Public participation in plastics recycling schemes

Without public contributions, recycling from domestic waste would not be possible. In order to support recycling projects it is important to try to understand who recycles, how they recycle, and why they recycle. This paper presents the results of a structured survey of 500 members of the public served by schemes to collect plastics waste for recycling. Data were gathered on the characteristics, behaviours and motivations of recyclers. The authors also sought to discover how the public perceive plastics compared to other materials, and as a recyclable material. Responses were collected in such a way that the awareness of the recyclability of materials could be compared with the recycling behaviour of respondents. An element of comparison was introduced between those served by a system of bottle banks (bring scheme) and those covered by a household collection (collect scheme). The survey results are reported and their implications for the management of post-consumer plastics waste collection schemes are discussed.     

Recycling Policy in Areas of Low Income and Multi-storey Housing

The paper considers the participation of households in recycling programmes in areas of multi-storey, low income housing which are often considered unattractivefor such programmes.A model of the material recycled is presented together with a review of socio-economic, housing, technological, policy and other factors influencing household recycling. This is followed by a case study of two areas in the city of Edinburgh. Results suggest that the level of recycling is influenced by collection methods, for all materials except glass, with half of the recyclers starting as a result of the introduction of kerbside collection. Housing characteristics such as the storey-level in buildings without lifts , household size and access to cars all influenced recycling participation rates. Housing tenure was not found to be significant. This suggests that well designed kerbside collection programmescan have a significant impact in areas with high levels of multi-storey dwellings, low income and public housing.     

Kerbside collection: A case study from the north-west of England

It is widely agreed that public support is vital to the success of most recycling schemes; the actions of householders are paramount to the success of sustainable waste policies. However, the success of recycling schemes is not just dependent on public participation; it is also dependent on careful planning, effective design and tailoring to local needs.This study has evaluated a kerbside recycling scheme in the north-west of England by comparing the recycling performance of those on alternate collections of residual waste and recyclates with those on weekly residual collections and fortnightly recyclate collections. Three data collection methodologies were adopted: postal questionnaires, set-out rate monitoring, and personal interviews with policy writers.The results demonstrated that alternate collections produce higher recycling set-out rates, suggesting that alternate collections will also generate higher recycling rates. The research showed that if designed and complemented by other services, then an alternate collection system is a realistic waste management approach. However, the local authority and the public appear to use different indicators of success for the scheme. The local authority uses governmental performance indicators (such as best value performance indicators—BVPIs) to measure success, whereas the public's indicators of success tend to focus more on issues such as required changes to established behaviours, convenience and personal preferences.A key recommendation from this study is that all local authorities should carry out local opinion surveys on an annual basis to supplement the BVPIs required by statute. This should help them to fill the information gaps in order to provide a comprehensive, up-to-date and user-responsive waste management service to the public.     

Wasting ways: Perceived distance to the recycling facilities predicts pro-environmental behavior

The present study aims at providing an improved understanding of the environmental factors affecting pro-environmental behavior. To this end, we introduce the economic concept of bounded rationality to the domain of recycling behavior, hypothesizing that the subjective costs of recycling are a better predictor of an individual's tendency to recycle than the objective costs. At the chosen study site, recyclables needed to be disposed of at collection centers distributed throughout the city, allowing for the analysis of recycling-related costs by assessing the distance between participants’ residence and the nearest collection center. Results from an online questionnaire completed by N = 306 citizens indicate that the perceived distance to the recycling facilities is more closely related to recycling behavior than the actual distance. By means of hierarchical regression analyses, we demonstrate that the perceived distance explains unique variance in recycling behavior while the actual distance conveys only redundant information. Surprisingly, the predictive potential of participants’ distance estimates appeared to be significantly larger for recycling behavior than for recycling intention. The implications of our results are discussed with regard to potential opportunities to promote recycling behavior by targeting individuals’ biased perception of recycling-related costs.     

