Abstract
Education on recycling must be provided during the first school years because environmentally aware students are more likely to become environmentally aware citizens. The aim of the present study is to investigate the factors affecting the recycling behavior of students attending the last grade of primary school in the regional unit of Evros in Greece. To select the sample, multistage sampling was used, and to collect the research data, a questionnaire with closed-ended items was designed. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the non-parametric Friedman test, and categorical regression. Our results showed that the students had positive views, attitudes, and behaviors in relation to recycling and were actively involved in it. Categorical regression analysis indicated that the other family members affected students’ recycling behavior to a high degree, whereas students’ parents’ occupation and students’ participation in environmental education programs at school exerted a lower influence on their recycling behavior.
Highlights
Our planet faces severe environmental problems which tend to aggravate and lead to catastrophic consequences
Family is a highly influential recycling factor; students whose family members recycle were found to recycle to a greater degree compared to those students whose family members do not recycle on a frequent basis
Decision makers involved in efforts aiming at improving the recycling behavior of students should include students’ parents
Summary
Our planet faces severe environmental problems which tend to aggravate and lead to catastrophic consequences. Population increase, urbanization, modern lifestyle, consumerism, and economic development reduced natural resources and created the problem of waste management. In relation to the latter, the development of societies increased the volume of waste so that waste management is a serious issue in every country [1]. Increased population together with the rising quantities of municipal solid waste resulted in persistent calls for recycling [2]. Municipal governments across the globe stand at the forefront of political innovation, which aims to increase the rate of recycling and to reduce the rate of waste that ends up in landfills [2]
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