Recycling Survey: An Analysis Of Recycling

Attitudes And Behaviours At Home And School

Subject Area

This activity is designed for use in the Grade 12 Geography, Environmental Studies, and the Grade 11/12 Society programs.

Subject Application

This activity can be taught after an introduction to the nature and problems of urban waste management have been covered. It should be taught as a method of measuring the impact of household and school recycling on the waste management problem. As part of the Environmental Studies program, the exercise will explore urban waste management problems, strategies to manage waste, the effectiveness of these strategies, and to develop or evaluate proposals to improve waste management. As part of a Society program, this exercise could be used to explore the attitudes and behaviours of people in regard to waste management, and which factors influence their actions.

Learning Outcomes

Teaching, learning and evaluation will focus on the student’s ability to:

• Use a survey to collect data on individual and group waste management attitudes and behaviours;
• Identify, analyze and explain factors which influence individual waste management and recycling behaviour;
• Develop strategies, based on survey data analysis, to encourage environmentally-sound recycling and waste management behaviour.
  

Classroom Development

Note: If your school does not have a Blue Box and/or paper recycling program you will need to adapt this survey to suit your needs.

1. Prior to this exercise, students should be given enough information so that they are able to begin to develop a basic understanding of urban waste management operations, composition of the waste stream, waste disposal issues and concerns, and local recycling operations. Also, they should understand something of the composition of the recycling stream, impact of recycling on waste reduction, obstacles to recycling, and potential solutions to waste management and recycling problems.
2. Direct students to collect data using the Recycling Survey (see Student Materials), or design their own a survey instrument using the Recycling Survey as a model. If a shorter survey is preferred, students can choose items from the model reflecting the factor categories. Note: Some of the survey questions are distractors and, therefore; are not included in the data analysis.
3. Each student is responsible for interviewing 3 people from the student population of your school. Students should record the data from all 3 people on one copy of the survey to save paper.
4. When the students have completed their surveys, assign each of the 5 groups, as indicated below. Each group will measure, analyze, and explain an Attitude-Behaviour Factor as identified by the Group Number. The questions assigned to each group for analysis reflect the group’s Attitude-Behavior Factor. Each group should determine how the question reflects the Attitude-Behaviour Factor and explain the role it may play in recycling behaviour as indicated by the data collected. Each group will also analyze the demographic data (Questions 1-5) and use that information to assist their analysis.
   

   Group 1: Awareness Of Municipal and School Recycling
   Questions: 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 29, 44, and 49.
   
   Group 2: General Feelings About Recycling
   Questions: 10, 13, 17, 25, 26, 41, 47, 48, and 55.
   
   Group 3: Specific Attitudes and Behaviours About Recycling
   Questions: 10, 13, 17, 21, 25, 26, 30, 38, 39, 45, 46, 47, and 51.
   
   Group 4: Reasons For The Attitudes and Behaviours
   Questions: 15, 23, 24, 25, 31, 33, 34, 36, 38, 42, 45, 52, 53, and 54.
   
   Group 5: Strength Of Views
   Questions: 28, 30, 32, 35, 38, 40, 43, and 45.

5. Assign each group 1/5 of the total surveys collected. Each group will develop a summary of their data, complete with analysis and explanation of its findings. You may choose to have students work with the raw data and graph results either manually or with a spreadsheet program. Another option would be to analyze the data with simple descriptive statistics.
6. In discussion, the class should then summarize the data to explain the following factors:
   a) Level of recycling awareness (home and school);
   b) General feelings about recycling;
   c) Specific attitudes and behaviours about recycling;
   d) Reasons for attitudes and behaviours;
   e) Strength of views.
7. The class should then develop an education-action plan to increase awareness and participation in recycling programs at home and in the school (e.g. posters, skits, displays, announcements, letters/notices to homes).
   

Background Information

Chapter 25: “Solid Waste,” in The State of Canada’s Environment (1991), provides an excellent overview of the current state of waste management, composition of the waste stream, current disposal practices and new directions in waste management. An excellent guide to waste reduction and recycling is Beyond The Blue Box: Your Guide To Waste Reduction And Recycling In Metropolitan Toronto. The Canadian Green Consumer Guide also provides useful information on waste management issues and waste reduction options.

Timing

If students are developing their own survey instrument, allow one to two periods (50 min period) to accomplish this. One period will be required to tabulate, analyze and explain the data. One to two periods should be allocated to a discussion of the survey results and to develop education-action plans.