The influence of institutions and organizations on urban waste collection systems: an analysis of waste collection system in Accra, Ghana (1985-2000)

Urban waste collection system is a pivotal component of all waste management schemes around the world. Therefore, the efficient performance and the success of these schemes in urban pollution control rest on the ability of the collection systems to fully adapt to the prevailing cultural and social contexts within which they operate. Conceptually, institutions being the rules guiding the conduct of public service provision and routine social interactions, waste collection systems embedded in institutions can only realize their potentials if they fully evolve continuously to reflect evolving social and technical matrices underlying the cultures, organizations, institutions and social conditions they are designed to address. This paper is a product of an analysis of waste collection performance in Ghana under two different institutional and/or organizational regimes; from an initial entirely public sector dependence to a current mix of public-private sector participation drawing on actual planning data from 1985 to 2000. The analysis found that the overall performance of waste collection services in Ghana increased under the coupled system, with efficiency (in terms of total waste clearance and coverage of service provision) increasing rapidly with increased private-sector controls and levels of involvement, e.g. for solid waste, collection rate and disposal improved from 51% in 1998 to about 91% in the year 2000. However, such an increase in performance could not be sustained beyond 10 years of public-private partnerships. This analysis argues that the sustainability of improved waste collection efficiency is a function of the franchise and lease arrangements between private sector group on the one hand and public sector group (local authorities) on the other hand. The analysis therefore concludes that if such franchise and lease arrangements are not conceived out of an initial transparent process, such a provision could undermine the overall sustainability of private sector initiatives in collection services delivery in the long term, as in the case of the Accra example.     

Optimal Policies for Aggregate Recycling from Decommissioned Forest Roads

To mitigate the adverse environmental impact of forest roads, especially degradation of endangered salmonid habitat, many public and private land managers in the western United States are actively decommissioning roads where practical and affordable. Road decommissioning is associated with reduced long-term environmental impact. When decommissioning a road, it may be possible to recover some aggregate (crushed rock) from the road surface. Aggregate is used on many low volume forest roads to reduce wheel stresses transferred to the subgrade, reduce erosion, reduce maintenance costs, and improve driver comfort. Previous studies have demonstrated the potential for aggregate to be recovered and used elsewhere on the road network, at a reduced cost compared to purchasing aggregate from a quarry. This article investigates the potential for aggregate recycling to provide an economic incentive to decommission additional roads by reducing transport distance and aggregate procurement costs for other actively used roads. Decommissioning additional roads may, in turn, result in improved aquatic habitat. We present real-world examples of aggregate recycling and discuss the advantages of doing so. Further, we present mixed integer formulations to determine optimal levels of aggregate recycling under economic and environmental objectives. Tested on an example road network, incorporation of aggregate recycling demonstrates substantial cost-savings relative to a baseline scenario without recycling, increasing the likelihood of road decommissioning and reduced habitat degradation. We find that aggregate recycling can result in up to 24% in cost savings (economic objective) and up to 890% in additional length of roads decommissioned (environmental objective).     

Junk-buyers as the linkage between waste sources and redemption depots in urban China: the case of Wuhan

This paper locates junk-buyers in the recycling chain that includes waste source, collection system and end-user. With increasing needs of convenience for recycling at waste sources but disappearing redemption depots in city blocks of China, junk-buyers play a role of linkage between waste sources and redemption depots. It is these door-to-door collectors who make the general public aware of cash value inside recyclable waste. Also, the motivation of getting cash back pushes junk-buyers become immediate suppliers to redemption depots. Without junk-buyers as door-to-door collectors, the current waste recovery system in post-Mao's China would brake down. However, as in other developing countries, the junk-buyer occupation in urban China currently is typically driven by economic incentives, and the door-to-door collection of recyclable waste completely falls into junk-buyer individual business. It is difficult for junk-buyers who mainly come from the countryside to establish stable relations with waste sources for lack of recognition from urban society. The appropriate allocation of individual time and space becomes crucial to conducting the door-to-door activities so as to collecting more recyclables. While the collecting territory as the condition of production is positively reflected by the usual extent of the collecting distance, junk-buyers mostly spend time in finding sellers instead of simply expanding their collecting territory. This is a typical example of the cheapest and lowest skilled labor forces being in relatively unlimited supply in a developing country.     

