•>EPA
              United States
              Environmental Protection
              Agency
              Policy, Planning
              And Evaluation (PM-223)
              Solid Waste And
              Emergency Response (OS-305)
EPA 530-SW-89-066
September 1989
Promoting Source
Reduction
And  Recyclabilfty
In The Marketplace
530SW89066
                                      Printed on recycled paper

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 PROMOTING SOURCE REDUCTION AND RECYCLABILITY
                 IN THE MARKETPLACE:

       A Study of Consumer and Industry Response to
        Promotion of Source Reduced, Recycled, and
             Recyclable Products and Packaging
                     September 1989
                      Prepared for:

               Richard M. Kashmanian, Ph.D.
                Work Assignment Manager
           Regulatory Innovations Staff (PM-223)
          Office of Policy, Planning, and Evaluation
           U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                    401 M Street, S.W.
                 Washington, DC   20460
                     Prepared under:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Contract No. 68-02-4283

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                  Disclaimer
The mention of commercial products in this report
does not indicate endorsement or approval of use
by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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                                Acknowledgments

        This report was prepared under U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Contract
No. 68-02-4283  under the direction of  Richard  Kashmanian, EPA  Work Assignment
Manager. The following individuals provided useful comments in review of drafts:
Carole Bell

Sarah Carney

W.  David  Conn


Truett DeGeare

Raymond De Young

Gregory Erickson

Trisha L. Ferrand

Edward A. Fox

E. Scott Geller


Richard Kashmanian

Richard Katzev

Tapio Kuusinen

Peter Larkin

Howard Levenson

Barbara McConnell

Mark Michaels

Chaz Miller

Jerry  Powell

Nancy VandenBerg
Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management

U.S. EPA Office of Solid Waste

Center  for Environmental  and  Hazardous  Materials  Study,
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

U.S. EPA Office of Solid Waste

School of Natural Resources, University of Michigan

Packaging Magazine

Ferrand Associates

Procter & Gamble Company

Department of Psychology,  Virginia Polytechnic  Institute  and
State  University

U.S. EPA Office of Policy, Planning and Evaluation

Psychology Department, Reed College

U.S. EPA Office of Policy, Planning and Evaluation

Food Marketing Institute

U. S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment

New Jersey Food Council

World Waste Magazine; People's Technologies

Glass  Packaging Institute

Resource Integration Systems/Resource Conservation Consultants

Markets for Recycled Products, New York City

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                              Table of Contents


                                                                        Page
 I.   Executive Summary 	     1
     A.  Introduction	     1
     B.  Major Findings	     3
     C.  Program and Policy Needs	     4

 II.   Background	     8
     A.  The Municipal Solid Waste Management Crisis	     8
     B.  Looking for Solutions	    10
     C.  Study Description	    13
     D.  Limitations of the Study  	    14

III.   Discussion and Results	    15

IV.   Factors Influencing the Success of Consumer Education Programs	    17
     A.  Level of Consumer Awareness of MSW Management Crisis
           and Environmental Consequences of Purchase Decisions	    17
     B.  Content and Quality of Consumer Education and
           Promotional  Activities	    22
     C.  Involvement of Different Interest Groups	    26
     D.  Development of Consumer Education Programs Designed
           for  the Long Term 	    28

 V.   Understanding the  Marketplace 	    31
     A.  Industry Roles	    31
     B.  Consumer Roles	    33
     C.  Government Roles	    34

 VI.   Influencing the Relationship Between Consumers and Marketers	    36
     A.  Public Sensitivity to Environmental Issues	    39
     B.  Cause Related Marketing	    42
     C.  Environmental Shopping Campaigns	    43
     D.  Letter-Writing Campaigns	    45
     E.  Labeling	    47

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                                 Table of Contents
                                      (Cont.)
  VII.   Conclusions  	    53
        A.  Major Findings	    53
        B.  Program and Policy Needs	    55
        C.  Activities for Industry, Federal, State, and Municipal
             Governments	    56
        D.  Activities for Consumers	    59

References      	    ^Q


Appendix A:     Annotated Bibliography
        A.I      Case Studies	  A_j
        A.2      Surveys	  ^-9
        A.3      Research Reports and Policy Papers	  A-15
        A.4      Current Events  	  A-37
        A.5      Educational and Resource Materials 	  A-51

Appendix B:      Organizations and Individuals Contacted	  B-l

Appendix C:     Materials in the Solid Waste Stream and
                 Selected Products That May Help to Mitigate
                 the MSW Management Crisis	  C-l


                                 Table of Exhibits
Exhibit  1.     Marketplace Inter-relationships Between Consumers,
               Industry, and Government	  2
Exhibit  2.     Recycled/Recyclable Logos	  6
Exhibit 3.     Quantity of MSW Per Person Per Year 	  9
Exhibit H.     Total Quantity of MSW Per Year	  9
Exhibit 5.     Constituents of the MSW Stream	  12
Exhibit 6.     Examples of Recycling Symbols	  49
Exhibit C-i.   Recyclable Constituents of the MSW Stream	  C-2

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                               I. Executive Summary
A. Introduction
        Over the next ten years, Americans will generate enough municipal solid waste
(MSW) to cover the District of Columbia  in 77 feet of trash. At this rate, one-third of
the nation's existing available landfill capacity will be exhausted  in the next six years.
Although the supply of adequate landfill capacity varies by region, EPA recognizes that
the most  important step in addressing  the MSW  management crisis is  to reduce the
amount of  MSW  destined for landfilling and incineration, and has established a national
goal of 25  percent reduction in the amount of MSW disposed by 1992. Source reduction
and recycling our waste materials are two ways to contribute to meeting this target.
Source reduction activities include methods to reduce toxicity and volume of materials in
products and packaging, extend product useful life, and reuse products and packaging.
        A successful recycling program must include four stages:
         1)  the recyclable material must be recovered from the MSW waste
             stream;
        2)  the material must be delivered to a manufacturer for processing;
        3)  manufacturers must  use reclaimed material in their production
             processes; and
        4)  consumers  must  purchase the finished  product containing  the
             recycled material.
While all four steps are necessary for recycling to occur, most of the research and policy
emphasis has been placed on the  first three stages. For example, to conserve scarce
landfill space, municipalities often collect recyclable materials such as aluminum cans,
glass bottles, and newspapers. This  report focuses on the  fourth step  by  exploring the
role of household consumer demand in the  recycling process.  In  particular, the report
reviews existing research, surveys, and existing consumer-oriented education programs to
learn how  consumers, through their purchasing decisions, can promote  source reduction
and  recyclability.  Exhibit  1 shows the general inter-relationships between consumers,
industry, and government that affect consumer demand.
         Unfortunately, the dearth of data and experience limit the ability to quantify
the effectiveness of consumer-oriented education programs.  The  report does provide a
convenient summary of existing information campaigns and research, and outlines some

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                                     Exhibit 1.
         Marketplace Inter-relationships Betweeen Consumers, Industry, and Government
                                   Consumer
                     ,e
Government
Industry
                                Orm, Oversee

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general principles contributing to successful consumer-oriented programs.  The report is
aimed at solid waste officials, consumer interest groups, manufacturers, and marketing
consultants charged with developing strategies to reduce our MSW.

B. Major Findings
        While  solid waste officials confront tough MSW disposal decisions  on a daily
basis, consumer-oriented and marketplace  initiatives promoting source reduction and
recyclability offer innovative and long lasting solutions to the nation's MSW management
crisis.   A  1988 survey by the National Solid  Wastes Management Association (1988a)
found that  Americans ranked garbage disposal second only to improving education as the
most serious problem  facing local officials.   In a recent Gallup poll, fifty  percent of
Americans stated that  they would change  their  purchasing  habits to  buy foods and
beverages  that  are  sold in  recycled or recyclable  containers  (Modern Brewery Age,
1988). In addition, ninety percent of the 1,000 respondents to an October 1988 survey
felt that  recycling  and biodegradability will help alleviate  the solid waste  problem
(Robert  Marston  and  Associates,  1988).   (Also, see  Erickson (1988) and Resource
Recycling  (1986) for similar  consumer support for purchasing recycled  and recyclable
packaging  materials.)   This change  in  attitudes since  the  early  1980s  reflects an
increased awareness and concern for the environment.  As  noted by Geller (1986),
increased consumer  awareness of environmental problems, generated by  national media
coverage of incidents such as the odyssey of the Islip, New York garbage barge and their
relationship  to purchase decisions,  bodes well for  the success of future consumer
education campaigns related  to this issue.
         This study  found   several consistent themes   in the  projects  and  research
reviewed,  and  identified strategies that can be  successful  in stimulating household
demand for products and packaging that promote source reduction and recyclability. For
example, the general principles listed below were shown to enhance the effectiveness of
consumer-oriented programs designed to promote source reduction and recyclability:
             Attention-getting techniques for education programs must com-
             pete with other advertising.  To be successful, educational pro-
             grams must be of  high  quality  and as sophisticated as  other
             advertising  in targeting  appropriate  messages  to  various
             audiences.

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             Long-term changes in consumer  behavior depend upon changing
             basic consumer attitudes  and  motives.   Consumer  education
             programs  should  not be  limited  to  short-term,  non-durable
             incentives,  but   should   be  combined  with   self-sustaining
             motivation (having long-term durability).

             Household consumer awareness programs should make consumers
             feel  that their participation will be a positive contribution to the
             solution of an important problem.

             In  order to increase product  choices  available  to consumers,
             upstream decision-makers such as marketers, manufacturers, and
             product designers  must be  educated  about  the desirability and
             advantages   of   source    reduction   and   product/packaging
             recyclability, as well as the economic and image enhancement.

             Definitions, labeling, and other  important messages must be stan-
             dardized,  simple, and well  publicized,  so that they are readily
             recognized and understood by consumers.


C.  Program and Policy Needs

         Continued research  is essential to determine the effectiveness and  impacts of

programs and  strategies designed to  increase  consumer  demand for  products and

packaging that will help mitigate the MSW management crisis.  In addition, the success

of  intervention  programs and  strategies will  be  enhanced  if governments,  consumer
groups,  industry, and retailers  develop  supporting activities.   Additional research and

program development  is required in the  areas described below.   (This  discussion is
expanded in Section VII.)

         Provide technical  guidance/information  dissemination.   This  task can  be

addressed by establishing a clearinghouse, providing  a hotline  service, and  promoting
policy debates and program  initiatives in forums such as trade association  meetings,

technical journals,  and  conferences.     These  activities  can provide  information
appropriate to different  audiences, such as:

             solid  waste officials (e.g., guidance documents for national, state,
             or  local   consumer  education  and  environmental awareness
             campaigns, cost  and  performance  information  on materials,
             procurement transactions,  advertising campaigns, environmental
             shopping databases, and a database of legislative activities);

             state and local governments and groups (e.g., guidance documents
             on  how to increase local awareness  of the  MSW management
             crisis  as  well  as  effective  activities  to  stimulate  consumer
             demand for products and packaging promoting source reduction
             and recyclability);

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            the general public (e.g., information on buying source reducing or
            recycled products and packaging).  Public awareness efforts, such
            as the "Gray is Beautiful" campaign sponsored by the American
            Paper Institute, complement public sector and public interest pro-
            grams; and
            industry (e.g., cost and performance information on  materials,
            procurement   standards,  update  of   Federal  activities   and
            procurement transactions).
        Develop and adopt standardized definitions.   Without standardized labeling,
"contains recycled material" and "does not damage the environment" claims may become
overused and,  in  many cases, misleading.  Consistent definitions will help solid waste
officials, industry, and consumers  to understand the difference between  products  and
packaging that can mitigate the solid waste crisis and those that do not.
        Develop labeling requirements and standards based on national consensus.  Use
of environmental  logos, symbols,  and  labeling (e.g.,  "made from  recycled  material,"
"recyclable") in advertising and  product  and packaging promotion  should be based on
establishing requirements and standards for their use.  Such actions will maintain the
integrity of labeling  claims.   For example, a  simple  label, such as "environmentally
friendly,"  may  be preferable  to  specific  terminology referring to recycled content or
toxicity, but the label  needs to be  uniformly  understood.  The  most commonly  used
symbols associated with recycled content are shown in Exhibit 2.
        Support  community-based pilot  projects.   Community or  state pilot  projects
(especially if done on a comprehensive scale) can be used to demonstrate the feasibility
of, and gain acceptance for,  consumer education programs  and other social  marketing
techniques that increase consumer  awareness and encourage participation  of state  solid
waste management offices, municipal officials, businesses, and  households.  Focus groups
(including representatives  from consumer groups,  industry, government,  and research
organizations) may be appropriate for designing  pilot projects and getting key players to
participate.
        Support economic and  technical research.   While some  people will readily
accept products with recycled content, further  research may be needed to demonstrate
to a wider constituency that "buy  recycled" and related programs benefit society as a
whole and that the cost of environmental impacts resulting from MSW disposal is paid for
by each of us.  This research might support economic studies to determine the social and
community  impacts  of  changes  in consumer habits  on the standard of  living. Other

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                               Exhibit 2.

