This study investigated the changes in waste reduction behavior in East Harlem, New York, before and after an educational outreach program. Using focus groups and survey data, the attitudinal and behavioral characteristics of residents were monitored across the two periods. The results showed improvements in the total daily recyclables collected, from 8.7 tons in April 1993 to 11.4 tons in April 1994. There were widespread variations in environmental behavior among residents in the private and public housing units. Specifically, waste recovery rates observed in the public housing units were restricted by structural constraints in the buildings, lack of resources, and relatively poor access to the drop-off sites. The age of the residents, apartment ownership, and household size were also among the important predictors of behavior. These findings provide important implications for developing and maintaining successful recovery and reduction programs in communities with similar demographic profiles.
This study examines the spatial distribution and impact of nonroutine accidental releases of hazardous materials relative to the demographic composition of residents in nearby communities. First, atmospheric dispersion modeling methods are used to delineate the impact zones of worst-case accidents in two New York counties over the last ten years. Next, using accidental reports for 1997, GIS and statistical operations are used at the census tract level of the two counties to determine whether these incidents disproportionately affected disadvantaged neighborhoods. The results suggest that the areas of high-impact from accidental releases of hazardous materials are best characterized by a large proportion of families below the poverty line, Hispanics, and other minorities.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.