The influence of collection facility attributes on household collection rates of electronic waste: The case of televisions and computer monitors

In the US, household electronic waste collected for recycling is primarily by voluntary drop-off at designated collection facilities. This study examines the influence of specific collection facility attributes (recycling fees charged, number of days open, and driving distance) on the household collection rate of e-waste in the US state of Maine. Data were collected for household computer monitor and television collection for 92 municipal waste transfer facilities representing 30% of the state's population for one year. Results suggest that recycling fees are negatively correlated with the number of televisions and computer monitors collected; furthermore, the more frequently facilities were open, the more televisions and computer monitors were collected per capita. The distance from the facility had no correlation, which prompted an analysis of whether the existence of a curbside collection system in the municipality was influential. Results show a negative correlation between computer monitor and television collection and a municipality having recycling (but not e-waste) curbside collection. Based on the results of this study, policymakers may be able to increase the collection rate of household e-waste by eliminating or lowering recycling fees, expanding collection days and hours to increase convenience, and/or considering curbside collection of e-waste.     

Factors Determining the Post-consumer Waste Recycling Burden

The environmental burden of collecting recoverables from households is generally omitted from life-cycle analyses comparing the environmental outcome of using secondary material from post-consumer waste (PCW) with virgin feedstock. However, this burden can be considerable, depending upon the characteristics of the collection methods employed. Given that the basic objective of recycling is to secure environmental benefits, it is vital that the burden of collection through both bring/dropoff and kerbside schemes is taken into account if a valid assessment of the environmental balance resulting from PCW recycling is to be made. This paper presents survey data comparing the burden of collection for different types of recycling provision. It describes the site and spatial characteristics determining the amount of transport dedicated to collection at bring/drop-off sites. Predictor variables are identified as measures of these characteristics, and the survey data compared with them. A regression model to assess energy use at bring/drop-off sites with varying characteristics is then developed. The potential uses of the techniques presented include the evaluation of the environmental burdens of recycling provision at the waste collection authority and regional level, allowing more informed choices to be made in the development of recycling provision from an environmental standpoint.     

Recycling and householder attitudes: A survey of Norwich

This paper incorporates the results of a survey of recycling activity and attitudes in one UK community, the city of Norwich. The principal aims of the study were to identify the operation of the local market in secondary materials and to assess householder attitudes towards new recycling ventures and the use of recycled paper products. The main findings of the study indicate that a well established secondary paper and metals markets does exist in Norwich. Householder attitudes to recycled products seem, as far as paper is concerned, to depend upon the quality (texture and colour) of the products. As for the collection of secondary materials, better deployment of existing volunteer/charity based groups would appear to be a more ‘economic’ strategy than direct local authority involvement.     

Towards the estimation of demand for recycling in Chile: The case of Santiago

In developing countries, the recycling of municipal solid waste (MSW) as an alternative to the traditional MSW management requires an economic sustainability valuation. From this perspective, the estimation of demand for recycling is crucial. In this paper, we study the case of recycling MSW in Santiago, Chile. We estimate the relation between the monthly amount of MSW separated voluntarily from apartments located in Santiago and the monthly price required to participate in a municipal recycling program. We consider the transference of the municipal cost savings to the owners of the apartments due to the amount of MSW separated for recycling, which is not collected and deposited in the current MSW system. For the estimation, we use concepts from environmental economics and psychology, analyzing the operation and municipal costs incurred by current MSW management and designing and applying a survey based on a contingent valuation method (CVM) approach. The results indicate that the percentage of MSW separated for recycling varies between a 27.98% and 33.18%, that only four MSW types are affected by a variation of the monthly price, and that a reduction of monthly collection trips in the current MSW system from 24 to 18 can be obtained. Additionally, we discuss a number of methodological aspects to be considered in a similar study of valuation of recycling in developing countries. Our conclusion is that Santiago has favorable conditions for the implementation of a recycling program as an alternative to the current MSW system.     

