A Structural Model of Reuse and Recycling in Mexico

Direct observations were used to analyze reuse and recycling patterns of 100 families. Reuse was practiced more than recycling. An inventory administered to housewives examined potential predictors of the studied practices, investigating dispositional factors, demographic variables, and situational variables. Multiple regression and causal structural models were used to investigate the direct and indirect effects of these variables. Multiple regressions produced a limited number of significant (direct) predictors of reuse and recycling, whereas structural models revealed conservation competencies and motives to reuse/recycle to be the most important direct predictors. Moreover, these analyses showed that situational and demographic factors exerted significant indirect influence on conservation behavior through reuse/recycling motives and competencies.