Newspaper Recycling Behavior: The Effects of Prompting and Proximity of Containers

Used a multiple baseline experimental design to investigate prompting and proximity of recycling containers as variables affecting newspaper recycling by apartment residents. Following a baseline period which consisted of placing 1 recycling container in each of 4 different apartment complexes (with a total of 236 individual apartments), containers were located in 2 additional locations of common usage and residents were notified of their whereabouts. During proximity and prompt conditions, increased recycling over baseline levels, from 50% to 100%, occurred. Questionnaire data from 8 apartment complexes suggest that the placement of single recycling containers alone (baseline condition) was accompanied by significantly more newspaper recycling than conditions in other complexes with no such containers.