Who will pay? Subsidies or taxes for recycling in the heartland

Attaining recycling goals of 25 to 50% over the next few years will require substantial recycling of residential wastes. A combined program of curbside recycling of conventional post-consumer materials and collection and composting of both leaves and grass will yield a composite diversion rate of 12 to 21% by weight. But in many communities, particularly in the west central and south central states of the American heartland, implementation of such programs will result in a net increase in solid waste management costs. Case studies of four communities in Oklahoma are used to estimate the potential increase in first-year net costs that would result from implementing a combined recycling and yard waste composting program. The results are compared to survey data from Oklahoma and Florida that define the amount residents are likely to be willing to pay for the benefits of recycling. The potential to close the apparent willingness-to-pay gap through state subsidies is then assessed. Where state capital grants programs are insufficient to bridge the gap, and local officials are reluctant to impose costs that are not publicly supported, public education efforts will be needed to increase the value residents ascribe to the nonexclusive positive externalities and local nonmarket benefits of recycling.     

The role of agency goals and local context in Great Lakes water resources public involvement programs

As complex social phenomena, public involvement processes are influenced by contextual factors. This study examined agency goals for public involvement and assessed the importance of local context in remedial action planning, a community-based water resources program aimed at the cleanup of the 42 most polluted locations in the Great Lakes Basin. Agency goals for public involvement in remedial action plans (RAPs) were agency-oriented and focused on public acceptance of the plan, support for implementation, and positive agency-public relations. Corresponding to these goals, citizen advisory committees were created in 75% of the RAP sites as a primary means for public input into the planning process. Factors that influenced the implementation of public involvement programs in remedial action planning included public orientation toward the remediation issue, local economic conditions, the interaction of diverse interests in the process, agency and process credibility, experience of local leadership, and jurisdictional complexity. A formative assessment of “community readiness” appeared critical to appropriate public involvement program design. Careful program design may also include citizen education and training components, thoughtful management of ongoing agency-public relations and conflict among disparate interests in the process, overcoming logistical difficulties that threaten program continuity, using local expertise and communication channels, and circumventing interjurisdictional complexities.     

Life cycle assessment for reuse/recycling of donated waste textiles compared to use of virgin material: An UK energy saving perspective

In the UK, between 4 and 5% of the municipal solid waste stream is composed of clothes/textiles. Approximately 25% of this is recycled by companies such as the Salvation Army Trading Company Limited (SATCOL) who provide a collection and distribution infrastructure for ‘donated’ clothing and shoes. Textiles can be reused or undergo a processing stage and enter a recycling stream. Research was conducted in order to quantify the energy used by a reuse/recycling operation and whether this resulted in a net energy benefit. The energy footprint was quantified using a streamlined life cycle assessment (LCA), an LCA restricted in scope in order to target specific aspects of the footprint, in this case energy consumption. Taking into account extraction of resources, manufacture of materials, electricity generation, clothing collection, processing and distribution and final disposal of wastes it was demonstrated that for every kilogram of virgin cotton displaced by second hand clothing approximately 65 kWh is saved, and for every kilogram of polyester around 90 kWh is saved. Therefore, the reuse and recycling of the donated clothing results in a reduction in the environmental burden compared to purchasing new clothing made from virgin materials.     

Mass communication and pro-environmental behaviour: waste recycling in Hong Kong

Treatment of domestic waste has been one of the major environmental problems in Hong Kong. The Government has a stated policy to advocate the minimization of waste disposal through the encouragement of waste reduction, re-use and recycling. The current study applies Ajzen's theory of planned behaviour to predict behavioural intention and actual behaviour of voluntary use of waste recycling receptacles. A systematic random sample of 173 household members in a public housing estate were interviewed. The results indicated that attitude was the major factor in predicting behavioural intention, followed by behavioural control and social norms. Attitude, subjective norm and perceived control together explained 44% of the variance of behavioural intention. Perception of mass media as a major source of subjective norm was first introduced and tested. Mass communication stood out as one of the major sources of influence in establishment of subjective norms. The study has the implication that more publicity messages should be put on the mass media to promote green behaviours.     

Financing electronic waste recycling Californian households' willingness to pay advanced recycling fees

The growth of electronic waste (e-waste) is of increasing concern because of its toxic content and low recycling rates. The e-waste recycling infrastructure needs to be developed, yet little is known about people's willingness to fund its expansion. This paper examines this issue based on a 2004 mail survey of California households. Using an ordered logit model, we find that age, income, beliefs about government and business roles, proximity to existing recycling facilities, community density, education, and environmental attitudes are significant factors for explaining people's willingness to pay an advanced recycling fee (ARF) for electronics. Most respondents are willing to support a 1% ARF. Our results suggest that policymakers should target middle-aged and older adults, improve programs in communities with existing recycling centers or in rural communities, and consider public-private partnerships for e-waste recycling programs.     

