Students' Values, Place Attachment Tied to Recycling Used Batteries

Researchers studying what motivates people to adopt pro-environmental behaviors have developed and refined many models to explain what motivates people to engage in behaviors that help the environment. While we once thought simply learning about an issue might lead to a change in attitudes, which in turn led to action, we now know that, in fact, behavior is more complex. Many factors play a role in influencing most behaviors.

This research investigated the role of several different factors in motivating a pro-environmental behavior: socio-demographics, environmental knowledge, perceived behavioral control, attitudes toward recycling, neighborhood attachment, and pro-environmental values. The study focused on the recycling behavior of 107 teenage students in a French school that instituted a program in which students could bring used batteries to the school for recycling.

The author administered a short survey collecting information about the students' socio-demographics and values. A week later, the students received a lesson in their sustainable development class about the effect of waste on the environment, which included information about the problems associated with throwing away batteries. The following week, the researcher administered another survey that measured students' reported recycling behavior, perceived behavioral control, environmental knowledge, neighborhood attachment, and attitudes toward recycling batteries. When the students completed this survey, they were informed of the new program at the school through which they could bring in used batteries for recycling. The students were then asked to indicate on their survey form whether they intended to participate in the program. For the following four months, the researcher tracked the students' recycling behavior by monitoring the students' participation in the program.

During the study period, nearly three-quarters of the students (73%) used the battery recycling program; the remainder (27%) threw away their batteries. This level of use is good, but it should be noted that 28% of the students already were recycling their batteries through other outlets, which means that 55% of the students (those who were already recycling plus those who continued to throw away batteries) showed no change in their recycling behavior.

In terms of the variables that affected recycling behavior, two values--”self-transcendence” and “openness to change”--correlated with recycling behavior. The researcher also found a positive connection between neighborhood attachment, perceived control, and attitude toward battery recycling and recycling behavior.

But socio-demographic variables such as the students' age, gender, or parents' profession were not correlated with recycling behavior. Similarly, self-enhancement values, which normally are associated with not performing pro-environmental behavior, did not have an effect on the reported recycling behavior of these students. (The author notes that it's possible that this reflects a problem with the questions used to measure self-enhancement values instead of a challenge to the findings of previous research. The questions used in this study were originally developed for adults, and may not have resonated with teens.)