University community responses to on-campus resource recycling

In order to gain a better understanding of the attitudes and behaviour of a campus community toward a university concourse-based recycling scheme, a survey of 1400 students and staff, at Massey University, New Zealand was conducted. A written questionnaire focused on how recycling participation and source separation performance might be improved, and on general attitudes within the university community toward recycling. The recycling scheme was generally well supported, with predominantly positive recycling attitudes and self-reported recycling behaviour indicated for both students and staff. The major suggested improvement to the concourse system was to have better signage in more appropriate places, and there was strong support for extension of the recycling scheme across the wider campus. Significant relationships were found between self-reported recycling behaviour and attitudes toward recycling, self-reported recycling behaviour and campus occupation (student, postgraduate student, academic staff, or general staff) and self-reported recycling behaviour and place of work.