2. Factors that affect household recycling: a brief review
The main focus in the empirical literature on household recycling has been how
various recycling programmes and differentiated tariffs affect household recycling
behaviour (Halvorsen 2008). Early studies found that household income and
household size are the most important factors affecting per capita, or household,
quantities of solid waste (Richardson and Haylicek 1978). Research has also
indicated that refuse disposal service conditions (i.e. service frequency and collection
site) and service charges affect household solid waste generation: kerbside
programmes reduce waste generation, while flat fee systems induce households to
generate larger amounts of waste (Wertz 1976). Hong et al. (1993) examined the role
of price incentives and other socio-economic factors in household recycling for the
city of Portland in Oregon (USA). They showed that increases in disposal fees
encouraged recycling, although demand for solid waste collection services was not
reduced substantially. Furthermore, household participation regarding kerbside
recycling increased as the educational level rose while it decreased as the value of
time increased. Fullerton and Kinnaman (1996) examined the consequences for
household decisions of the implementation of volume-based pricing programmes
that required households to pay for each bag or can of refuse. Individual household
data for Charlottesville in Virginia (USA) were employed to estimate the effect of
such a programme on the weight of refuse, the number of containers, the weight per
can and the amount of recycling. Findings showed that, in response to pricing,
households sometimes reduced the volume (number of bags) but not the weight.
Callan and Thomas (1997) used aggregate municipality data from Massachusetts
Department of Environmental Protection to show that unit pricing stimulated a
community’s recycling effort, and this effect was greater if used in combination with
kerbside recycling services.