                      Recycled/Recyclable Logos
Many companies which package their products in recycled paperboard use the
recycling symbol to indicate that the carton is made from recycled paper.
 Companies producing paper products that are recyclable use the reverse of this
 symbol.

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research might include the effectiveness, appropriate levels, and targets of economic
incentives and disincentives, and development of innovative or existing reclamation a'nd
recycling technologies.
        Support  socio-behavioral  research.    The  relationship  between  consumer
education  efforts  and  changes in  purchasing  decisions  is complex and  not  fully
understood. Further research in this area will give industry, government, and consumer
groups a better understanding of how to design strategies to promote  source reduction
and recyclability  of products and packaging. Examples of research include determining:
ways of using informational strategies to promote intrinsic motives to conserve; ways of
combining  intrinsic and  extrinsic motives to produce more  durable  behavioral change;
what  variables,  not directly related to attitudes, affect consumer behavior;  and the
possibility  of an  increase in consumers' quality of life from  adopting environmentally-
appropriate behavior.
         Facilitate interaction between consumers and industry.  All levels of govern-
ment could enhance the feedback  loop between consumers  and manufacturers/product
designers.  Focus groups might alert industry to the product and packaging concerns of a
community or market segment  and permit them to respond proactively to consumers'
concerns.
         Foster data collection.  Tracking  industry's use of  recycled materials through
the U.S. Department of Commerce's Annual Census of Manufacturers  could provide valu-
able information  on existing practices and the success of various initiatives attempting
to encourage the  use and purchase of recycled materials.

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                                   II.  Background
A. The Municipal Solid Waste Management Crisis
         In 1987, the town of Islip, New York found that a barge hauling its trash up and
down the East Coast had  become a regular feature of the national news.  However, the
problems that Islip was experiencing in disposing of its solid waste were by no means that
unusual.  Consumption of  manufactured and processed goods inevitably generates waste.
Each year Americans throw away an increasing amount of materials, while at the same
time the nation's landfill disposal capacity is decreasing.  If this trend continues, not only
towns but cities, regions, states, and the nation as a whole will be confronting serious
municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal problems in the coming years. New York State, for
example, currently generates 20 million tons of MSW each year.  According to the New
York State Legislative  Commission on Solid Waste Management (1988), all 241  of the
state's active landfills will reach their capacity and close by 1995 unless the generation
rate  of MSW is curbed. To add to the state's planning problems, only one new landfill site
has opened since 1986.
         On the  national level, MSW problems are equally daunting.  In  1988, over 1,300
pounds of MSW,  between  three and four pounds per day (Exhibit 3), were  generated by
each American; population growth in the United States will further exacerbate the MSW
management crisis.  As shown in Exhibit 4, the  total amount of MSW generated annually
is  expected  to increase by  20 percent to 193 million tons by the  year 2000 (USEPA,
1988a).   At this rate, the  EPA estimates that nearly one-third of the nation's MSW
landfills  will be full within  six years (Porter,  1988).  This lack of adequate disposal
capacity, coupled with increased solid  waste generation and rapidly rising disposal fees,
form the crux of the MSW  management crisis.
         New disposal facilities (i.e., landfills and incinerators) often face considerable
public opposition because of real or perceived  public health  threats (Michaels,  1988).
While local opposition is a major obstacle to siting new MSW disposal facilities, public
concern  is  not  limited to  issues of   health risks associated  with  disposal  facilities.
Increasingly, the American  public is thinking about  a broader range of environmental
consequences resulting from the manufacture or disposal of products that they purchase
and the problems of MSW  disposal. These environmental consequences include beach and
ocean litter, depletion of  natural resources, impacts  on wildlife and aquatic ecosystems
(e.g., ingestion of plastics  by marine life), crop damage, and the human health impacts of
landfilling and incineration of MSW.

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                          Exhibit 3.





       Quantity of  MSW Per Person Per Year




     POUNDS PER DAY
       1960
                                               2000
(U.S. EPA, 1988a)
                         GROSS DISCARDS
                          Exhibit 4.
           Total  Quantity  of MSW Per Year
       MILLIONS OF TONS PER YEAR
  200 -i
  150 -
  100 -
   50 -
         1960
2000
                          GROSS DISCARDS
(U.S. EPA, 1988a)

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B. Looking for Solutions

         MSW disposal has become a significant local and regional problem and a growing

number of communities face a crisis of what to do with today's and tomorrow's trash.  In

light of the MSW management crisis, the EPA is interested in examining a number  of

strategies to reduce the amount and toxicity of waste disposed in the U.S.  On April 13,

1988, then Administrator Lee Thomas (1988) testified before the House Committee  on

Energy and Commerce that the  Agency is committed to "holistic solutions to our waste

problems" and  acknowledged the need to depart from  our  historical dependence upon

landfill disposal.  According to EPA (1988a) estimates, 83 percent of MSW is landfilled,
6 percent is incinerated, and 11 percent is recycled through material recovery or energy

programs. In contrast to current MSW management practices, the EPA has established a
preferred hierarchy:

      1)   Source Reduction activities can reduce the toxicity and the amount of
          materials used in products and packaging that are ultimately disposed
          of.  Through improved design of products and packaging, source reduc-
          tion prevents waste from having to be managed.  Household consumers
         can influence manufacturers' and packagers' source reduction activities
         by  preferentially purchasing products  and packaging that  contain  less
          material,  last longer, or are less toxic than conventional products and
         packaging.   In addition, repair  and  renovation  improve a product's
          longevity and reduce demand for new products.

         Reuse of  packaging and  other "disposable" goods also enhances source
         reduction goals by lowering demand for, and consumption of,  virgin
         materials.    Each  time  a good  is  reused, a new one need  not  be
         manufactured, purchased,  and  ultimately disposed.   Products  and
         packaging designed to be reusable do not need frequent replacement
         and,  over  time,  should  not create as large  a disposal  problem  as
         disposable goods.

      2)  Recycling and Composting (later referred to collectively as recycling)
         are MSW management  techniques that reduce the amount of waste sent
         to landfills and incinerators (thereby saving waste disposal capacity and
         perhaps reducing human health and environmental risks), and contribute
         towards recovery of materials.

   3/4)  Incineration or Landfilling are the preferred waste disposal techniques
         that  are  necessary  for  MSW  remaining  after  undertaking  source
         reduction, reuse, and recycling to  the greatest extent possible.  Proper
         measures are needed to increase the safety of  these disposal methods.
         Incineration is useful in  reducing  the volume  of waste  which must be
         landfilled  and can  also generate usable thermal and electrical  energy.
         Landfilling is essential to handle  non-recyclable and non-combustible
         wastes  and  incinerator  ash.   However, current  overdependence on
         landfills for  management of over 80 percent of the nation's MSW is
         quickly exhausting the existing capacity of this disposal method.
                                       10

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        EPA's  previous Administrator stressed that policy solutions and programs "at

the front end of the process" should focus on preventing or minimizing the introduction
of wastes (Thomas, 1988).   Each  year,  millions of tons of MSW are incinerated  or

landfilled  that  could otherwise be  reclaimed and recycled.   Exhibit 5 illustrates that
paper and paperboard and  yard wastes account for almost  60 percent of MSW.  Programs
designed to promote source reduction and recyclability of  these materials could result in
large reductions in the quantity  of MSW disposed.   More generally, source reduction,

reuse, and recycling will  reduce  the amount, and, in some cases, the toxicity of MSW
destined for  incineration or landfilling and  will extend the useful  lives of existing

landfills, delay  the  need for construction of new disposal facilities, reduce the potential
for environmental damage from disposal, save energy, and reduce depletion of renewable

and non-renewable resources.

        EPA has set a goal of reducing the amount of MSW destined for landfilling and
incineration by 25 percent by  1992. While some source reduction and recycling already

occur in many communities throughout the U.S., if the national goal of 25 percent
reduction  in MSW is to  be  met, the following need to be accomplished:

             Local and  state  governments  need to actively pursue  source
             reduction and  recycling with requirements,  voluntary measures,
             incentives, and disincentives;

         •    All levels of government and industry will have to work together
             to  encourage  markets   for  source-reduced,   recycled,  and
             recyclable goods (e.g., minimum recycled content  requirements
             for government procurements); and

             Household, government, and industry attitudes and behaviors will
             have to  change  in  order to encourage greater availability and
             increase purchases of products and packaging that promote source
             reduction and recyclability.

It is this last point that is  the focus of this report.

         Household consumer purchase of  products and packaging that promote recycling
can help to close the  recycling  loop by  increasing  demand for  recycled or recyclable
materials.  Purchase of these types of products and packaging helps to mitigate the MSW

management  crisis  by stimulating markets  for recycled materials  and reducing  the

amount of MSW disposed.

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                                          Exhibit 5


                             Constituents of the MSW Stream
                                                                    1.8% Misc.

                                                                    6.5% Plastics

                                                                    7.9% Food Wastes
                                                                      i

                                                                    8.0% Rubber, Leather. Textiles ic Wood
                                                                    41.0% Paper and Paperboard
(U.S. EPA. 1988a)
                                           12

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        In 1988, almost half of surveyed American consumers claimed that they "often"
or "sometimes" considered the recyclability of  packaging material when making a
product purchase decision  (Erickson,  1988).  Stronger markets  for these  products and
packaging will in turn encourage greater supply  of these goods from manufacturers and
greater recovery  of  materials  from  the MSW stream.   Cutler  (1988)  asserts that
mandatory source-separation programs will not provide large-scale solutions to the MSW
management  crisis until stable  markets  for recycled products are created.   In other
words, recovering  materials  from  the MSW stream will do little good until there is a
demand for the products they are used to create.
        In addition,  household consumer purchase of products and packaging that
promote source reduction can lessen the amount  of this material in the waste stream, or
lower the  toxicity of wastes, and ultimately reduce the adverse environmental impacts of
MSW disposal.

C. Study  Description
        A key task of this  study is to summarize the relevant studies, research, and edu-
cational programs related to household consumer  demand for products and packaging that
promote source reduction  and recyclability.  To this end,  this report  reviews previous
studies, research,  surveys  and other relevant  information on approaches to increase
household  consumer demand for products and packaging which either promote source
reduction  (i.e., are less wasteful, more durable, or less toxic than conventional products
and packaging, or are reusable) or promote recyclability (i.e., contain recycled materials
or are recyclable).
        This report also categorizes successful features of education programs designed
to promote consumers' awareness of the environmental consequences of their purchase
decisions.   By environmental consequences of purchase decisions we mean the environ-
mental  impacts associated  with the manufacture, use, or disposal of purchased products
and  packaging.   The study  focuses  on  educational campaigns designed to increase
consumer  awareness of such environmental consequences. The report also  discusses the
factors that influence consumer responses to programs designed to stimulate demand for
these products. Obviously,  the consumer product marketing factors characterized as the
four P's — product (e.g., quality),  place (e.g., availability),  promotion, and price — are
principal  determinants of  consumer demand (McCarthy, 1975).   Finally, the means  by
which consumer groups, governments,  and industry (including marketers and retailers)
can  influence the  marketplace  to increase  the availability and use  of  products and
                                       13

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packaging  that  promote  source  reduction  and  recyclability  are  examined.    A
comprehensive  national strategy which includes both educational programs and market-
based efforts could aid in attaining the national MSW source reduction and recycling goal
by 1992.