Demonstrating the need for the development of internal research capacity: Understanding recycling participation using the Theory of Planned Behaviour in West Oxfordshire,UK

Many UK local authorities, looking to meet their regulatory recycling targets, have opted for voluntary kerbside collection schemes for source segregated recyclables from households. The success of a recycling service is highly dependant on the number of people who participate in the service and the frequency of its use. High participation rates are therefore an essential component of any effective kerbside collection scheme. It is commonly accepted that recycling behaviour is strongly influenced and motivated by personal opinions as well as external issues such as access and convenience. This paper characterises the recycling attitudes within West Oxfordshire, UK, and compares them with the results from a previous study conducted during 2003 in Brixworth, in Daventry, UK. From 1st April 2004, West Oxfordshire District Council, expanded its kerbside collection scheme for dry recyclables, adding cardboard, batteries, aerosols and mixed plastics to the already collected recyclables (paper, glass, textiles and metals) and increasing the frequency from fortnightly to weekly In this study, the recycling attitudes and behaviour of a cross-sectional socio-economic sample from households from West Oxfordshire, is investigated. It is observed that the propensity to recycle varies between individuals and socio-economic areas, and that recycling is influenced by concern for future generations, the need to bury less waste in landfills, and the fact that recycling saves resources and protects the environment. The results from this study can be used to help inform local authorities who are considering the development of their recycling schemes and associated promotional campaigns based on an understanding of their socio-demographic profile.     

Implications for the carrying capacity of lithium reserve in China

China is a major supplier of rechargeable lithium batteries for the world's consumer electronics (CE) and electric vehicles (EV). Consequently, China's domestic lithium resources are being rapidly depleted, and the development of the CE and EV industries will be vulnerable to the carrying capacity of China's lithium reserves. Here we find that lithium demand in China will increase significantly due to the continuing growth of demand for CE and the briskly emerging market for EV, resulting in a short carrying duration of lithium, even with full recycling of end-of-life lithium products. With these applications increasing at an annual rate of 7%, the carrying duration of lithium reserves will oblige the end-of-life products recycling with a 90% rate. To sustain the lithium industry, one approach would be to develop the collection system and recycling technology of lithium-containing waste for closed-loop lithium recycling, and other future endeavors should include developing the low-lithium battery and optimizing lithium industrial structure.     

The Impact of a Change in Collection Frequency on Kerbside Recycling Behaviours

The research monitors the changes in recycling performance indicators arising from halving the collection frequency of a kerbside newspaper collection scheme. The changes in the performance parameters are explained in terms of the underlying behavioural changes that could have occurred within the community. This interpretation is aided by a computer simulation of the kerbside recycling activity of the community. Moving from a 2-week collection to a 4-week collection did not substantially affect the number of households recycling, nor the overall weights collected. A small weight loss, however, may have occurred, from a small minority of households, unable to accommodate the extra storage demand of the new regime. Model predictions were consistent with the observed performance data. It is postulated that the scheme could withstand considerable intervention before significant behavioural changes are induced. It demonstrates that cost-cutting interventions can be undertaken without significantly compromising individual participations. The case-study also highlights the caution needed in the interpretation of the recycling performance indicators themselves.     

The development of a UK kerbside scheme using known practice

Local authorities in the UK have been set challenging new targets for recycling household waste for 2003/4. This means many of them are urgently trying to determine which parameters in kerbside schemes are most important for increasing recycling rates. In this work information from previous kerbside schemes was used to plan significant improvements in an existing scheme in Horsham District, UK, and a trial was conducted using 1000 homes including a control group. It used fortnightly collection of residual waste with sets of recyclables collected on alternate weeks. The new scheme resulted in improvements of participation rates from 72 to 84%, and set-out rates from 45 to 59% (falling to 76 and 50% respectively, some months later). Details on participation and set-out for different groups of materials are given, as well as levels of excess waste and participation in the collection of garden waste.