Barriers and benefits to recycling

Barriers can be different depending on your community. Some areas may have curbside collection for every residence, while others may have only drop-off centers. But no matter how people recycle, multiple strategies and channels exist to promote recycling in any community. Here are some common barriers for recycling participation:

• Convenience: "Recycling is not available at my home/apartment/dorm." Established habits: "I can't remember to recycle."
• Beliefs: "Recycling is not important."
• Time: "Recycling takes too much time."
• Misinformation: "Recycling gets thrown in the trash."

Before starting any program, project or marketing campaign you should identify the barriers and benefits that your clients have about your topic. This is often thought of as "knowing your audience." You wouldn't conduct the same activity with a third grader that you would with a college student because the same things do not motivate both groups. You can target the early adapters or low hanging fruit but to really tip the program or project it will be necessary to do more.

During your project there will be two distinct sets of benefits which will entice individuals to take action. Real benefits such as money, time and health and perceived benefits including "to fit in," "it's expected of me," and "I will get rewarded." These reward systems can be used concurrently or separately. Using both methods at the same time will help the program realize its most significant potential.

Additionally, it is necessary to be aware of the barriers that may prevent the project from realizing its desired potential. Real and perceived barriers can include: physical, economic, education and social barriers. It is not always easy to overcome these barriers but a well-thought-out and organized project will be able to move beyond these noted boundaries. Assessing these concerns with your constituents will help you figure out which barriers are real.

When identifying barriers, think about what can be attributed to the individual, such as a lack of knowledge to carry out the behavior. Also consider those barriers attributed to the external world, such as having to take recyclables to a drop-off location. Details on how to identify and overcome barriers are shown below.

How do I find out more about barriers?

The authors of Fostering Sustainable Behavior recommend conducting literature reviews, focus groups, observational studies and surveys or polls to learn more about your audience and how best to communicate with them.

The four most common reasons for skipping barrier identification include:

• The belief that the barriers are already known,
• Time pressures,
• Financial constraints, and
• Management that doesn't support the research.

It is important to not let these barriers stop you from doing some research. In the end it will save you a considerable amount of time. Research doesn't have to cost a ton of money either – there are many inexpensive methods you can use to get the results you are looking for.

Try some of these methods below and learn from others.

1. Literature Reviews

• Utilizing literature reviews from within your research topic allows for information to be obtained inexpensively. The purpose of a literature review is for an individual to search a specific topic and determine what research has already been conducted on the noted issue. Initially it is important to concretely discern what topic you will be investigating because this will enable you to effectively navigate the information.
• Samples of existing literature regarding recycling barriers –
  • Georgia Recycling Survey and Focus Groups 2008
  • South Carolina Recycling Survey 2007
  • Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation Survey 2007
  • Waste & Resources Action Programme Survey 2007
  • Other survey results can be found here

2. Surveys

• Conducting surveys is a good method to learn about your constituents if dealing with a large population. Be sure to think about the audience you are trying to reach and find an appropriate method to ensure the greatest participation. Consider creating an online survey and putting the survey link in your community newsletter (although only interested parties will answer the survey).
• Samples of survey questions –
  • Use of New Media broken link
  • Recycle Guys Demographic Survey
• Samples of local government and state agency survey results –
  • Brunswick County
  • Baseball Games
• Newspaper articles about local government recycling surveys –
  • Mooresville
  • Orange County

3. Focus Groups

• Conducting a focus group is a quick, easy and low-cost opportunity to gather valuable information. First, think of your target audience. Who are you trying to influence? Members of your focus group should come from this target demographic. The focus group should include six to 10 people who are unknown to each other before entering the session and the session should last between one and a half to two hours. The purpose is to get as many different viewpoints as possible, yet have a small enough group that everyone has a chance to share their opinion.
• Samples of local governments that have conducted focus groups –
  • City of Raleigh Focus Group Overview 2007
    • City of Raleigh Focus Group Invite
    • City of Raleigh Focus Group Agenda
  • Wake County Business Recycling Focus Group Report 2006

4. Personal Interviews

• Talking with people one-on-one allows you to get a true sense of how they feel. This method can be effective when trying to understand someone's full opinion, as opposed to a focus group where everyone may not have the chance to explain all aspects of their viewpoint. However, the need for extra personnel makes this method costly and time-consuming, so it is best used for specific groups that are otherwise hard to pinpoint. Consider pursuing one-on-one interviews in a neighborhood with low recycling participation in its curbside program.
• Information on how to conduct an interview.

How do we overcome the barriers?

Successful environmental programs eliminate barriers AND increase the benefits of a behavior. To do this: You must determine the behavior you want to promote – recycling, green buying, composting, etc. You should also consider the target audience – apartment dwellers, college-age males or a specific subdivision. Finally, consider the conditions an individual will face when trying to adopt the behavior. By getting into the mind of the individual, you can better understand why they do not already engage in the behavior.