D. Limitations of the Study
        The findings of this  study are primarily intended for use in  designing future
programs targeted towards households and consumers.  Therefore, the project scope was
limited to products and packaging that are available to household consumers and does not
necessarily apply to commercial products  such as building materials.  Because of  the
interrelationships  among product and  packaging availability,  economies of scale  in
production, and social trends, a wide  variety  of industry and governmental activities
should also be considered part of the nation's comprehensive MSW reduction policy.
                                       14

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                             III.  Discussion and Results
        This section presents findings  based  on a survey  of relevant literature and on
informal telephone interviews with experts in the field (see Appendix B). The interviews
provided information on current activities and program experience, both published and
unpublished.  Key factors influencing the success of programs and projects designed to
stimulate  consumer  demand for products and packaging that  promote source reduction
and recyclability are discussed  in the following three subsections. Section IV includes a
discussion of  factors which affect  the likelihood of  success  of  household  consumer
education programs.  (Several more general guidelines for education programs are found
in Section VII.)  In order to actively change  purchase  decisions, program planners and
manufacturers must understand the  varied responses of households to the awareness of
the environmental consequences of their purchase decisions.  Section V introduces the
marketplace relationship between consumers and  product  and packaging marketers and
manufacturers.   This is followed by a  discussion in  Section  VI of  how governments,
consumer  groups and industry can influence consumer demand for products and packaging
promoting source reduction and recyclability. Appendix A provides summaries of most of
the references used in this report. Organizations and individuals contacted for this study
are listed in Appendix B. Appendix C provides background information on constituents of
the MSW stream and opportunities for source reduction and  recycling.
        There are four general approaches to stimulating consumer demand for products
and packaging that promote source reduction and recyclability:
        Household consumer education depends primarily on intrinsic rewards for alter-
ing purchase behavior.   A wide range of programs fall under  this category; they  vary
according to their  goal, audience, and targeted behavior.  A short  list  includes:  "buy
recycled" environmental shopper programs for households,  product or  shelf labeling pro-
grams at  the  retail level, environmental awareness programs for  the community, and
school-based awareness programs and activities.  Geller and Lehman  (1986) found that
education programs alone will not change consumers' purchasing decisions.
        Marketplace initiatives, for the most part,  are under the control of industry
decision-makers.  However, they  are also influenced  by consumer activism and social
trends. These initiatives can lead to a change in  the availability and  price of  products
and packaging.  Some marketers already promote their products and packaging as having
fewer environmental impacts (e.g., containing recycled materials, thereby reducing the
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consumption of virgin materials and disposal of post-consumer materials) and others may
be influenced to follow  if the promotion increases a product's competitiveness in the
marketplace.  Consumer activism may  take  the  form of selective buying campaigns,
letter  writing campaigns, or, in some  cases,  product  boycotts.  As  society  becomes
increasingly aware of the environmental consequences of purchase decisions,  product
manufacturers and packagers may be encouraged to respond.
         Economic incentives or disincentives can create an extrinsic reward to increase
purchases of products that have fewer adverse environmental consequences, or impose a
penalty for purchase of environmentally undesirable goods.  Economic incentives for
manufacturers and households include subsidies, rebates, and credits for manufacturing
or purchasing products and packaging that promote source reduction and recycling.  Poli-
cies  that  could  provide  economic disincentives  to manufacturers and household
consumers include  taxes on virgin materials  (or a  tax  exemption  for  products or
packaging using  recovered materials) and taxes on the type and  amount of packaging
material at the point of manufacture  or sale and pay-per-container  charges (Riggle,
1989; and Sproule and Cosulich,  1988).  In general, incentives and disincentives targeted
at the  manufacturer level  appear  to  be a more direct  approach to  promote source
reduction and recycling.
         Mandatory requirements and restrictions, by definition, stipulate  that  certain
choices such as purchase of source reduced goods or goods containing recycled materials
must be  undertaken  by those individuals,  communities, governments, and industries
subject to the requirements.  Requirements and restrictions may be turned to if markets
for recycled materials are not developed or  manufacturers or consumers do not respond
favorably.  Such requirements or restrictions on product or packaging content or avail-
ability  applied at the retail level can affect household purchase decisions.  For example,
a government authority  may implement a program where  products or packaging are
reviewed and approved for use by an oversight group.  The major advantage of mandatory
requirements is that participation rates may be higher than in most voluntary programs.
The public may, however, react negatively to required changes.
         This study  examines  how  voluntary efforts,  such as  household consumer
education and certain marketplace initiatives can  be used to alter consumers'  purchase
behavior.  Economic incentives and disincentives and mandatory requirements can also be
used to change product and packaging availability and composition but are not examined
in detail in this study.
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         IV.  Factors Influencing the Success of Consumer Education Programs
        Several factors were found to affect the success or failure of educational and
social marketing programs designed  to  stimulate consumers' demand for products and
packaging that promote source reduction and recyclability.  Consideration of these
factors can help in the design of successful consumer education programs. The factors,
though not always mutually exclusive, include:
            consumer  awareness  of  the  MSW   management  crisis  and
            environmental consequences of purchase decisions;
            content  and  quality of  consumer  education and  promotional
            activities;
        •   involvement of different interest groups; and
        •   development of consumer  education  programs designed for the
            long term.
The discussion of these factors is followed by an evaluation of the competitive forces in
the retail marketplace and  how these  can  be used to stimulate consumer demand.
Underlying  the success of these programs is  the availability of products and  packaging
included within the education program.  These and other marketing factors, discussed in
Sections  V and VI,  will determine  what  options are available  to consumers  in  the
marketplace.

A. Level of  Consumer Awareness  of  MSW Management Crisis  and Environmental
   Consequences of Purchase Decisions
        The  success  of an educational program  designed  to  change consumer  buying
habits to purchase products and packaging promoting source reduction and recyclability
depends in part on generating and maintaining a high level of awareness about the MSW
management  crisis   and  the  environmental  consequences  of  household   consumer
purchasing  decisions.   Without this  knowledge, individuals have  little motivation  to
change their behavior (Taylor, 1988; and Tracy and Oskamp, 1984).  Tracy and Oskamp
(1984) found that individuals and households often lacked knowledge of what they could
do  to  avoid  environmental  problems.    In  this case,  lack of  knowledge of   the
environmental  impacts of household  activities caused  lower rates of participation in
ecologically responsible behavior.  Kinnear and Taylor (1973) measured the association
between ecological concern and product brand perception using statistical analyses of

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consumer  responses to questions about brand preferences and environmental concerns.
They determined  that consumers who were aware of  the impacts of phosphates on the
environment viewed laundry detergents  containing phosphates as contributing to the
pollution of lakes and streams.  Low- or  non-phosphate detergents were seen as helping
to mitigate the problem of water pollution.  These observations suggest that generating
awareness of, and  concern for, environmental  issues will  add another  dimension to
consumer  purchasing decisions.  Young and Storey (1988) recently found that education
can be effective in raising citizens' awareness of the need to minimize waste generation.
        Education Methods - Programs aimed at generating higher levels of consumer
awareness of the  MSW crisis and the environmental consequences of  purchase decisions
take many forms, such as  leaflets, brochures, and booklets written  and distributed by
industry, retailers, academia, community, state, and national groups, as well as public
service spots and news coverage on both  radio and television. These  programs typically
inform the target audience  about  the MSW management crisis  and its causes,  and tell
how they, as consumers, can adjust their product and packaging purchasing, usage, and
disposal habits to lessen the environmental consequences.  Each type  of program has its
own set of strengths and weaknesses. Because brochures available upon request usually
reach interested and informed consumers (those willing to make the effort to pick up a
brochure), the information they contain  may be  more detailed.  Fliers and  pamphlets
inserted with other mailings, such as a utility bill, will get into many more households but
must be eye-catching and should contain a simpler message.  Larson and Massetti-Miller
(1984)  determined  that  sole reliance on mass-media channels was not effective in
changing recycling behavior. Taylor (1988) found that publicity of  local  problems and
changes in local  waste collection practices produced the  greatest awareness  in  solid
waste problems.  Publicity  of a national  problem produced "moderate" awareness, while
regular news coverage generated no awareness.
        A variety  of promotional and  informational materials  have  been  developed
which address source reduction/reuse/recycling (API, 1988; EOF, 1988; Hurst and Relis,
1988; MDNR, 1988;  PRC,  1988; USEPA  1988b,  1979; CFE,  1987; Brandt and Swanson
1984; EAF,  1980s; and  League of  Women Voters,  1975,  1972), packaging (City of
Berkeley,  1980s; EAF, 1980s; SED,  1980s; ODEQ, 1980; and USEPA, 1976), and household
hazardous wastes (EFE, 1988; CPCB,  1986; Chown and Fridgen, 1986; HPDC, no date; and
MDEM, no date). The recycling/reuse pamphlets describe the benefits of  recycling and
reuse (e.g.,  conserving raw materials and reducing disposal costs) and  urge readers to
participate  in  ongoing  recycling  programs  or  to   try to start  one  in  their   own
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communities.   Other  pamphlets  included  in  this review  describe  how, oftentimes,
products are overpackaged and suggest what consumers can do to minimize buying excess
packaging.  Identification of less toxic substitutes and appropriate disposal techniques for
household hazardous wastes  (with  a list of do's and don't's) are the subjects of the
pamphlets (referenced  above) addressing  household hazardous wastes.  In  addition, Dadd
(1984) has compiled a listing of non-toxic alternatives to many products in Nontoxic and
Natural.  No information was uncovered that described the effectiveness  of these
materials in  raising  consumer  awareness  and  changing  purchase behavior.   The
importance of properly evaluating promotional materials is discussed in Section IV.D.
         Education Programs - "Environmental shopping" campaigns have made efforts to
increase consumer  awareness of the MSW management crisis and the  environmental
consequences  of  purchase  decisions  and  solid  waste   disposal.     Awareness  of
environmental  issues  has  been generated by  various  groups using  in-store  posters,
promotional announcements, brochures, and press releases (e.g., API, 1970s-1980s). For
example, a  survey  conducted after an  environmental shopping campaign in the Von's
grocery store chain  found that 71 percent of the respondents from the stores in which the
campaign had been  active agreed that there was a garbage crisis in California.  Only  51
percent of the survey respondents  from the stores  which  did  not participate in the
awareness program  felt that  there was  such a  crisis  (PRA,  1981).  This  campaign was
expanded throughout the San Diego area and similar campaigns have been conducted in
Palo Alto, California,  and Milwaukee,  Wisconsin (Gallager,  1984; Conservation News,
1976; EAF, 1976; Red Owl Stores, 1973; PAMRRP, 1970s; and USEPA, 1970s).
         Educating children (i.e., future  consumers) may be a key to longer-term success
of any program.  According to O'Leary and Walsh (1988), there are curricula available
that teach children about waste generation, the environmental problems that can result
from waste  disposal, and the benefits of recycling.  These programs can have a dual
effect  in that the children grow up with this environmental  awareness and also pass  on
what they have learned to  their parents.  Several programs  targeted at elementary and
high school  students  in  Florida, Missouri,  Ohio,  and  New  York City, promote  an
awareness of recycling and other aspects of waste disposal (Browne, 1988) (also, see Bell
and Schwartz, 1989; NJDEP, 1989; and USEPA, 1980).  Mikitka  (1985) proposes that
school-based curricula be  developed which complement  and strengthen  environmental
shopping campaigns in the community.
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        Education activities should also include the wide range of professionals involved
in the recycling  loop.  Such groups include consumers, procurement specialists, MSW
management officials, marketers, and product and package designers/manufacturers.
        Targeting  Education  Programs  -  A key  element  of  widespread  consumer
acceptance and program success is a solid understanding of the consumers whom the pro-
gram is seeking to influence. Educational campaigns should tailor promotional messages
to fit each of the different groups that their programs seek  to reach. One California
survey found no significant difference in recycling rates between social classes; however,
the reasons for participation varied among the groups. It  found that individuals with
higher incomes are more  likely to recycle  for  ecological reasons and individuals with
lower incomes are more likely to recycle for economic or  monetary  reasons (Mikitka,
1987).  Similar purchasing preferences were revealed in a 1988 Gallup poll in which 60
percent of Americans with incomes over $40,000 said that they would switch to a product
in a  recyclable container  if offered the choice (Modern Brewery  Age,  1988).  It follows
that  program  organizers  need to know the audience  to which they wish  to  appeal.
Strategic preliminary research is necessary for  a program  to target the appropriate
message effectively towards several different audiences.
        The  importance  of effective targeting is emphasized by  Geller (1989),  who
states that  behavior-change strategies work best when  they are  aimed at specific,
carefully defined behaviors.  Targeting allows for more  effective reinforcement of
desired  behavior changes because incentives  and disincentives, rewards and punishments,
can be  tailored to the behavior.  For  large-scale programs,  Geller  and Lehman (1986)
conclude that  a program  using a diverse set  of strategies to induce (e.g., rebates for
returning recyclables) and promote (e.g., public service announcements touting the social
benefits of participating) desired behaviors (e.g., buying  products and packaging that
promote source reduction  or recyclability) are more likely to be successful because each
person responds to a different stimulus.  However, it needs to be  pointed out that there
may  be a discrepancy between attitudes/preferences and actual behavior (Geller, 1981).
        Because  of the expected link between awareness of the MSW management crisis
and greater consumer demand for products and packaging that promote source reduction
or recyclability, future pilot programs designed to influence consumer purchasing habits
might be most successful  if they are aimed at areas where consumer awareness of envi-
ronmental problems  is already high  but  where relatively  little consumer  education to
change purchasing habits has occurred.  States such as New Jersey and Connecticut have
imposed deadlines (1989  for New Jersey, and  1991  for  Connecticut) requiring  each
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disposal area (town, city,  or county) to recycle 25 percent of its trash (Mattheis, 1987,
and CFE,  1987, respectively).  Such legislation, as well as the public debate surrounding
solid waste  issues, generates  greater community awareness  of the MSW management
crisis so that an education program will not have to devote as much time, money, and
effort convincing consumers of the benefits in changing their purchase decisions.  Other
communities which might make good hosts to future demonstration projects (e.g., an
environmental shopping campaign) would be those that have developed strong voluntary
recycling  programs.   Mary Shiel,  head of  New Jersey's  Office of  Recycling, said that
without widespread awareness of the state's solid waste  disposal  dilemma generated by
voluntary  recycling  programs at  the municipal  level,  introduction of  the  State's
mandatory recycling program  would have created chaos (Mattheis, 1987).  Eco-Haul, a
Californian  recycling company contracting to city and county sanitation departments,
has pioneered many recycling  programs, some of  which have been in existence for over
12 years (Salimando,  1986). In these cases, community groups and industries already have
done much to raise public awareness,  a key to changing consumers' behavior and program
success (Mattheis,  1987; Salimando, 1986; and API, undated).
        Recent developments suggest that social marketing efforts to promote recyc-
ling are becoming  more widespread and sophisticated.  The  Environmental  Defense  Fund,
with the co-sponsorship of the National Ad Council and co-funding from  U.S. EPA and
several states,  launched a nationwide advertising campaign to promote  recycling.   In
addition, EOF has met with script writers of major television programs to try to convince
them to insert  recycling activities into their programs (Ferrand, 1988c).  On the  other
hand, De  Young (1987) conducted a survey among  Michigan residents and  found that
changing attitudes should  not be so heavily emphasized in  the  state's resource recovery
programs since  so many respondents already considered recycling to be important.
        Behavioral Considerations - It is important to note that changes in awareness of
the MSW management crisis do not necessarily result in changes in consumer attitudes or
behaviors.  Geller  and Lehman (1986) claim that  general informational pamphlets  alone
are  not effective in  changing  behavior  (concerning energy  conservation), but  when
combined  with extrinsic  incentives  or  disincentives, such as credits or  taxes, they
improve the likelihood that consumer habits will change.  De Young (1985-1986)  found
that much of an individual's everyday conservation behavior was intrinsically motivated,
and that a program should not invest all of its effort in  developing extrinsic incentives
but rather should focus on enhancing people's discovery of these internal motives.
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B.  Content and Quality of Consumer Education and Promotional Activities
        Before embarking on a new consumer education program, designers and organiz-
ers should determine what tools are already available to them, what methods have been
used elsewhere, and research the successes and  failures of previous programs.  As one
publication advises, "don't waste  your  energy reinventing the wheel" (Enterprise  for
Education, 1988).
        Numerous publications and materials have been designed to assist in the devel-
opment and implementation of consumer education programs.  These include: pamphlets
and books on such topics as public access to radio and television; strategies for approach-
ing the media and for  raising money; educational slide shows on the MSW management
crisis; source reduction or  recycling activities; posters about recycling and environmental
shopping; and  T-shirts imprinted  with the recycled/recycling symbol.  The St. Louis
County (Minnesota) Health Department developed a twenty-minute slide and tape show
describing how consumers, governments, and community groups can work  together  to
help solve  MSW  management  problems (Brandt and  Swanson,  1984).   Informational
pamphlets and materials have been developed by a wide variety of groups dedicated  to
finding solutions  to the  MSW  management crisis.  These include state  solid waste
agencies, such as the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (1988), Pennsylvania
Resources Council  (1988), Seattle Engineering  Department  (1980s),  and  the  Oregon
Department  of  Environmental Quality  (1980),  Federal  agencies,  such  as the U.S.
Environmental Protection  Agency (1988b, 1976), and interest groups, such as the  Council
on Economic Priorities (1988) and the National  Solid  Wastes Management  Association
(1988a, b) and Enterprise for Education (1988).
        Several key characteristics  determine how  consumer education  programs are
received by their audience, and are  considered below:
            content of program;
            simplicity, convenience, and quality of program;
         •   tone of message; and
         •   timing of program.
        Content  of Program - A key component for education programs to encourage
recycling or other resource conservation behavior is to provide information — e.g., what
to do, how to do it, where  to do  it (De Young, 1987; and  Conn, 1980). Furthermore, small
initial commitments to purchase products and packaging promoting source reduction and
recyclability may be more effective in starting, sustaining, and expanding this behavior
(Katzev and Pardini, 1987-88; Stern, 1984; and Pardini and Katzev, 1983-84).

