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Uncertainty Regarding Waste Handling in Everyday Life

Author

Listed:
  • Greger Henriksson

    (Department of Urban Planning and Environment, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Drottning Kristinas väg 30, SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden)

  • Lynn Åkesson

    (Department of Cultural Sciences, Lund University, P.O. Box 117, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden)

  • Susanne Ewert

    (Department of Cultural Sciences, Lund University, P.O. Box 117, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden)

Abstract

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Greger Henriksson & Lynn Åkesson & Susanne Ewert, 2010. "Uncertainty Regarding Waste Handling in Everyday Life," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 2(9), pages 1-15, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:2:y:2010:i:9:p:2799-2813:d:9492
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Babak Nemat & Mohammad Razzaghi & Kim Bolton & Kamran Rousta, 2023. "Design-Based Approach to Support Sorting Behavior of Food Packaging," Clean Technol., MDPI, vol. 5(1), pages 1-32, February.
    2. Göran Finnveden & Tomas Ekvall & Yevgeniya Arushanyan & Mattias Bisaillon & Greger Henriksson & Ulrika Gunnarsson Östling & Maria Ljunggren Söderman & Jenny Sahlin & Åsa Stenmarck & Johan Sundberg & J, 2013. "Policy Instruments towards a Sustainable Waste Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(3), pages 1-41, February.
    3. Helén Williams & Fredrik Wikström & Katarina Wetter-Edman & Per Kristensson, 2018. "Decisions on Recycling or Waste: How Packaging Functions Affect the Fate of Used Packaging in Selected Swedish Households," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-19, December.
    4. Kamran Rousta & Karin M. Ekström, 2013. "Assessing Incorrect Household Waste Sorting in a Medium-Sized Swedish City," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(10), pages 1-13, October.
    5. Tobias D. Nielsen & Jacob Hasselbalch & Karl Holmberg & Johannes Stripple, 2020. "Politics and the plastic crisis: A review throughout the plastic life cycle," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(1), January.
    6. Xiaohong Jiang & Mingyu Dong & Yuewei He & Jiayi Shen & Wenqi Jing & Nan Yang & Xiucheng Guo, 2020. "Research on the Design of and Preference for Collection Modes of Reusable Takeaway Containers to Promote Sustainable Consumption," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-18, July.
    7. Jui-Che Tu & Ting-Yun Lo & Yi-Jing Sie & Tsai-Feng Kao, 2021. "Key Factors for Involvement Degree and Perceived Value in Consumers’ Purchase Intention in Unpacked Stores," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-16, November.
    8. Babak Nemat & Mohammad Razzaghi & Kim Bolton & Kamran Rousta, 2020. "The Potential of Food Packaging Attributes to Influence Consumers’ Decisions to Sort Waste," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-22, March.
    9. Babak Nemat & Mohammad Razzaghi & Kim Bolton & Kamran Rousta, 2019. "The Role of Food Packaging Design in Consumer Recycling Behavior—A Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-23, August.
    10. García-Granero, Eva M. & Piedra-Muñoz, Laura & Galdeano-Gómez, Emilio, 2018. "Eco-innovation measurement: A review of firm performance indicators," MPRA Paper 119905, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Qi Zhang & Hongyang Li & Xin Wan & Martin Skitmore & Hailin Sun, 2020. "An Intelligent Waste Removal System for Smarter Communities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-27, August.

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