Abstract
The “Three Rs of Sustainability—Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,” are central tenets of many community waste-management programs promoting responsible use of natural resources and ecosystem services. Over the past few decades, recycling has become widespread, but monetary and energy expenditures required to transport and transform waste materials have led to downsizing of recycling programs globally and in the U.S. This trend increases the need for effective reducing and reusing practices as alternatives to recycling. Using a survey experiment to examine motivations that underlie reducing and reusing behaviors, individuals reported their current reducing, reusing, and recycling practices. Respondents then were provided with three hypothetical scenarios that described (1) an external waste-management threat to public well-being, (2) social/peer pressure from family and friends towards sustainable decision-making, and (3) increased convenience of reusing and reducing practices. These messages reflect previously identified RRR motivations. After the scenarios, the questions regarding recycling, reducing, and reusing behavior were presented again to test for changes in the responses. All three scenarios were effective in increasing intended reducing and reusing behavior. The threat scenario was slightly more effective than the others, particularly among individuals who reported behavior with considerable recycling practices but not as much reducing and reusing.
Highlights
Introduction iationsPoor waste-management practices and the overproduction and excessive packaging of consumer goods are contributing to global environmental crises, which are escalating rapidly [1,2]
We presented respondents with three hypothetical scenarios that described (1) external environmental threats to public well-being, (2) the influence of social/peer pressure from family and friends to accept more sustainable waste management norms, and (3) increased convenience of reusing and reducing practices
To evaluate the primary question in our study—which external factors are most effective in motivating reducing and reusing behavior—we used a repeated-measures experimental survey design wherein we focused on the responses to just the 10 RRR questions about reducing and reusing behaviors that were answered by respondents before and after reading the scenarios
Summary
Poor waste-management practices and the overproduction and excessive packaging of consumer goods are contributing to global environmental crises, which are escalating rapidly [1,2]. People often cite recycling as the solution to this crisis, but in many communities, recycling alone will not perpetuate sustainable waste management systems. 1860s, with the establishment of the Rittenhouse Mill that recycled linens and other cotton materials [3]. The current household recycling paradigm—single-receptacle curbside collection—emerged in 1995 [4] and has since spread to most metropolitan communities in high-income nations. In theory, recycling is supposed to minimize energy consumption by reusing or re-purposing the materials used in a would-be waste product. Recycling is a mainstream practice in most industrialized nations, substantial changes in Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