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        Targeted strategies designed to change consumer behavior, as well as purchase
decisions, are more likely to gain widespread consumer acceptance and to produce lasting
changes in  buying habits than are programs that focus solely on attitudes (Geller, 1986).
Geller et al. (1983) and Geller (1981) contend that education and feedback techniques
should be  combined  with  rewards to promote high participation  rates  in  resource
conservation.
        An important  element in attitude-change strategies is intrinsic motivation.
According to De Young  (1984), individuals are more likely to continue intrinsically moti-
vated behaviors because they feel that the behavior is worthwhile "for its own sake," and
not necessarily  because any rewards could  be  gained.   De Young  also  argues  that
recycling  programs  are too often designed solely  around  economic (i.e.,  extrinsic)
incentives,  and that programs combining extrinsic and intrinsic incentives could achieve
more  effective and  enduring results.   After incentives  are  removed, individuals  may
return to their previous behavior  (Katzev and Pardini,  1987-88; De Young,  1984;  and
Pardini and Katzev,  1983-84).   Furthermore, over-reliance on  incentives may make
consumers overlook their intrinsic motivations (De Young,  1984).
        Beyond convincing consumers  that  their individual  actions can be effective,
education   programs  need  to dispel  misconceptions,  such  as inferior quality, about
recycling.  Marketers do not typically promote the recycled material content in products
and packaging if  they expect consumer preference for  non-recycled materials.  Public
opinion polls, however,  indicate that as many as one half of American consumers would
prefer to buy  foods and beverages  in containers  that are, or can be, recycled (Modern
Brewery Age,  1988).  Similar results are reported in Erickson (1988), Robert Marston  and
Associates  (1988), and Resource Recycling (1986). However, as noted earlier, there may
be a discrepancy  between  individual attitudes/preferences and actual behavior (Geller,
1981).
        Simplicity,  Convenience,  and  Quality of  Program - Both the message to
consumers   and  their  desired  behavior   changes   must   be  simple   and  readily
understandable.  If consumers and store personnel cannot quickly and easily understand a
program, or if   the  program  requires  consumers  to  alter their  shopping   behavior
significantly, the  program  becomes a burden and  may be ignored or rejected.   The
experience  of one food store chain illustrates this problem. In 1973,  the Red Owl stores
in  Wisconsin  initiated  a  program  to  encourage  consumers  to  reuse containers
(Conservation  News,  1976;  EAF, 1976; Red Owl Stores, 1973; and USEPA, 1970s).  The
stores promoted the program using  posters and mentioned the program on their regular
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newspaper advertisements.  Consumers were given small cash refunds at checkout for
refilling paperboard egg cartons,  plastic milk bottles, and plastic soda bottles, and for
reusing paper and plastic grocery bags. However,  among other problems, store workers
had difficulty keeping track of all of the reused containers, and consumers often forgot
to bring containers back to the stores.
        De  Young (1987) asserts  that  future education programs should devote more
time to help people overcome perceived barriers to recycling, encouraging consumers to
convert good intentions to  actual behaviors.   Taylor  (1988) found  that  where public
awareness programs for  recycling were poorly  run,  households were confused  and
uncooperative.
        Research suggests that simplicity and convenience are largely matters of per-
ception.  For  example, Crosby and  Taylor  (1982) found that after participating in  a
recycling program  for  a  few months,  consumers began to  consider  the program more
convenient and less burdensome  than when it began.  The authors state that  as a new
behavior is  learned and becomes more  efficient, "[i]t will tend to be perceived as more
convenient."  One goal of start-up programs is to keep consumers participating long
enough for  this to happen.  Fountain Fresh Beverage Company operates in-store bottle
washing and refill units  for soft-drinks.  The company reports  that consumers have
responded positively  to the  program,  with some even attracted by the novelty of  the
product (Stone,  1988).
        Tone  of Message - The message  that a consumer education program presents
should be positive.  For example, "We can do it!," or "Be a part of the solution," or "You
can help," are more  enticing than reprimands such as "Quit  your wasting!"  A program
can inform  consumers of  the magnitude of the MSW management problem, but it should
focus on how the individual consumer can make a difference  by making a simple change
in his or her behavior.  Consumers should feel that by participating in the program they
are contributing  to  the  solution of  an  important problem.   They should  not  feel
overwhelmed by the  problem to  the point that they think individual actions are futile.
Two examples illustrate this point well.  The first example, an environmental shopping
program implemented by the Pennsylvania Resources Council was severely  under-funded
and limited  in scope, but  the consumers who were reached received it enthusiastically
(Becker, 1987).  A  major  reason for their enthusiasm was that the program emphasized
the effectiveness of individual actions, and reminded consumers that they could help
solve  the MSW management  crisis. The second example,  a research study of ecologically
concerned consumers (Kinnear et al.,  1974), indicates that people who actively recycle
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are motivated by, among other factors, a strong sense of consumer effectiveness against
generating pollution.  The authors of the study suggest that public education campaigns
should heavily emphasize consumer effectiveness in mitigating environmental impacts.
In general, individuals should not be made to feel that they are  losing control of their
environment or standard of living by recycling or other resource conservation activities
(Conn, 1988b; Ferrand,  1988a, b; De Young and Kaplan, 1985-86;  and Stern, 1984).  It is
important  for education  programs to counteract assumptions of  losing  control or a
lowered   standard   of   living   by   stressing  the   relationship  between   source
reduction/recyclability and environmental effects and associated societal benefits.
         Timing of Program - Because consumer education programs seek to influence
household purchasing habits, they are, by their very nature, in competition with the
myriad of other advertisements and inducements  vying  for shoppers' attention.  This
applies to everything from informational pamphlets put in  shopping bags, to posters hung
in store windows, to product and shelf labels.  For instance, a shopper awareness program
conducted in San Diego, California Safeway grocery stores was judged to be ineffective
due to competing promotional campaigns (Gallager, 1984; SDEC, 1982).  The program was
designed to increase shoppers' awareness of the "recycle symbol"  and products packaged
in recycled material, and to inform shoppers of the contribution that recycled packaging
makes to solid waste reduction.  Markers and signs identifying products with packaging
made from recycled materials were placed in the stores, workers wore badges explaining
the recycle  symbol, shopping  bags  were imprinted  with  an environmental shopping
message, and media promotions were used.
         During the time the program was operating, however, the  Safeway stores were
also running an advertising campaign promoting their produce  and were  only  able  to
emphasize one poster in their window display.  The competing produce campaign  appears
to  have  taken a great  deal of attention away from their environmental  shopping  pro-
gram.  In fact, only seven  percent of the shoppers surveyed after the environmental
shopping program was completed recalled seeing anything about environmental shopping
in their supermarkets.  Despite the program's lack of effectiveness in changing attitudes,
90 percent of shoppers interviewed, regardless of  whether they noticed the   in-store
promotion or not, felt  that using  recycled packaging  would help to reduce solid waste
disposal.   The same percentage claimed  that  all other things being equal, they would
prefer to buy products  in recycled packaging (SDEC,  1982). This case study highlights
the fact  that consumers are faced  with an overwhelming amount  of information each
day.  If a consumer education program is to succeed, its message  must  be well delivered
and stand out.
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 C.  Involvement of Different Interest Groups
         A  household consumer education program seeks to  change the  behavior  of
 people from many different sectors of society. To affect behavior, a consumer education
 program must establish credibility with, and build a consensus among, the different inter-
 est groups in the town, city, state, or nation in which it operates.  If it fails to establish
 credibility,  the program will be  rejected by many of the people it is attempting  to
 influence, who may perceive it as ineffective or not serving that group's goals.  If it fails
 to build a consensus,  the program is likely to  be compromised by lack of coordination or
 disagreement.   An effective way for  a consumer awareness program to establish its
 credibility and engender consensus  is to involve  as many  different interest  groups  as
 possible from an early stage of the project.
         Interest group inclusion - Interest group inclusion is an integral part of Canada's
 "Environmentally-Friendly Goods Campaign" (McMillan, 1988).  The  program  will label
 products that  are determined to be environmentally  safe, such  as  those  made from
 recycled  materials.    Representatives  from key interest  groups, e.g.,  consumers,
 government,  trade unions, business,  environmental groups, and academia will serve as
 advisors.  These advisors will review products and services in  the  marketplace to deter-
 mine which ones merit  the  "environmentally friendly" label.   Interest group  inclusion
 appears to have paid off well for the Canadian program. Although still in its preliminary
 stages, the  program  is  already enjoying vigorous support  from many interest groups,
 including business.
        Another example of interest group inclusion is Michigan's "Buy Recycled" pro-
 gram, which focuses primarily on purchases of recycled paper, plastics, retreaded tires,
 and re-refined automotive oil (MDNR, 1988).   The  program's first step is the compilation
 of a catalog of selected products and their recycled materials content. The compilation
 will be done by environmental, civic, and recycling activists (along  with anyone else who
 wants to be involved), who will meet with interested businesses and trade organizations
 to discuss the materials most relevant to particular consumer groups (Michigan Recycling
 Coalition, 1986).  As in the Canadian program,  the  emphasis is on involving many
 different interests as early  as possible.  When people play active and essential roles in
 the development and implementation of a consumer education program, they are likely to
give the program  longer-lasting support.
        Cooperation  of retailers  -  Retailer  cooperation is essential to the success of
consumer  education  programs  such  as "Environmental Shopping  Campaigns."   These
programs typically have taken place within limited areas and in grocery stores of the
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same  chain.    Past  "campaigns"  have  consisted  of  explanatory  posters,  media
announcements,  checkout bag  stuffers,  and product labeling for recycled content or
recyclability (SDEC, 1982; PRA,  19815 and  PAMRRP, 1970s). To publicize their shelf-
labeling  program,  the Palo  Alto  Material  Resource  Recovery Program attracted
customers' attention with large in-store posters resembling traffic lights.  This  design
grabbed shoppers' attention, and thus the same three colors were used on shelf labels to
identify packaging characteristics: refillable (green), recyclable (yellow), and costly to
recycle (red) (PAMRRP, 1970s).
         According to the conclusions from the Red Owl Stores' "Bring 'Em Back, Repack
and Save"  program (Conservation News, 1976; EAF, 1976; Red  Owl Stores, 1973; and
USEPA, 1970s), stores that are enthusiastic about their programs will fare better with all
types of  consumers than stores that  have little enthusiasm will fare even with  environ-
mentally aware consumers. It was also felt that store employees were not knowledgeable
enough about their program to be able to answer all questions from customers.
         The  San  Diego  Environmental   Shopping/Solid Waste  Awareness  Project
(ES/SWAP)  demonstrated  the  importance of  retailer cooperation to the  success of a
community-wide consumer education project (Gallager, 1984; and SDEC, 1982).  This
project worked through the Safeway grocery store chain in San Diego for approximately
eighteen months during 1981 and 1982.  Apparently, the inflexibility of store policies
diminished the project's effectiveness;  that is, the store  had a policy that only one theme
at a time could be advertised in store  windows. At the time of the consumer education
project, the store's own "Produce" theme was already active, so the ES/SWAP received
no window space.   Store managers also  asked that the number  of in-store posters and
product  markers  on the  shelves be  reduced dramatically  from  what  the  program
organizers had originally intended. In addition, the posters were located in obscure areas
and not easily noticed by shoppers.
         Safeway  store employees  were to  wear  "recycle symbol" badges as another
aspect of the promotional campaign.  However, use of these badges was inconsistent. In
addition, the imprints and  logos for  packaging materials arrived late, after the kick-off
date.  This lack of coordination compromised the program's promotional campaign. Fur-
thermore,  the wording "contains  recycled material"  on  egg cartons was not graphically
outstanding and might  have been  misinterpreted  to  mean that  the eggs,  not the
packaging, contained recycled material.  As mentioned previously, a survey completed
after the promotional campaign indicated that a very low percentage (seven percent) of
the shoppers in  stores with active programs were even  aware of  the program.  Still, 80
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percent of  all those interviewed felt that the recycle symbol should appear on all
containers made  from recycled  material  and  90 percent  felt  that  using  recycled
packaging would  help reduce the amount of solid waste  disposal (SDEC,  1982).  The
failure of this program  to inform its target audience can be attributed, at least in part,
to the problems associated with the less-than-full cooperation for in-store promotion.

