South African recycling attitudes reconfirmed by research

A recent study by BMi Research Consumer Division to test if consumer attitudes towards recycling had changed much showed that consumers at the higher end of the market still recycle out of obligation and those at the bottom end still do it for the financial rewards. It remains obvious that more recycling initiatives and consumer education is needed to make it second nature.

Leanne Freeman: "Negative attitudes can be converted to positive contributions with more education and accessibility to collection points for waste."

Recycling where waste is reprocessed, reused or recovered to protect resources and reduce landfills, needs government involvement, however all consumers should try and participate in the reduction of waste by recycling. This remains a challenge as there are no formalised systems in place in South Africa to force consumers to recycle or separate waste.

This explorative study, that used qualitative and quantitative methods, was done on a small sample to check if consumer attitudes, behaviour and concerns about recycling have changed, says Leanne Freeman of BMi Research Consumer Division. It also explored the drivers and barriers towards recycling, tested the understanding of consumers about waste management and household recycling behaviours, categorised consumer perceptions about waste and recycling and explored ideologies about recycling.

For more on this study, click here.