerbside
  recycling-scheme
• Whether participation is mandatory or voluntary
• Range of materials collected
• Degree of sorting required
• Whether collection container is provided free of
  charge
• Collection frequency and day
• Whether financial incentives are available
• Type of publicity and promotion employed in
  advertising the scheme

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Recycling Scheme Design (cont.)

• Rigid containers vs sacks
• Wheeled bins led to ? in general waste volumes
• Mandatory vs voluntary schemes
• Effort demanded from householder increases with
  degree of sorting and preparation of materials
• Reducing range of recyclables collected can
  greatly reduce costs and slightly increase
  recovery
• Reducing collection frequency can reduce costs
  without having a huge impact upon recovery
• Alternative collections appear to increase both
  recycling and set-out rates
• Same day collection for recyclables and general
  waste appears to make no difference to
  participation rates

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Reasons for participation

• Research consistently demonstrates that
• Self-reporting of recycling behaviour tends to be
  exaggerated
• People feel uncomfortable about non-participation
• Only small fraction of population motivated to
  recycle consistently
• Self-reported behaviour - caution
• Most people claim to recycle
• England's current household recycling rate is
  22.5
• Opportunity to recycle and compost gt? of MSW

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Reasons for participation

• Research consistently demonstrates that
• Knowledge of reasons why people dont recycle
  would enable scheme administrators to tailor
  schemes more towards householders who do not
  participate fully
• Real explanations for non-participation
  probably include
• Lack of interest in recycling (apathy and/or
  ingrained attitudes)
• Genuine lack of time
• Storage/handling problems
• Lack of access to a kerbside recycling scheme
• Issues relating to inconvenience

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Excuses for non-participation

• Distance to local recycling facility
• Insufficient recyclables
• Too much effort
• Lack of facilities
• Perceived lack of time
• Inconvenience
• Not having a recycling box or having it stolen

• Not sure which day the scheme operates
• Not knowing the service existed
• Box not big enough or not collected
• Finding the scheme confusing

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Profiles of Recyclers contradictory

• No discernable differences in age, household size
  or socio-economic status of recyclers
• Recyclers tend to be older, more affluent
  (car-owning, home owners), and better educated
• Recyclers at 'bring' sites in N. Sweden more
  likely to be married, without children, retired,
  more affluent, owner occupiers, well educated,
  concerned for the environment
• Dutch study concluded that 65 age category
  substantially more likely to separate waste as
  compared to other age groups
• Tendency for recycling to be domain of women -
  more likely to be in charge of domestic waste
  management

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Profiles of Non-recyclers

• Little known about non-recyclers - difficult to
  identify as a single group, reluctant to admit to
  not recycling
• Non-recyclers - younger, less affluent, live in
  rented accommodation, do not run a car
• Lower socio-economic groups devote less effort
  towards recycling - economic and social
  deprivation
• People of lower socio-economic status in China
  and Ecuador recycled most because they were able
  to benefit financially from selling recyclables
• Reported that ethnic minorities recycle less than
  White British counterparts
• Perry and Williams, 2006 observation too
  simplistic

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Psychological Influences

• Profiles are very broad generalizations
• Recycling behaviour based upon 3 groups of
  factors environmental values, situational
  variables and psychological variables
• Model tested in Exeter - effective in profiling
  attitudes to recycling
• Access to kerbside recycling, general knowledge
  of local waste services, large house,
  convenience, norm to recycle, concern about WM
  issues were main factors influencing
  participation
• Framework may place too much emphasis on
  environmental values as main initiators of
  intention

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Psychological Influences

• Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behaviour
• Actual behaviour is result of personal attitude,
  social norms and 'perceived behavioural control'
  (PBC)
• Chan (1998) personal attitude was most important
  determinant of behaviour
• Tonglet et al (2004) 3 components could not
  adequately explain behaviour unless respondents'
  past experience of recycling and perception of
  its morality and consequences (costs/benefits)
  were also incorporated in model
• Concluded that pro-recycling attitude is main
  contributor to recycling behaviour

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Cultural Factors

• Culture of convenience' throughout UK society
• Manufacturers supply of disposable goods,
  built-in obsolescence, frantic pace of
  technological change
• NWAI (2000) people felt powerless to do anything
  about waste issues
• MORI (2002) individuals felt they could make a
  difference via recycling also thought that waste
  minimization was less important than recycling
• Lack of research into recycling behaviour of
  different ethnic groups

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Economic Factors

• Literature generally links increased
  participation to paying for disposal
• Charging for waste disposal by volume mooted at
  least twice as replacement for flat-rate charging
• Idea dropped for fear of electoral unpopularity
  and problems with dumping of waste in cheaper
  areas, fly tipping and backyard burning
• General reluctance to embrace PAYT
• PAYT successful in raising recycling rates in USA
  and Europe no different to other hh services

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Publicity and Promotion

• Sufficient publicity and promotion essential
• Use of various media
• Costs dictate which methods are employed but
  effectiveness debatable
• Importance of education, awareness raising,
  information and feedback to public
• Concerted marketing and communications campaign
  by Rushcliffe Borough Council succeeded in
  raising recycling rate from below 10 to nearly
  50

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Other Measures

• Integration and expansion of collection and
  processing services for wastes
• Bulky waste collection services
• Collection of WEEE, food wastes and batteries
• Green procurement and markets for goods made
  from recycled materials
• Assistance for local authorities with medium- and
  high-density housing stock
• Support and encouragement for, and improved
  communication with, charity, voluntary and
  community groups

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Lessons from the Literature

• It is clear that
• Considerable body of useful research exists that
  can underpin current and future waste management
  strategies
• Considerable gaps in our knowledge of waste
  management processes, practices, activities and
  behaviours remain
• DEFRA - Waste and Resources Research Programme

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Engaging the Public Effectively

• Start planning early
• Know statutory targets
• Involve key stakeholders
• Know the public
• Select most appropriate recycling scheme design
  for local population whilst ensuring that this
  design can efficiently capture a wide range of
  recyclates and has a reasonable operational
  lifetime (10-20 years)
• Most effective design may also collect recyclates
  from industrial and commercial sources
• Design robust and realistic campaigns for
  education and promotion of waste awareness and
  minimisation

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Engaging the Public Effectively

• Integrate activities of charity, voluntary and
  community sectors use of fora
• Carry out local user surveys on an annual basis
  to supplement BVPIs required by statute
• Deliberately seek local political support
• Be prepared to invest in professional development
  of staff and learn from other authorities,
  including those in other countries
• Regularly review and update the approach as
  necessary

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ENGAGING THE PUBLIC EFFECTIVELY IN RECYCLING
ACTIVITIESA SYSTEMATIC APPROACH
Thank you for your attention

• Dr Ian Williams