D.  Development of Consumer Education Programs Designed for the Long Term
        Consumer education programs  must last  long enough for consumers to  take
notice, to be educated, and to modify their attitudes and behaviors (Geller, 1986; and
Geller and Lehman, 1986) and should be  an  integral part of recycling programs.  Geller
(1986) concludes  that intervention and education programs are most likely to achieve
their  goals if carried out on a community-wide basis (including national and international
scale  efforts) and over  a long period of time.   Geller and Lehman (1986) note that in
order  to change underlying attitudes effectively, reward strategies must remain in place
long enough for  the more immediate  behavioral changes to become second  nature.  In
most  cases,  this means that  the programs must be long-term endeavors, lasting  for more
than one year.  Three factors are of key importance in determining whether  or not  pro-
grams will endure.  However, these factors should not be viewed in a vacuum but rather
in the context of the education program's goals and design. These factors are:
        •    funding;
        •    feedback; and
             adaptability.
        Funding - Producing a high-quality consumer education program, initiating large
outreach efforts  to include many  interest groups, or  doing any kind  of planning,  is
unlikely without  an adequate,  reliable,  and long-term  supply of funding.  Programs
reviewed for this study frequently depended upon one-time federal and  state grants or
piggy-backing on retailers' advertising budgets which dried  up within a few months.  To
ensure long-term  support, consumer education and "buy recycled"  programs  should seek
funding  from a variety  of sources and minimize dependence on one-time contributions
and government grants for program start-up.  Ideally, those responsible for MSW disposal
(usually the  municipality or state) have the most to gain from a successful local or state
campaign, and they often see the need for funding a project over the long term.  Without
question, the extent to which outside funding is possible varies with the type of program,
but one common ingredient  for success appears to be acquiring at least  partial funding
from  a variety of sponsors  including  industry.   Industry is acutely aware of both the
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growing consumer support for source reduction and recycling and the increasing demand
for products  and packaging which  help to mitigate the MSW  management crisis.  In
addition, industry knows that the costs of traditional  waste disposal (landfilling and
incineration), which are paid for by their customers, are rising rapidly, and that charac-
teristics such as lower  toxicity, recycled content,  and  recyclability are attractive  to
greater segments of their household consumer market (Dolmark, 1988; and API, undated).
         Certain firms can use consumer awareness programs  to capitalize on the grow-
ing consumer demand for  products and packaging that promote source  reduction and
recyclability  in various  ways.  To  reinforce continual sponsorship, industry sponsors of
consumer awareness  programs  receive   goodwill   advertisements.    The  Canadian
"Environmentally-Friendly Goods Campaign" program is  tapping the desire of industries
to use consumers' environmental concerns as a marketing tool by charging industries both
to evaluate their products and to license the use of the "environmentally friendly" logo
(McMillan, 1988).
         Consumer education programs can also enlist the funding support of companies
that already  produce recycled  products and packaging, as well as those that  want to
begin producing them (for marketing or other reasons) but are not certain that demand
for recycled  products and packaging is sufficient to support a change in production.  In
the  case of the  latter  group  of companies,  a  relatively  small investment  (and
involvement) in consumer awareness programs might allow them to maintain or expand
their market share or move into new areas of  sales. Any given company's strategy will
depend upon their competitors' and their customers' responses.
         One example of a company actively engaged in consumer education programs
and recycling programs is FSC Paper, a producer of 100 percent recycled newsprint.  FSC
has implemented its Total Recycling program in several Midwestern cities.   Under the
program, FSC works with a community to develop a comprehensive newspaper recycling
program, and agrees to buy all the waste newspaper  the  community collects in exchange
for purchase of the  recycled newspaper by the local newspaper publisher. In any com-
munity in which FSC operates  a program, the company staff spends a large amount of
time working with newspaper  publishers, community groups and  environmentalists to
design education programs and newsprint collection programs. The company's education
program focuses on the benefits of using recycled newsprint and encourages citizens to
petition their local newspaper publisher to use recycled newsprint.  The Total Recycling
program  operates effectively  on  the  local  level, which suggests  that  some future
recycling initiatives  may  not  necessarily need government  funding (FSC,  1988; and
Watson, 1988a).
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         Another example of corporate  involvement in consumer awareness programs is
the Brown  Paper Company's promotion  of  the American Paper  Institute's "Gray  is
Beautiful" campaign on the local level.  The company supported a contest run by the
local Woman's Club to promote awareness and selective purchase of recycled paperboard
packaging (Hoosier Purchaser, 1970s).
         Feedback - Programs should be designed with  mechanisms to frequently monitor
their success or failure in changing consumer behavior.  Equally important,  programs
should  monitor  public behavior and  attitudes toward the  program  itself (Rickmers-
Skislak, 1988; Geller, 1986; and Geller and Lehman, 1986).  Surveys conducted before and
after several educational campaigns took place provided program organizers with a clear
indication of  whether consumer attitudes  and behaviors changed  (SDEC,  1982;  and
PAMRRP, 1970s).  Program directors will  want to know,  for example, if consumers
respond favorably to informational pamphlets put in their grocery bags, or feel that the
large posters hanging in the store aisles are excessive or heavy-handed.  This feedback
will enable organizations to modify the program as appropriate to fit their audience. In
addition, feedback should be provided to the consumer  to indicate the effectiveness and
progress  of  the  education  program.  This transfer of information helps to make the
consumer's efforts  personal, tangible, and "visible," and  enhances  the credibility  and
effectiveness of the program, as well as  the value of individual actions (Geller, 1986;
Stern, 1984;  and Conn, 1980).
         Adaptability - Education programs should have a  unified theme and should not
be designed  along rigid, preconceived  lines, but should  be flexible enough to respond to
feedback and open to modifying their techniques (Rickmers-Skislak, 1988).  For example,
program  designers who decide ahead of  time  to spend 80 percent of their promotional-
materials budget on large,  in-store posters will regret that decision later on if  they
discover  that consumers resent the posters' presence or otherwise do not respond to that
medium.
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                         V. Understanding the Marketplace
        Attempts to stimulate demand for products and packaging that promote source
reduction  and recyclability do not take place in a vacuum; there is  dynamic interplay
between the  marketplace variables (which for the most part industry decision-makers
determine), consumer concerns (which  may be reflected in their purchase decisions and
through other channels), and government policies. This section presents a short overview
of market forces, looking at industry, consumer, and government roles  in the market-
place.  Each of the key players,  i.e., industry, consumers, and  government, can take
advantage of changes in the marketplace.   It is important that program  organizers
understand and work within the established structure of  the marketplace.  For companies
to maintain  or gain market shares in the future, they may have to respond to consumer
and social concerns about the MSW management crisis.  All levels of government must
coordinate their own actions to guide the relationship  between consumers and industry
towards increasing the availability and purchase of products and packaging that promote
source reduction and recyclability.

