ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOUR ABOUT RECYCLING.

Recycling is generally thought to be a relatively recent activity that is environmentally beneficial and achieved, to varying degrees, by those who place materials and products into various collection systems. In reality it is millennia old. Recycling produces major economic benefits, but it is not being maximized. This paper will define recycling, outline its history and benefits, identify issues that discourage recycling, and pinpoint attitudinal changes and actions that are required in order to achieve true recycling. In particular, it will address the ignorance and perceptions that have led both individuals and governments to concentrate on just one of the two basic sides of recycling - the supply side. Specifically it proposes actions and changes (such as procurement policies, education, information, and product and material design), that would enable society to focus on the demand side of the equation, thereby increasing recycling and maximizing its benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]