Out of sight, out of mind: Issues and obstacles to recycling in Ontario's multi residential buildings

Abstract

This study examines the obstacles, barriers and opportunities to household recycling in multi residential buildings in Ontario, Canada. Specifically, this study examines how increasing levels of recycling convenience and recycling awareness affect household recycling behavior and building recycling rates. This study was divided into three phases: Phase 1 was designed to assess the perceived barriers to recycling and household participation in source separation programs among 12 multi residential households in the Greater Toronto Area. Phase 2 involved retrofitting each building with floor level recycling chutes (accompanied by a comprehensive recycling promotion and education campaign) and measure how, if at all, recycling rates changed. Phase 3 of the study examined how an alternative promotion and education strategy (that involved putting a recycling bin in building lobbies) affected household recycling awareness and overall recycling rates. Using waste audit data collected over a 9 month period and semi structured surveys in each of the 12 buildings included in the study, it was found that the greatest increase in recycling rates were observed after putting a recycling cart/bin the building lobby entrance. The installation of recycling chutes alone did not increase household recycling awareness or participation in any meaningful way. This finding contravenes previous investigations into multi residential recycling, which found that convenience was the primary determinant to multi residential recycling participation. There is evidence to suggest that there is a complimentary effect between retrofitting units with recycling chutes and placing a Blue Bin in the lobby entrance—while the former provides the enabling conditions to make recycling easier for households, the latter provides the necessary reminder to residents to get them thinking about recycling initiatives in their buildings.