A.  Industry Roles
        Company  product  and  packaging  marketing  strategies  are  traditionally
described  by the  four P's: product, place, promotion, and price.  Geller (1988) adds two
more market influences  to this  list that are  not under  marketers' control: politics and
public opinion.  The four P's represent marketing areas in which the management of a
company has control (Becker, 1981).
        Product: The characteristics of the product which is being marketed
        (e.g.,  design,  quality,  safety, aesthetics,   convenience  and the
        environmental consequences of production, use, and disposal).
        Place: The distribution of a product, including  where and how much of
        a product will be made available.
        Promotion:  The advertising campaign or campaigns which  the man-
        agement chooses to use for selling a  product.
         Price: The cost of a product to consumers.
         Industry decision-makers continually adjust these market variables  in order to
create a product which  they feel will be competitive  in the  marketplace.   A product
need not  necessarily be  competitive across all variables.  For example,  a higher-priced
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 product can  compete  successfully  with lower-priced products if the quality  of the
 product is  superior  to the competition and/or  the  promotional campaign convinces
 consumers that the quality of the higher-priced product is superior.  Over the same time
 period, more  durable products need fewer repairs and less frequent replacement than do
 less durable products.  These products' increased utility can often result in long-term
 cost  savings  to consumers.   Indeed, car manufacturers such as Volvo and household
 appliance manufacturers such as Maytag have  based promotional  campaigns on the
 quality and durability of their products.
         Generally speaking, the quality of products containing recycled materials has
 been  vastly  improved in the last twenty years.  However, there has been relatively little
 effort aimed  at changing consumer misconceptions. The quality of recycled products
 needs to be demonstrated, advertised, and used as a  selling point rather than hidden and
 considered detrimental (VandenBerg,  1988, 1987).  For example, in the 1960's, the re-
 refined oil industry was forced to label its products as containing recycled content.  This
 connoted  a  lower quality to many consumers and led, along with other factors,  to a
 decline in this industry (Elliot, 1987; and Brinkman, 1986).
         As awareness of the MSW management crisis and other environmental conse-
 quences of purchase decisions continues to grow,  it will be  increasingly important for
 industry decision-makers who are concerned  with  maintaining their companies' market
 position to develop products, packaging, and promotional campaigns which address these
 issues (e.g., using  cost-consumer materials, helping  to develop  standards for  recycled
 content, and  marketing  these  features to  consumers).   There  are  already several
 publications,   or   shopping  guides,  which  rate  individual   products'  environmental
 consequences and companies' environmental records (CEP, 1988; and Dadd, 1988).   This
 suggests that in the future, in order to remain competitive, product marketers may have
 to address consumer concerns over the MSW management crisis.
        Societal concerns determine how consumers will react to a product or package
 which  industry makes  available.  Consumers can affect the types of products  and
 packages that are available and can determine the  success  or  failure  of a  product if
 manufacturers  and  marketers  believe that  consumer  concerns  are  strong   and
 widespread.   Industry,  in turn,  uses market surveys  to monitor  and react to trends in
consumer  concerns.   For example, between  the  1986 and  1988  Packaging magazine
 surveys, the number of respondents who claimed they "often" or "sometimes" considered
 the recyclability of packaging rose from 36.2 percent in 1986 to 48.4 percent in  1988
(Erickson, 1988).   Becker (1981)  has specified  eight issues that consumers  take  into
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account when  making purchase decisions:  information, health and safety, repair and
servicing,  pricing,  pollution,  market  concentration, product  quality, and  consumer
representation before government. Becker suggests that there is an opportunity matrix
for business management which relates consumer issues to  marketing decision variables.
In order to take  advantage of this  opportunity matrix, a company needs to identify
potential conflicts between consumer concerns and  their products and packaging in order
to  tailor their marketing  strategy (product,  price, promotion, and place) to reflect
consumer concerns.  In support of the importance of these issues to consumers, Kinnear
and Taylor (1973) found  that  decisions concerning  the  purchase of laundry detergents
were related to the ecological concern of consumers. This suggests that consumers who
are concerned with the environment are willing to re-evaluate their purchase decisions in
order  to account for a product's  or package's environmental consequences if their
awareness  is raised.  A product or package that is  known  to have  comparatively  fewer
environmental impacts than its competitors may have an advantage among consumers
who are environmentally concerned.

B. Consumer Roles
         Consumer groups  may attempt to influence industry decision-makers to take
notice  of consumer issues in several  ways.   Letter writing campaigns, such as those
encouraging Coca-Cola to discontinue  using a  combination  plastic and metal can,  or
encouraging Recycled Paper Products, Inc.  to use recycled  feedstock  for all of their
greeting cards (or  else not market virgin paper cards  under their company name), not
only demonstrate how many consumers are concerned, but also  generate good or bad
publicity for the  targeted companies (Ferrand, 1988c). Preferential consumer purchasing
on a large scale can impart economic gains to a selected company or product line. Alter-
natively, consumer boycotts, which can be combined with  letter writing campaigns, can
 inflict economic  losses on  corporations that do not heed consumer concerns. Recycled
packaging  awareness campaigns, such as the Palo Alto and  San Diego programs, generate
 awareness of  the MSW management crisis and encourage the purchase of products that
 have fewer environmental  impacts (Gallager,  1984; SDEC, 1981; and PAMRRP,  1970s).
 Such promotions can provide  a competitive advantage to companies that sell products
 with fewer environmental consequences.
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C.  Government Roles
         Governmental  regulations,  taxation, funding, and education/oversight policies
can  affect  the types,  prices, and  the  promotion of products  which industry makes
available  to consumers.  Government-imposed bans on packaging, such as a ban on the
use of  styrofoam containers in  Portland,  Oregon restaurants can directly affect  an
industry's product marketing strategies, albeit attacking a very small percentage of the
MSW  stream.   Differentiated sales taxes/credits based on container recyclability  have
been  proposed  in Maine, New Jersey, New  York and other states.   These taxes/credits
may affect prices and may create a competitive advantage for products  and packaging
with  recycled content or those that are recyclable (Environmental  Action Foundation,
1988). However, there has been little experience with these types of  taxes, and even less
consideration of the size of an effective tax and their placement.  Regardless of how
credits or taxes are imposed (at the industry or consumer level), an extrinsic incentive or
disincentive should be combined with an awareness program in order to inform consumers
about which, how much, and why products are being credited  or taxed.  For example,
Geller et al. (1983) found that both tangible  extrinsic rewards, such as monetary savings,
and informational feedback, were needed to motivate residential conservation of water.
        Government  activities that may  improve the quality (actual and perceived)  of
recycled products include  the preferred purchasing  of products  which meet minimum
standards  for recycled content and  establishment of standards for,  and definitions of,
recycled  content.    Because  government  purchases   represent   a  large  market
(approximately  20 percent of the gross national product — Case,  1989), it is believed  that
they can strengthen the industry and lead to greater availability of recycled products
(Keller, 1988).   Under  the Resource  Conservation  and  Recovery   Act,  the EPA  has
established guidelines  for purchase of five categories of products: paper, lubricating  oils,
tires,  concrete  and  cement, and   thermal insulation.    Government purchases  also
represent  a  quality endorsement of  a  product  (Brinkman, 1986).  Household consumer
concerns about  the quality of recycled materials might fade if such materials  met
government requisition quality specifications.
        While  some products and packages  are marketed as  high-quality  durables,  and
reusables, others are promoted  for their  disposability.   Many consumers  have been
convinced that  disposable  products,  as well as certain  types  of packaging,  are more
convenient (Erickson,  1988).  To allow consumers  to make informed tradeoffs between
convenience and other implications of product and package usage, awareness programs  —
by government, industry, retailers and other groups — could identify the environmental
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costs of disposable products and promote the high-quality attributes (e.g., containing less
materials, longer lasting) of source-reduced products and packages and encourage  their
use. In addition, these programs could highlight the quality of life improvements that
can be expected  with  lessened environmental impacts.   That  is, a  counteracting
marketing campaign could identify and creatively  illustrate the social costs associated
with environmental cleanup and pollution control due to disposable products for society
as a whole.  For example, governments, retailers, or others could educate consumers of
the cost savings and environmental benefits of using durable eating utensils or buying
certain goods with source reduction (e.g., purchased in bulk or minimum  packaging) or
recyclability (e.g., made with recycled  or  recyclable materials) attributes  in order to
minimize materials  or  packaging used  and disposed, though convenience would  be
lessened.
         One  major problem faced by consumers is the lack of standardized definitions
and labeling  for recycled  content or recyclability.  Exhibit 6 presents a  few of the
variety of symbols in use  today connoting recycled, recyclable,  and "environmentally
friendly"  products and packaging.  Many products and packaging  that promote source
reduction and recyclability, such as products  which use recycled paperboard in  their
packaging, are not labeled as such (API,  1988).  Other products and packaging that do not
promote source reduction and recyclability use company names or have  worded labels
 that imply that they do. For example, a greeting card company called Recycled Paper
 Products markets  under its company name some of its greeting cards that do not contain
 recycled paper (ANJR, 1988).
         Government, industry, consumers, academia, and other  interested groups can
 adopt and promote a simple standardized system  of definitions and labels for products
 and   packaging   with   information   about   their   environmental    consequences.
 Standardization of labeling can allow consumers to identify quickly and easily products
 which  have  a minimum  recycled  content  or  are  recyclable  (VandenBerg,  1988).
 Widespread use and publicity  of a consistent definition is also important to the integrity
 of a product  label or endorsement.  In order to further facilitate consumers' search for
 products and packaging that promote source reduction and recyclability,  state and local
 governments  have already developed  shopping  guides  listing supply  houses  or  the
 manufacturers  of  these  products and packaging (MDNR, 1988; PRC, 1988; CFE,  1987;
 City of Berkeley,  1980s; and SED, 1980s).
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           VI.  Influencing the Relationship Between Consumers and Marketers
         This section briefly reviews the problem of promoting recycled content in the
 marketplace.  This  is followed by an examination of several new developments in the
 marketplace that appear to be improving the climate for the advertising of products and
 packaging  promoting source  reduction  and those that have recycled  content or are
 recyclable. The "marketplace" refers both to individual consumers and to companies that
 design, manufacture, package, distribute and advertise products.  The discussion that
 follows is  intended especially  for  consideration by  marketers,  to  evaluate how the
 context for revealing recycled content is changing.
         Recent marketplace developments that encourage the purchase of products and
 packaging  made from recycled materials or that are  recyclable can be summarized by
 four  general  trends.   First,  recent  public opinion polls  reveal  a  heightened public
 awareness  of, and desire to be involved  in solving, environmental problems, particularly
 as  related to  recycling and  solid  waste  management (e.g.,  Erickson,  1988; Modern
 Brewery Age, 1988; NSWMA, 1988a; and  Robert Marston and Associates,  1988).  Second,
 "cause related marketing" is being used by product marketers to capitalize on consumers'
 interest in supporting various  socially and environmentally  beneficial causes by  linking
 financial support of these causes to product purchases.  Third, consumer activism is being
 used  by non-profit  groups to promote  environmental  shopping and  letter writing
 campaigns.  Fourth,  selective  use  of labels  can be used to designate products as having
 fewer environmental impacts (i.e., less toxic, made from recycled material,  recyclable,
 etc.).
        When evaluated together, these developments are cause for optimism.  Each
 lends strong  encouragement to manufacturers and marketers to not only use recycled
 materials, but also to integrate recycling-related concepts into their publicity and adver-
 tising strategies.  One leading  package designer already has declared "recyclable" a new
 market "hot button."  Despite  a history of somewhat negative connotations, use of the
 term "recycled" might become  increasingly attractive.
        An important component  of a comprehensive solid waste management strategy
 is to enhance the image of recycled content to attract new consumers of, and increase
demand for, material being reclaimed through collection programs. There  are, however,
several major barriers to manufacturers'  voluntary use of recycled content.  First is the
belief that  recycled materials are inferior in performance and appearance to their virgin
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material counterparts.   Second,  many manufacturers  who do  use  recycled content
generally have  been reluctant to publicize this to their customers, for  fear that their
products may be perceived as inferior by consumers.  From the point of view of the solid
waste planner, a most unfortunate consequence of the "hidden use of recycled content"
is the missed opportunity to enhance the reputation of recycled content.
        In some cases, goods made with recycled materials may be  more expensive than
goods made with virgin materials  until large markets are  developed.  State and Federal
agencies are  entertaining  a wide range  of  innovative  proposals, and, in some  cases,
legislation  to provide financial  incentives and disincentives for the use of  recycled
material and  recyclable packaging.   For  recycled content,   mandatory government
procurement  quotas,  modification  of  restrictive   procurement  specifications,  and
preferential pricing are among the most widely adopted policies  thus  far.   Financial
disincentives,  such as packaging material surcharges and taxes, also  are being considered
to offset the  effect of some of the subsidies available to virgin materials industries, to
discourage use of  nonrecyclable or excess packaging, and to reward  purchase of products
and  packaging that  promote source reduction and recyclability.  These  actions will  be
more effective  if  there  is more voluntary marketplace acceptance  of recycled content.
Instilling consumers with pride, similar to the intent of the "Buy American" campaign,
could  be  the  most  cost-effective way to  assist  the growth of markets for  recycled
materials.
         To  overcome negative  associations  with the  concept of  recycled  content,
industries  need compelling  evidence  that items with recycled content can perform
equivalently  to  items  without  recycled content,  and  that consumers  will respond
favorably to  the  designation "contains recycled  material."   Establishing the case that
consumers might  prefer recycled content, or at the least not be prejudiced against it, is
difficult, both  for  lack of  good  research  data on the  subject, and because negative
attitudes are so strongly held on the  part  of manufacturers and packagers.  With few
exceptions, American manufacturers and marketers that use recycled content  are not yet
convinced  that  it  has  become "safe" to promote the label "recycled" in association with
their products,  or that the word "recyclable" offers a strong  competitive  advantage.
However, network television advertisements were shown nationally May/June 1989 by
Alcoa  (1989) and the Glass Packaging  Institute (1989)  promoting the  benefits from
recycling aluminum and glass containers, respectively.
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         Despite the success of its "Gray is Beautiful" campaign promoting recycled
paperboard  packaging,  Rodney  Edwards (1987),  President  of  the  American Paper
Institute, believes that the packaging industry is well justified in its aversion to the use
of a label to identify "recycled" content.  He reported that the market for items made
with  reprocessed  wool went "rapidly  downhill" shortly after a 1935  law was  passed
requiring it  to be labeled as such. This not only gave virgin wool a market advantage, it
also established a stigma for the word recycled that endures and acts as a barrier to the
promotion of other recycled materials in today's marketplace.
         Edwards (1987) also cited an instance where a company discontinued use of the
recycled symbol because letters from consumers praised their product, but never men-
tioned the recycled symbol. This firm discontinued using the recycled symbol rather than
take the risk that if it  were not considered a positive attribute, there might be a nega-
tive association.
         Another industry  representative confided  that his company routinely tests the
recycled paper packaging it uses, as a precaution against the occurrence of PCBs (banned
in the 1970s from multi-copy paper) in the material.  This is in reaction to the finding a
few years ago that a load  of recycled paper  had been contaminated at a mill by carbon
papers that were mixed into  the  recycled  feedstocks.   This company does  not  now
advertise its recycled content but is organizing an internal committee to re-evaluate the
company's stance on this.
         Albin  Voegele, President of Vermont Republic  Industries, which  manufactures
products from  recycled plastic, has a pessimistic view  of the feasibility of promoting
recycled content:
         . .  .  given the symbolism  inherent in language, the use  of  the  word
         "virgin" should not  be used  in association with  the concept of
         recycling.   The word "recycled", indicating the reuseableness of a
         material in contradistinction to "virgin" indicating that the material is
         being  used for the first time, puts  the  concept of "recycling" in an
         uphill,  and  potentially losing,  battle to (re)gain a  connotative  and
         "affective" response of positiveness. We  have to  move  from  the
         connotation  of  using  soiled  and  stained  materials  towards  a
         reincarnate (i.e., designed) use of materials  for a series of sequential
         products."  (Voegele, 1989)
Whatever drawbacks are associated  with  using products and packaging that promote
source reduction and  recyclability,  there are several ways to offset  the  negative
associations  consumers  may have with non-virgin materials.  Furthermore, marketing
experts are now touting environmentally conscientious marketing as a way to profit from
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growing consumer concerns about environmental degradation. The remaining subsections
deal with four aspects of the marketplace (i.e., public sensitivity to environmental issues,
cause-related  marketing,  environmental  shopping and  letter-writing  campaigns, and
labeling issues) that influence  the  success of programs  designed to increase consumer
demand for products and packaging that result in reduced environmental  impacts.

