| A mail survey was conducted of 1,758 randomly selected customers of City of Austin Solid Waste Services Customers to understand their influences and motivations for participating in the city's curbside recycling program. This study was unique because Austin's curbside recycling program is mature, having been in existence for 19 years, and most other curbside recycling participation research looked at programs in existence for one year or less.; The survey included 69 questions in six broad categories of inquiry. The categories included: beliefs about recycling and the environment, influences on recycling behavior, the level of curbside recycling participation, the level of participation in other recycling activities, the role information plays in influencing recycling participation, and the demographics of respondents.; The study indicated that in a mature program, household size, friends' and neighbors' recycling behavior, and income did not have any relationship to curbside recycling participation. There was, however, a strong correlation between curbside participation and the belief that recycling reduces the amount of material sent to landfill. The next strongest relationship was between curbside participation and the belief that recycling improves the community. Another influential factor was the belief that recycling improves environmental quality. Information about how and why to recycle also proved significant. The belief that recycling extends natural resources was significant, too. The belief of respondents that their actions made a difference was significant, as was the influence of children. Home ownership was significant, but to a slightly lesser degree. |
