Demographic Covariates of Residential Recycling Efficiency

Abstract

To obtain information on recycling behavior for selected populations, demographic data and measurements of materials in trash containers and recycling bins were collected from a random sample of 87 residences in Athens-Clarke County, Georgia. The recycling efficiency (RE) for each household had a mean of 45% and exhibited a bimodal distribution characterized by 1 group of households with near-zero RE and a second group with RE from 75% to 100%. Annual household income, home-ownership status, and level of education attained by the lead recycler were significantly associated with RE. The results of this study indicate that greater participation in recycling programs among low socioeconomic status households in this population may yield greater increases in waste reduction than enhanced RE of current participants. Additional research is required to evaluate the degree to which these findings can be generalized to other communities.

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