A.  Public Sensitivity to Environmental Issues
        The problems  encountered with promotion of recycled content in the past,
should be  viewed in their  historical context,  juxtaposed against social values about con-
sumption.   When disposable  containers were first introduced, one  advertisement por-
trayed the tossing of  a  convenient, throw-away bottle, out of a car window, and into a
lake,  as a desirable action.  This advertisement would not be  looked upon favorably in
today's pollution conscious society.
         Because social attitudes and  values related to  consumption and environmental
degradation have changed, marketplace conditions are now more favorable for promoting
recycled content. Several recent public opinion polls have established that the public is
aware of, and greatly  concerned about, solid  waste management  and threats  to the
environment from  improper  management  (e.g., National  Solid Wastes Management
Association, 1988a; and Robert Marston  Associates, 1988).  For example, a 1988 survey
found that while only 20  percent of Americans identify  themselves as Republicans, and
only   31  percent  say  they  are   Democrats,  39  percent   describe  themselves  as
environmentalists (Research Alert, 1988).
         One example of  increasing social concern about the environment is the January
 1989  issue of Time magazine which named the  Earth as Planet  of the Year in lieu of the
usual Man or Woman of the Year.  The cover photo depicted an earth globe wrapped in
plastic and bound  in knotted rope, as the editorial said, to emphasize  "earth's vulner-
ability to man's reckless ways." Solid waste was described as one of the four top threats
 to the environment.  In terms  of per capita waste generation rates for cities around the
world, New York City topped the ranking at 4 pounds per capita per day, the next highest
 being 3 pounds per capita in Tokyo, with many other cities elsewhere in the world
 showing as little as 1  to 2 pounds per capita (Miller, 1989).
          In a similar vein, the  December 1988 National Geographic also  featured articles
 on world  environmental crises. Its cover photo was a holographic image of an exploding
 planet with the caption:  "Can man save this fragile earth?"  One article then presented
 portraits  of the daily  lives of  five families  to illustrate differences in the  average
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 standard of living in each of their respective countries.  The effect was to convey the

 magnitude of difference that exists between the standard of living for Americans and the
 rest of the world:

         The birth of a baby in the United States imposes more  than a hundred
         times the stress on the world's resources and environment as a birth
         in, say, Bangladesh.  Babies from Bangladesh do not grow up to own
         automobiles and air conditioners or to eat grain fed beef . . .  Central
         American forests are destroyed in part for pastureland  to make pet
         food and convenience food in the United States slightly cheaper; in
         Papua New Guinea, forests are destroyed to supply cardboard packag-
         ing for Japanese electronic parts (Ehrlich and Ehrlich, 1988).

         Certain industry leaders have recognized this social trend and have declared

 that environmental and solid waste management concerns  hold promising  opportunities
 for marketers.  The journal, American Demographics, routinely  tracks all kinds of polls

 and surveys for its readers, and offers advice on new market trends. In its February 1989

 issue, editor Cheryl Russel exhorted marketers to take advantage of consumer interest in
 the environment:

         . . . nearly half of  Americans believe the environment around them is
         getting worse  — a proportion that is up 14 percentage points in just
         one year, according to a survey  by Cambridge Reports Trends & Fore-
         casts of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

                 Americans are  in a fix.  Every day they eat 14 million ham-
         burgers (rain forests are being cleared  to make way  for grazing beef
         cattle),  throw  away half a million razors (not to mention 5 million
         diapers), and buy 25,000 air conditioned cars (each  of which dumps
         five tons of  carbon dioxide a year into the  atmosphere).  Americans
         want to do  right by the  environment,  but  almost everyone  does it
         wrong.  This  fix is a hot button for marketers.

                 Thirty-nine percent  of  Americans strongly identify  them-
         selves as environmentalists, according  to  a Gallup survey for the
         Times Mirror.  Environmentalists are themselves a bigger market than
         some of the  hottest markets of the 1980s — such as Hispanics (8 per-
        cent of the population), married couples with children (20 percent), or
        even the baby boom (31 percent).

                 Forty-seven percent  of all consumers ... are  "much" or
        "somewhat" more inclined  to go to a store or restaurant that is com-
        mitted  to reducing its use of plastic containers and utensils (Russel.
         1989).

        Ahern &  Heussner  Advertising  in New  York City (which names Conde Nast

[publisher of  Glamour, GQ,  and other magazines], British Airways, and Chemical Bank

among its  clients) recently conducted a research project that involved interviewing
experts about solid waste and recycling  issues.   Ahern & Heussner explain that their
                                       40

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focus on  environmental  issues stems from  a  "personal and intuitive belief  in the

importance  of  these issues  to the average  consumer."  They used  results of these
interviews  and information  from  published literature, to create a  brief primer and

proposal for prospective clients. As a promotional device for their firm, they also are

developing  a  brochure  which features  their  top  ten  predictions  about   consumer

preferences. Draft copy of these predictions reads as follows:

             Garbage will become big business.  Packaging will become a dirty
             word.

             With most landfills expected to be filled by 1995, recycling will
             likely be mandatory in most municipalities.

             Consumers  will  make  the  nasty chore  of  sorting  trash  more
             manageable with a host  of new home appliances and  recycling
             containers like partitioned trash cans.  Procter  and Gamble and
             other consumer goods marketers will have to figure out  ways to
             "unpackage" their goods as trash weary  consumers lean toward
             products that avoid unnecessary overwrap (Ottman, 1989).

         Although the pricing of trash disposal on a user fee basis is relatively new, it is

expected to become widespread, and will create disincentives to generating wastes, re-

sulting in more  households  paying  even closer attention  to how they manage their

wastes.  John Naisbitt,  author of the best selling book, Megatrends, offers marketers this

advice in his February 16, 1989 "Trend Letter":

         In an age of spiraling municipal costs for trash disposal and  increas-
         ingly  scarce  landfill sites, a pay-by-the-bag garbage system  could
         spread across the U.S. and in cities abroad.  ... By making households
         individually accountable for the cost of disposing of their trash, com-
         munities would give a significant boost to recycling programs.  Sales
         of kitchen disposal units  and compactors  would escalate  (Naisbitt,
          1989).

         The December 1988 issue of Metropolis, the Architecture and Design Magazine

 of New York, featured a cover story titled: "Garbage of the Future."  The major point of

 the story was to explain that package designers must  begin to consider  the solid waste
 impacts of their designs, not only because of negative consumer perceptions about the

 wastefulness of  packaging,  but also because leading experts in the field of marketing

 have declared it  a profitable way to attract consumer interest.

         Stewart Mosberg,  President of the  Package  Design Council, has recently

 founded the Packaging  Coalition for Solid Waste Management.  The Coalition is intended

 to persuade packaging  designers that they have a problem  that can be  turned to their
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 advantage.  In regard to looking at recyclability, Metropolis quotes Mosberg:
         We've worked hard to establish credibility in the marketing mix. Now
         we're getting a bum rap: "You designed it, you get rid of it.  You guys
         design this stuff.  Design something easy to get rid of."
 About the words "New! Recyclable!", Mosberg says:  "I believe it is going to be a market
 position in  the  1990s."  Richard Gerstman,  a leading packaging design  consultant  is
 quoted as saying:
         In general, those of us involved in packaging have a tremendous oppor-
         tunity, now at the threshold of the nineties, to be the good guys in the
         tumultuous decade to come (Jacobs, 1988).
         As consumers become educated about the environmental consequences of waste
 disposal, they will  look for ways to mitigate these impacts.  The greatest contribution
 individual consumers  can  make is  to purchase products  and packaging that minimize
 adverse environmental  consequences and  promote source reduction  and recyclability.
 Furthermore,  corporate America is also becoming  more sensitive to environmental
 issues.  This growing public and corporate awareness is evident from a 1988 survey of
 sixty-seven Fortune 500 companies  and is expected to continue  over the next few years
 (Meeker & Associates, 1988).

 B. Cause Related Marketing
         Cause related  marketing promotes social or  environmental benefits of a prod-
 uct's purchase along with traditional product characteristics  such  as price, quality, and
 personal satisfaction.   These are not products that have been manufactured expressly as
 fund-raising mechanisms for the causes promoted; rather, they are mainstream consumer
 products with social  or environmental benefits which may  have only recently been
 promoted.  The priority concern is  that of seeking new customers, while the social or
 environmental benefits  generally are a secondary  concern to  the marketers (Becker,
 1981).
        Although the product or service is enhanced by association with a moral cause,
and is  intended to present a strong  inducement for  the consumer to buy, the  product or
service may also  be bought  by  consumers  who have  no concern  for  the  cause.
Nonetheless, product manufacturers  may view these appeals  as  an additional means by
which they can favorably differentiate their products  or services from the competition.
Marketers usually consider differentiation in itself to be a desirable attribute.  It is likely
that as a  few  leading companies prove  successful with this approach, more  companies
                                       42

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will follow suit.  A few examples illustrate the variety of products and services that have
successfully applied cause related marketing techniques.
         •  During May/June 1989, Alcoa (1989) and the Glass Packaging Institute (1989)
sponsored national  television  advertisements promoting  the  recyclability of aluminum
and glass containers, respectively, and the benefits of reducing the MSW management
crisis through their recycling.
         •  Working Assets VISA is a credit card service  that donates 5 cents to  groups
that work for peace, human rights and the environment, each time the credit card  is used
(Working Assets).
         •  Polaroid will donate  $5 to one of four causes as a  reward for responding to a
brief marketing  questionnaire  that accompanies the purchase  of a camera. These  causes
are:  Ronald McDonald House, American Heart Association, United Negro College Fund,
and Yosemite Association (Polaroid Consumer Center).
         •  The  Social Investment Forum  is a clearinghouse  of information  on special
investment funds that uses various social criteria as "screens" in qualifying corporations
for their stock portfolios.  The Forum reports that  in 1984, $40 billion was invested with
reference to these  screens. By 1988, this rose to $450 billion.  Initially, these programs
were related chiefly to divestitures in South African related businesses, but they now
also include environmental and other criteria (Davidson, 1989).
         If  the  phenomenon  of  cause  related  marketing  proves to  increase sales
measurably, consumer demand  could increase to the point where private consumption
routinely leverages cause related  benefits.  Recycling activities could be promoted as a
"cause  related" benefit  (e.g.,  see  above discussion  of efforts  by Alcoa  and Glass
Packaging Institute), if the financial consequences (or social costs) of such behavior could
be convincingly  presented to  consumers.   In research by  De Young (1985) and De Young
and Kaplan (1985-86), it was  determined that a broad cross-section of Americans derive
satisfaction from conservation behavior.