Resources

Environment Canada. The State Of Canada’s Environment (1991). Ottawa: Environment Canada, 1991.

Metropolitan Toronto Works Department. Beyond The Blue Box (2nd Edition). Toronto: Metro Toronto Works Department, 1992.

Pollution Probe. Canadian Green Consumer Guide. Toronto: McClelland, 1991.

Cross-disciplinary Links

Family Studies programs may choose to use this exercise to investigate factors which influence household recycling behaviour. This activity could be utilized in Mathematics and/or Computer Science as an exercise in statistical analysis. English programs may contribute to this activity if students are developing their own questions or if students are developing educational literature to promote recycling and waste management. Arts programs could assist in the development of posters or drama skits, if required. Business classes may be able to participate in this activity by using their skills with spreadsheets and databases to help organize the data

Sample

This survey is being conducted to collect information about household and school recycling. It is being conducted by students from your school as part of their Environmental Studies program. It is extremely important that you are honest with your responses so that the information collected will be accurate. Participation is voluntary. All responses and identities are confidential. Thank you for your cooperation and participation in this survey.

Instructions:
Please circle the most appropriate response for each question.

1. What is your age? 13-14, 15-16, 17-18, 19-20, 20+.

2. What is your sex? Male, Female.

3. What grade are you in? 9, 10, 11, 12, OAC.

4 How many people live in your household? 1, 2, 3, 4, More than 4.

5. What type of building do you live in? House, Condominium/Townhouse, Apartment Building.

6. Your municipality has a recycling program. Agree, Disagree, Don’t Know.

7. The Blue Box is for recycling. Agree, Disagree, Don’t Know.

8. Your Board of Education has a recycling program. Agree, Disagree, Don’t Know.

9. Your school has a recycling program. Agree, Disagree, Don’t Know.

10. Your municipality needs to reduce the amount of garbage it produces. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

11. The Blue Jays are a good baseball team. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

12. Local landfill sites are almost full. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

13. You think recycling is important. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

14. Recycling reduces the amount of garbage produced. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

15. You recycle because your family recycles. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

16. Your home or building has a Blue Box. Agree, Disagree, Don’t Know.

17. You don’t worry about the future of the environment. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

18. All types of garbage can be recycled at present. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

19. You love music more than sports. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

20. Blue Boxes in your school are for collecting cans, bottles, some plastics, and newspapers. Agree, Disagree, Don’t Know.

21. You never recycle at home. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

22. You like the area you live in. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

23. You recycle because your friends recycle. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

24. You don’t recycle at school because teachers and staff don’t recycle. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know .

25. Recycling won’t significantly reduce the amount the garbage produced at your school. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

26. You think it is important to help protect the environment. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

27. Geography is your favorite subject. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

28. You sometimes use the Blue Box at home. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

29. There are paper recycling bins in your school. Agree, Disagree, Don’t Know.

30. You throw garbage in the recycling bins at school. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

31. You don’t recycle because your family doesn’t recycle. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

32. You always use paper recycling bins at your school. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

33. You don’t recycle because you don’t know what types of things can be recycled. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

34. You recycle at school because the teachers and staff recycle. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

35. You sometimes use the Blue Boxes at your school. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

36. You don’t think you can do anything to help the environment. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

37. You think your school is a good school. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

38. You recycle when with your friends, but not by yourself. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

39. You always use the Blue Box at home. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

40. You sometimes use the paper recycling bins at your school. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

41. It bothers you when people don’t recycle. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

42. You recycle because you worry about the future of the environment. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

43. You put recyclable items, from other peoples garbage, in recycling bins. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know .

44. Paper recycling bins at your school can also be used for cans, bottles and other recyclable items. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

45. You recycle when by yourself, but not when you are with your friends. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

46. You always use the Blue Boxes at your school. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

47. You think you can do something to help the environment. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

48. It bothers you to see garbage in the recycling bins. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

49. Blue Boxes at your school are for collecting fine paper for recycling. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

50. You don’t like school. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

51. You never recycle at your school. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

52. You don’t recycle because your friends don’t recycle. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

53. You don’t recycle because it’s too much trouble. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

54. You recycle because other students at your school recycle. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.

55. Recycling is not important. Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Disagree Strongly, Don’t Know.