Environmental Information—Explanatory Factors for Information Behavior

Borgstede, Chris von; Andersson, Kristin

doi:10.3390/su2092785

Cited by 28 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 42 publications

(51 reference statements)

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“…The focus in the survey was mainly on the respondents' knowledge about waste separation, and on their motives for, or impediments against, recycling [24].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Uncertainty Regarding Waste Handling in Everyday Life

2010

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According to our study, based on interviews with households in a residential area in Sweden, uncertainty is a cultural barrier to improved recycling. Four causes of uncertainty are identified. Firstly, professional categories not matching cultural categories-people easily discriminate between certain categories (e.g., materials such as plastic and paper) but not between others (e.g., packaging and "non-packaging"). Thus a frequent cause of uncertainty is that the basic categories of the waste recycling system do not coincide with the basic categories used in everyday life. Challenged habits-source separation in everyday life is habitual, but when a habit is challenged, by a particular element or feature of the waste system, uncertainty can arise. Lacking fractions-some kinds of items cannot be left for recycling and this makes waste collection incomplete from the user's point of view and in turn lowers the credibility of the system. Missing or contradictory rules of thumb-the above causes seem to be particularly relevant if no motivating principle or rule of thumb (within the context of use) is successfully conveyed to the user. This paper discusses how reducing uncertainty can improve recycling.

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“…The focus in the survey was mainly on the respondents' knowledge about waste separation, and on their motives for, or impediments against, recycling [24].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Uncertainty Regarding Waste Handling in Everyday Life

2010

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“…This implies, for instance, that policy instruments in the chemicals field may have important positive impacts in this regard. Furthermore, as individual choices and socially constructed and maintained habits determine the potential for achieving sustainable waste management, policy measures promoting individuals, in households as well as in workplaces, to recycle are also needed [16,17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Policy Instruments towards a Sustainable Waste Management

et al. 2013

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Abstract:The aim of this paper is to suggest and discuss policy instruments that could lead towards a more sustainable waste management. The paper is based on evaluations from a large scale multi-disciplinary Swedish research program. The evaluations focus on environmental and economic impacts as well as social acceptance. The focus is on the Swedish waste management system but the results should be relevant also for other countries. Through the assessments and lessons learned during the research program we conclude that several policy instruments can be effective and possible to implement. Particularly, we put forward the following policy instruments: "Information"; "Compulsory recycling of recyclable materials"; "Weight-based waste fee in combination OPEN ACCESSSustainability 2013, 5 842 with information and developed recycling systems"; "Mandatory labeling of products containing hazardous chemicals", "Advertisements on request only and other waste minimization measures"; and "Differentiated VAT and subsidies for some services". Compulsory recycling of recyclable materials is the policy instrument that has the largest potential for decreasing the environmental impacts with the configurations studied here. The effects of the other policy instruments studied may be more limited and they typically need to be implemented in combination in order to have more significant impacts. Furthermore, policy makers need to take into account market and international aspects when implementing new instruments. In the more long term perspective, the above set of policy instruments may also need to be complemented with more transformational policy instruments that can significantly decrease the generation of waste.

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“…How well the EMS is communicated to the staff is included in the third-party revision of an EMS. Since people who are interested in environmental issues are more responsive to environmental information, the degree to which employees are aware of EMS is expected to correlate with the psychological variables related to people's environmental interest [6]. Therefore, it is more relevant to measure employees' awareness of EMS than to compare different psychological variables between organisations with and without EMS.…”

Section: Environmental Management Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of Environmental Management Systems on Source Separation in the Work and Home Settings

2012

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Abstract:Measures that challenge the generation of waste are needed to address the global problem of the increasing volumes of waste that are generated in both private homes and workplaces. Source separation at the workplace is commonly implemented by environmental management systems (EMS). In the present study, the relationship between source separation at work and at home was investigated. A questionnaire that maps psychological and behavioural predictors of source separation was distributed to employees at different workplaces. The results show that respondents with awareness of EMS report higher levels of source separation at work, stronger environmental concern, personal and social norms, and perceive source separation to be less difficult. Furthermore, the results support the notion that after the adoption of EMS at the workplace, source separation at work spills over into source separation in the household. The potential implications for environmental management systems are discussed.

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Environmental Information—Explanatory Factors for Information Behavior

Cited by 28 publications

References 42 publications

Uncertainty Regarding Waste Handling in Everyday Life

Uncertainty Regarding Waste Handling in Everyday Life

Policy Instruments towards a Sustainable Waste Management

The Effects of Environmental Management Systems on Source Separation in the Work and Home Settings

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