IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/recore/v79y2013icp11-20.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Understanding the normalisation of recycling behaviour and its implications for other pro-environmental behaviours: A review of social norms and recycling

Author

Listed:
  • Thomas, Christine
  • Sharp, Veronica

Abstract

This paper examines our understanding of recycling behaviour in the context of its increasing normalisation in the UK. It reflects on the recent history of dry recycling (i.e. recycling of ‘dry’ materials such as paper, glass, plastics and cans) and asks the question as to what influence policy drivers and the increased provision of facilities for recycling have had on people's behaviour. In reviewing the evidence for recycling being considered a norm, this paper explores what influence norms, habit and identities have on recycling behaviour.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas, Christine & Sharp, Veronica, 2013. "Understanding the normalisation of recycling behaviour and its implications for other pro-environmental behaviours: A review of social norms and recycling," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 11-20.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:recore:v:79:y:2013:i:c:p:11-20
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2013.04.010
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344913000979
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.resconrec.2013.04.010?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pettifor, Hazel, 2012. "Patterns of household practice: an examination into the relationship between housework and waste separation for households in the United Kingdom," ISER Working Paper Series 2012-14, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    2. Martin, M. & Williams, I.D. & Clark, M., 2006. "Social, cultural and structural influences on household waste recycling: A case study," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 48(4), pages 357-395.
    3. Ajzen, Icek, 1991. "The theory of planned behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 179-211, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lizin, Sebastien & Van Dael, Miet & Van Passel, Steven, 2017. "Battery pack recycling: Behaviour change interventions derived from an integrative theory of planned behaviour study," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 66-82.
    2. Waite, Steve & Cox, Paul & Tudor, Terry, 2015. "Strategies for local authorities to achieve the EU 2020 50% recycling, reuse and composting target: A case study of England," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 105(PA), pages 18-28.
    3. Xuan Thi Dan Huynh & Tien Dung Khong & Adam Loch & Huynh Viet Khai, 2023. "Solid waste management program in developing countries: contingent valuation methodology versus choice experiment," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(11), pages 12395-12417, November.
    4. Alattar, Manar & DeLaney, James & Morse, Jennifer & Nielsen-Pincus, Max, 2020. "Food Waste Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behavioral Intentions among University Students," Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, Center for Transformative Action, Cornell University, vol. 9(3).
    5. de Boer, Joop & Aiking, Harry, 2021. "Climate change and species decline: Distinct sources of European consumer concern supporting more sustainable diets," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    6. Congiu, Luca & Botta, Enrico & Zoli, Mariangela, 2025. "Biases and nudges in the circular economy: A review," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 233(C).
    7. Lu, Hui & Liu, Xia & Chen, Hong & Long, Ruyin & Yue, Ting, 2017. "Who contributed to “corporation green” in China? A view of public- and private-sphere pro-environmental behavior among employees," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 166-175.
    8. Eppel, Sara & Sharp, Veronica & Davies, Lee, 2013. "A review of Defra's approach to building an evidence base for influencing sustainable behaviour," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 30-42.
    9. Ganglmair-Wooliscroft, Alexandra & Wooliscroft, Ben, 2022. "An investigation of sustainable consumption behavior systems – Exploring personal and socio-structural characteristics in different national contexts," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 161-173.
    10. Botetzagias, Iosif & Dima, Andora-Fani & Malesios, Chrisovaladis, 2015. "Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior in the context of recycling: The role of moral norms and of demographic predictors," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 58-67.
    11. Baxter, John & Gram-Hanssen, Irmelin, 2016. "Environmental message framing: Enhancing consumer recycling of mobile phones," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 96-101.
    12. 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.
    13. Willman, Kenneth W., 2015. "Information sharing and curbside recycling: A pilot study to evaluate the value of door-to-door distribution of informational literature," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 104(PA), pages 162-171.
    14. Elena Borasino & Hanna Fuhrmann-Riebel, 2022. "New Kids on the Recycling Block: the Role of Supermarkets and Bodegas for Sustainable Consumer Behaviour in Lima," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 2(3), pages 857-881, September.
    15. Jing Li & Rui Jiang & Xueyu Tang, 2024. "Assessing psychological factors on farmers' intention to apply organic manure: an application of extended theory of planned behavior," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(1), pages 2467-2491, January.
    16. Khalil, Mary & Northey, Gavin & Septianto, Felix & Lang, Bodo, 2022. "Hopefully that’s not wasted! The role of hope for reducing food waste," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 59-70.
