Determining the success of curbside recycling programs by surveys and direct measurement
- Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (United States). School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science
- Waste Management of Oklahoma, Inc., Oklahoma City, OK (United States)
Curbside collection of recyclable material can be expensive because the inherent costs of curbside collection are high, but also because amounts collected per residence are small compared to the total waste stream, and extra time may be required to carry out additional activities, such as sorting. A better understanding of how households participate in curbside recycling programs may help operators reduce costs. In this paper, a survey and direct observation of set-out behavior are used to increase the understanding of a recycling program in the City of the Village, OK. Specifically, the paper addresses: (1) relationships between set-out amount, set-out frequency, and demographics; and (2) respondent awareness of their own recycling behavior and activity on their street. Analysis of set-out amount, set-out frequency, and household size data indicates that, on average, smaller households set out less recyclables overall, but more per person, compared to larger households. As expected, set-out frequency appears to be related to the amount of recyclables set out for collection; houses storing more recyclables per week set them out more often. However, infrequent participants (one set-out in ten weeks) set out less material per week than other participating households, but in larger amounts. On the rare occasions that they set out material, they set out approximately 25 pounds of materials, whereas the average amount set out by other households is less than 15 pounds per set-out. Variability in set-out frequency and amount, not explained by household size or other demographic variables, indicates that other factors are important. There is hope that program operators can influence participants to minimize set-out frequency, thus increasing the efficiency of collection.
- OSTI ID:
- 679414
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-980632-; TRN: IM9940%%233
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 91. annual meeting and exhibition of the Air and Waste Management Association, San Diego, CA (United States), 14-18 Jun 1998; Other Information: PBD: 1998; Related Information: Is Part Of Proceedings of the 91. annual meeting and exhibition. Bridging international boundaries: Clean production for environmental stewardship; PB: [5000] p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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