Some Psychological Aspects of Recycling

Abstract

This article focuses on satisfactions derived from the recycling of household solid waste materials. Data from 107 respondents to a mail-back questionnaire were subjected to dimensional analysis and analysis of variance. The results indicatethat people derive a series of separate and distinct satisfactions from both recycling and reusing materials. The satisfactions were quite specific, involving, for example, frugality and participation. These findings suggest that our understanding of why people bother to conserve resources may be improved by investigating the personal satisfactions derived from conservation activities.