    17. Du, Limin & Guo, Jin & Wei, Chu, 2017. "Impact of information feedback on residential electricity demand in China," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 324-334.
    18. Dr. Rana Muhammad Shahid Yaqub & Syed Farhan Gillani & Wajid Hussain & Sajjad Ahmad, 2023. "Impact of Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility on Pro-Environmental Behavior in Hospitality Industry: Mediating Role of Green Mindfulness," Journal of Policy Research (JPR), Research Foundation for Humanity (RFH), vol. 9(3), pages 25-35, September.
    19. Moh, YiingChiee & -->Abd Manaf, Latifah, 2017. "Solid waste management transformation and future challenges of source separation and recycling practice in Malaysia," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 1-14.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Botetzagias, Iosif & Dima, Andora-Fani & Malesios, Chrisovaladis, 2015. "Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior in the context of recycling: The role of moral norms and of demographic predictors," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 58-67.
    2. Lin Shen & Hongyun Si & Lei Yu & Haolun Si, 2019. "Factors Influencing Young People’s Intention toward Municipal Solid Waste Sorting," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-19, May.
    3. Arı, Erkan & Yılmaz, Veysel, 2016. "A proposed structural model for housewives' recycling behavior: A case study from Turkey," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 132-142.
    4. Prestin, Abby & Pearce, Katy E., 2010. "We care a lot: Formative research for a social marketing campaign to promote school-based recycling," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 54(11), pages 1017-1026.
    5. Martinho, Graça & Pires, Ana & Portela, Gonçalo & Fonseca, Miguel, 2015. "Factors affecting consumers’ choices concerning sustainable packaging during product purchase and recycling," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 58-68.
    6. Anna Scott & Caroline Oates & William Young, 2015. "A Conceptual Framework of the Adoption and Practice of Environmental Actions in Households," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(5), pages 1-26, May.
    7. Maria Andersson & Ola Eriksson & Chris Von Borgstede, 2012. "The Effects of Environmental Management Systems on Source Separation in the Work and Home Settings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 4(6), pages 1-17, June.
    8. Tran Huy Phuong & Thanh Trung Hieu, 2015. "Predictors of Entrepreneurial Intentions of Undergraduate Students in Vietnam: An Empirical Study," International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 5(8), pages 46-55, August.
    9. Peng Cheng & Zhe Ouyang & Yang Liu, 0. "The effect of information overload on the intention of consumers to adopt electric vehicles," Transportation, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-20.
    10. Alsalem, Amani & Fry, Marie-Louise & Thaichon, Park, 2020. "To donate or to waste it: Understanding posthumous organ donation attitude," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 87-97.
    11. Zhang, Kai & Cheng, Xiaoting, 2025. "Determinants of consumers’ intentions to use smart home devices from the perspective of perceived value: A mixed SEM, NCA, and fsQCA study," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    12. Mohammed Akhmaaj, Asmaeil Ali & Sharif, Mohamed Omar, 2024. "The effects of planned behavior model constructs and technology acceptance model constructs on online purchasing behavior: An empirical study on internet users in the Libya city of Tripoli," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    13. Benoît Lécureux & Adrien Bonnet & Ouassim Manout & Jaâfar Berrada & Louafi Bouzouina, 2022. "Acceptance of Shared Autonomous Vehicles: A Literature Review of stated choice experiments," Working Papers hal-03814947, HAL.
    14. Kristin Thomas & Evalill Nilsson & Karin Festin & Pontus Henriksson & Mats Lowén & Marie Löf & Margareta Kristenson, 2020. "Associations of Psychosocial Factors with Multiple Health Behaviors: A Population-Based Study of Middle-Aged Men and Women," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-17, February.
    15. Kamruzzaman, Md. & Baker, Douglas & Washington, Simon & Turrell, Gavin, 2013. "Residential dissonance and mode choice," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 12-28.
    16. Ficko, Andrej & Boncina, Andrej, 2013. "Probabilistic typology of management decision making in private forest properties," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 34-43.
    17. Muhammad Shahid Qureshi & Saadat Saeed & Syed Waleed Mehmood Wasti, 2016. "Erratum to: The impact of various entrepreneurial interventions during the business plan competition on the entrepreneur identity aspirations of participants," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 6(1), pages 1-1, December.
    18. Julie Bayle-Cordier & Loïc Berger & Rayan Elatmani & Massimo Tavoni, 2023. "Breath, Love, Walk? The Impact of Mindfulness Interventions on Climate Policy Support and Environmental Attitudes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-29, July.
    19. Szu‐Szu Ho & Rosie Stenhouse & Aisha Holloway, 2020. "Understanding HIV‐positive drug users’ experiences of taking highly active antiretroviral treatment: Identity–Values–Conscious engagement model," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(9-10), pages 1561-1575, May.
    20. Alexandre Cabagnols & Ali Maâlej & Pierre Mauchand & Olfa Kammoun, 2022. "The determinants of entrepreneurial intention of scientist PhD students: analytical vs emotional formation of the intention," Insights into Regional Development, VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, vol. 4(4), pages 63-82, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:recore:v:79:y:2013:i:c:p:11-20. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Kai Meng (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/resources-conservation-and-recycling .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.