Exploring the relationship between municipal promotion and education investments and recycling rate performance in Ontario, Canada

Abstract This study examines the effects of municipal promotion and education (P&E) investments on the recycling rates of recyclables found in Ontario's residential waste stream. Using panel data collected from 223 Ontario municipalities between 2003 and 2012, this study examines whether investments in recycling P&E lead to an increase in household recycling. Investments in recycling promotion and education have been characterized as a policy best practice and is promoted as one of the primary drivers of resource conservation and sustainability in Ontario. Focus is placed on analyzing: (a) the relationship between P&E expenditures and recycling rates in the province, (b) the relationship between municipal recycling rates and P&E investments at different funding levels and (c) the impact of locality on promotion and education efficacy. The results of the statistical regressions indicate that investments in recycling P&E do not increase municipal recycling rates, necessitating a re-evaluation of existing policy and management practices.

[1]  Michael J. Podolsky,et al.  Municipal Waste Disposal: Unit Pricing and Recycling Opportunities , 1998 .

[2]  Adam D. Read.  Making waste work: making UK national solid waste strategy work at the local scale , 1999 .

[3]  Heesup Han,et al.  Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior to green hotel choice: Testing the effect of environmental friendly activities , 2010 .

[4]  Seonghoon Hong,et al.  The effects of unit pricing system upon household solid waste management: The Korean experience , 1999 .

[5]  Patrik Söderholm,et al.  An econometric analysis of regional differences in household waste collection: the case of plastic packaging waste in Sweden. , 2008, Waste management.

[6]  Stuart Oskamp,et al.  Who recycles and when? A review of personal and situational factors , 1995 .

[7]  Margaret A. Reams,et al.  The Effects of Three Prompting Methods on Recycling Participation Rates: A Field Study , 1992 .

[8]  Deborah A. Simmons,et al.  Motivations and Barriers to Recycling: Toward a Strategy for Public Education , 1990 .

[9]  J. Thøgersen,et al.  Activation of social norms in social dilemmas: A review of the evidence and reflections on the implications for environmental behaviour , 2007 .

[10]  Adam D. Read,et al.  Local Authority recycling and waste - awareness publicity/promotion , 2001 .

[11]  Paula Vicente,et al.  Factors influencing households' participation in recycling , 2008, Waste management & research : the journal of the International Solid Wastes and Public Cleansing Association, ISWA.

[12]  Corine Hoeben,et al.  Effects of Unit-Based Garbage Pricing: A Differences-in-Differences Approach , 2010 .

[13]  Paul S Phillips,et al.  Effective implementation of a marketing communications strategy for kerbside recycling: a case study from Rushcliffe, UK , 2004 .

[14]  Vijaya G. Duggal,et al.  Income and the recycling effort: a maximization problem , 1993 .

[15]  Tanya Domina,et al.  Convenience and Frequency of Recycling , 2002 .

[16]  Robin R. Jenkins,et al.  The Determinants of Household Recycling: A Material Specific Analysis of Recycling Program Features and Unit Pricing , 2003 .

[17]  Clark C. Presson,et al.  Parental Smoking and the “Epidemic” Spread of Cigarette Smoking1 , 1996 .

[18]  Peter Tucker,et al.  Normative Influences in Household Waste Recycling , 1999 .

[19]  A. Kollmuss,et al.  Mind the Gap: Why do people act environmentally and what are the barriers to pro-environmental behavior? , 2002 .

[20]  Stuart Oskamp,et al.  Factors Influencing Household Recycling Behavior , 1991 .

[21]  Luc G. Pelletier,et al.  Why Are You Doing Things for the Environment? The Motivation Toward the Environment Scale (MTES)1 , 1998 .

[22]  Shaufique Fahmi Sidique,et al.  The effects of behavior and attitudes on drop-off recycling activities , 2010 .

[23]  Adam D. Read,et al.  “A weekly doorstep recycling collection, I had no idea we could!”: Overcoming the local barriers to participation , 1999 .

[24]  Małgorzata Grodzińska-Jurczak,et al.  Increasing participation in rational municipal waste management*/a case study analysis in Jaslo City (Poland) , 2003 .

[25]  Thomas C. Kinnaman,et al.  Household Responses to Pricing Garbage by the Bag , 1994 .

[26]  Thomas C. Kinnaman,et al.  Garbage and Recycling with Endogenous Local Policy , 2000 .

[27]  Shaufique Fahmi Sidique,et al.  Factors influencing the rate of recycling: An analysis of Minnesota counties , 2010 .

[28]  David Uzzell,et al.  Attitudes, norms, identity and environmental behaviour: using an expanded theory of planned behaviour to predict participation in a kerbside recycling programme. , 2010, The British journal of social psychology.

[29]  Rob Ball,et al.  Public participation in plastics recycling schemes , 1998 .

[30]  Robert Innes,et al.  Economic Incentives and Residential Waste Management in Taiwan: An Empirical Investigation , 2007 .

[31]  Scott J. Callan,et al.  Analyzing Demand For Disposal And Recycling Services: A Systems Approach , 2006 .