C. Environmental Shopping Campaigns
         Mark Silbergeld,  an  attorney  for Consumers Union  (which publishes Consumer
Reports, a periodical devoted to product comparisons),  has  pointed out  that  it is not
necessary  for all of the buying public to shift its purchase habits at once.  A  substantial
segment  of the buying  public could  have  a significantly  favorable impact on the
situation.   Therefore, the task is  to  identify a segment of the market that can be
                                        43

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 persuaded to support recycled content.  He also remarked that it probably is not possible,
 nor desirable, to provide recycled content alternatives for all the virgin materials used in
 products and packaging now available, even if a segment of the consumer market could
 absorb all supply.
         In an  interview conducted  for this report, Mark Silbergeld was asked whether
 Consumers Union might not  incorporate environmental and  solid waste impacts analysis
 into some of its product testing and evaluation reports. He responded that a new product
 or  product characteristic must first become widely available "on the shelf" and offered
 by  a number of different companies, so that meaningful comparisons can  be made among
 brands.  Comparisons of general types  of packaging  would  not fall within their normal
 evaluation procedures unless there were environmentally preferable alternatives  among
 the competing  brands.   In  the context of product comparison  reporting, Consumer
 Reports would  not usually comment on desirable innovations that have not reached the
 market (Silbergeld, 1989).
         As is the case with cause related marketing, environmental shopping campaigns
 are not likely to attract 100 percent participation, yet they can have a positive effect on
 a significantly  influential segment of the consumer market. The Council  on Economic
 Priorities (CEP), is  a non-profit public interest research  organization that recently
 published  Rating America's  Corporate  Conscience.  The book's  subtitle  describes its
 purpose:   "A Provocative Guide to the  Companies Behind the Products You Buy Every
 Day" (Lydenberg, Marlin, Strub, and CEP, 1986).  CEP rates  130  companies on their
 performance in  seven issue areas.   In response to the success of the book, CEP next
 published "Shopping For A Better World," a 3i" by 5{" booklet, intended to be used as a
 reference guide when shopping.  It summarizes,  in chart form, information on  1,300
 products and 138 companies,  including environmental concerns.  Leslie Gottlieb (1989), a
 staff member of CEP, explained the purpose of the guide: "[t]he Guide is in response to
 consumer demand. We know we are on to something. People want to know the policies
 behind the companies they buy  from, beyond the  advertising." As  a measure of  their
 popularity, the  first  three printings (of 300,000 copies in bulk and individual sales) sold
 out in just  six months.   Additional shopping  guides, such  as "The Official Recycled
 Products Guide" (Boulanger, undated), are available from a variety of other groups and
businesses.
        In 1986, the Pennsylvania Resources Council (PRC) created an  Environmental
Shopping program that now  includes publication of a brochure and a booklet   titled:
"Become  an Environmental Shopper:  Vote for  the  Environment"  (PRC,  1988).   The
                                      44

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booklet advises  consumers  to  look  for  packaging codes, and reusable and  recyclable
packaging, to  avoid throw-aways, and to write to manufacturers to encourage them to
shift to reusable and recyclable materials.  The guide also  advises groups  on how to
organize Environmental  Shopping campaigns  in  their communities.   The Pennsylvania
Food Merchants Association is cooperating with this work. PRC also intends to develop a
"good environmental  housekeeping seal  of  approval" that  they would  invite qualified
manufacturers to  display on their products.   PRC  also has plans to develop a video
(Becker, 1988).
        Many consumers have  become environmental shoppers  and buy products with a
preference for reusable, recyclable,  or  compostable packages,  or bulk  purchases (e.g.,
Esco, 1988). Reusable shopping bags are also being offered as an alternative to paper and
plastic  bags.   Various  groups  are currently promoting reusable  shopping  bags  as an
alternative to paper and plastic bags. For example, the Coalition for Recyclable  Waste
is offering  a  cooperative marketing program  to individuals and other recycling  and
environmental groups who  want  to  sell canvas  shopping  bags to displace  paper  and
plastic. The PRC also has plans to market a cotton mesh shopping bag.

D.  Letter-Writing Campaigns
        Consumer activism in the 1960s and 1970s focused chiefly upon truth in adver-
tising, proper  product labeling, and the identification of negative effects of products on
individual safety and  health. This led to the passage of many laws, such as the Consumer
Product Safety Act, regulating production of  products and requiring testing,  disclosure,
and labeling  of  health  effects.   In addition  to traditional consumer concerns,  the
consumer movement of the 1980s reflects societal concerns about the effects of products
on the environment.
         Although it is true that  there is strength in presentations and appeals by organ-
ized groups, the potential impact of individual interactions with industry and government
agencies  is underestimated by the average consumer.  Letter  writing  campaigns have
proven particularly effective in influencing both government  and industry consideration
of  the environmental impacts of solid  waste by encouraging  or discouraging certain
policies or behaviors (Ferrand, 1988a).
         John Goodman  is a principal of the Technical Assistance Research Programs
Institute,  a consulting firm that advises  major corporations  on customer  relations.
Goodman  (1989) advises  that  there are three  major  factors  which,  when  occurring
together,  will virtually guarantee the personal attention of the chief executive officer of
                                        45

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a corporation.  First, environmentally-related complaints are registered not just by avid
environmentalists, but by a cross-section of their customers who have purchased their
products over a period of time.  Second, complaints are evaluated as part of a persistent
trend as opposed to a  transient reaction.  The third  factor  that affects whether a
company respond to letter writing campaigns is whether the number of complaints from
unaffiliated consumers reaches 100.  Though there is no data to support this last point,
Goodman is confident, based on his own experience, that this usually holds true whether
the product is an expensive car or a  bottle of  shampoo.  These factors indicate that an
effective means of influencing the relationship between consumers  and marketers is to
provide good educational  materials  to  a  large  audience,  to encourage individuals to
respond in their own words, and to sustain the program over a long period of time.
         This approach has been successfully demonstrated by the  Coalition for Recy-
clable  Waste.   Under  the  coalition's  leadership,  hundreds of  consumers,  including
recyclers,  environmentalists,  students, state  and  local  government  officials,  and
recycling industry representatives contacted Coca-Cola to protest the test marketing of
a can made of a polyethylene terephthalate body, polyvinyl chloride  label, and aluminum
top.  Environmentalists, recyclers,  local  municipal and  state, government  officials,
aluminum  processors,  and  incinerator  engineers protested  the use  of this plastic-
aluminum can because it was considered a poor replacement for aluminum  cans. The
container was difficult to economically separate for recycling and posed contamination
problems for both aluminum recycling and MSW incineration.  It also  bore the label,
"recyclable", even though opportunities to recycle were limited to the use of a half dozen
reverse vending machines.  To  its credit, Coca-Cola terminated its  test marketing with
the announcement that it would  not  pursue this package until the "recyclability issues
can be  resolved."  An outgrowth  of this  campaign, the  first  for the Coalition for
Recyclable Waste,  is a  network of  hundreds  of opinion and policy leaders  who are
interested  in using  letter writing campaigns again to affect a variety of other issues
related  to  product  and  packaging  design  and recyclability (Coalition  for Recyclable
Waste, 1989).
         As a related  example, consumer  interest in healthier  diets has encourag^ed
markets to provide and promote food products which appeal to this increasing segment of
the population.  Similar results  can occur if consumers state and follow-through on their
desire  for  products and packaging promoting source reduction and recyclability (Hurst
andRelis, 1988).
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E. Labeling
        This section briefly discusses a variety of labeling schemes that could be used,
or which are already in use, to support recycling and  other  solid waste management
objectives.  Standardized labels, codes,  or symbols can  be used to accomplish any of a
variety of goals:  to educate and encourage consumers to  buy products and packaging
that promote  source reduction and  recyclability; to  identify recycled or recyclable
materials used in products and packaging, thereby improving recovery and reuse of post-
consumer materials; to create an incentive for industries to earn positive recognition for
their products and packaging; and to  indirectly stimulate manufacturers to change their
production or packaging practices.
        In  conjunction  with local  and  state environmental  and waste management
officials, and  its own members, the National Paint  and Coatings Association (NPCA)
developed a disposal labeling statement for its consumer paint products. NPCA's efforts
were undertaken in response to local and state waste  management officials concerns and
expected state labeling initiatives.
        For solvent-based paint products, the label reads:
        "For  disposal   guidance  of  unused  amount  contact  a  household
        hazardous  waste  program,  or  your   local  or  state  government
        environmental control agency."
For latex and water-based paints, the  label reads:
        "For  disposal  guidance of  unused  amount  contact  your household
        refuse  collection   service,   or your  local  or  state  government
        environmental control agency."
Use of these labels will be phased in over time (Household Hazardous Waste Management,
1989).

        Another approach  that could be used to  achieve these goals would  be to label
magazines according to  the type of  binding glue used  and inform household recyclers
about  their  differences in recyclability.  Most magazines today  use hot melt glues for
bindings and mailing labels  that are not typically water-soluble.  It is expensive and
difficult to remove this type of  wastepaper in  the  recycling process.  Water soluble
alternatives do exist that would be compatible with recycling, but to date there appears
to be  no  mechanism to  persuade companies to favor its use.  Yet if  labeling of such
products were done, it could improve the recyclability of  wastepaper.
                                       47

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         Watson (1988b) explains that there is only one newsprint de-inking mill in North
America, Quebec  and Ontario Paper  Co. Ltd.,  that  is using significant quantities of
magazine wastepaper. Its mix is  45 percent virgin wood  pulp and 55 percent recycled
paper. Of the recycled portion, 65 percent is old newspaper and 35 percent is magazine
wastepaper.  Increased use  of magazine stock could actually improve the strength and
brightness of newsprint.
         If publishers that  do  use water-soluble glues could prominently display an
approved logo to that effect, then  households (and wastepaper collectors and processors)
could perhaps be taught  that it is okay to add these magazines to their  to-be-recycled
paper mix.   Such labeling  would  also be  helpful in building visibility for the idea of
recycle-friendly products, and could reward magazine publishers with favorable publicity.
         A labeling scheme  for  plastic containers being developed  by the Society of the
Plastics  Industry  (SPI)   appears  rather  straightforward, but  has  generated  some
controversy.  Because a number of businesses (and  states) are preparing to adopt  this
system, there is  an urgent need  to develop a broad-based national consensus on the
definition of "recyclable." Exhibit 6-C shows one set of symbols proposed by the plastics
industry to identify the type of resin used in  products and packaging in order to enhance
their  recyclability.  If states  vary in their  adoption of  standards  and  regulations for
describing products as recyclable, businesses  could incur considerable additional expense
to accommodate differences among states.
         The basic elements of the SPI voluntary coding system have met virtually unani-
mous  support: each of seven different plastic resin types is  to be designated by a number
imprinted on the  bottom of the containers.  The  primary aim is  to  assist recycling
processors,  not  consumers, to make proper  separation  of  resin types  as  may  be
appropriate  to  their  recycling operations.  A few  companies already  have begun to
modify their production processes to accommodate this scheme.
         However,  SPI  has proposed  that these numerical  codes  be  enclosed  by a
three-arrow triangular symbol.  This has met  with opposition from ten states represented
by  members of  the  Council  of   State  Governments'  Eastern  Regional  Conference
Northeast Recycling  Council (NERC):  Connecticut, Delaware, Maine,  Massachusetts,
New Hampshire, New Jersey,  New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. In
most  of  these  states, the average  consumer does  not have  a  means to conveniently
                                       48

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                                         Exhibit 6

                               Examples of Recycling Symbols
    Examples of symbols designed to
    facilitate  "environmental shopping"
    and  recycling.   Exhibit  A shows a
    variety  of  recycling  symbols from
    different sources  (Mikitka  et al.,
    1984).   Exhibit B  shows  Canada's
    "Environmentally Friendly Goods"
    symbol  (McMillan,  1988).   Exhibit  C
    shows the Society  of  the Plastic
    Industry's  container  coding system.
                                                                   B
o
C^tTMMS rUCTt

 Recycle
 Conserve

 Recycled
 Recyclable

 100% Recycled
 Paper

 Mede from 100%
 Recycled Fibres

 Made Primarily from
 Recycled Fibres

 Recycled
 Paper

 Recycled
 Fibres
                       Recyclable
                       Paper

                       Recyclable
                       Package

                       Recyclable
                       Fibres
  QD
   Recycled Paper
                     Recycling
              H
                     Aluminum
     UHulU •ndaaravAmMnon. &«n DMQO SIM* uniwwiy. 1 9**
Symbols reprinted by permission of McGraw-Hill (A), National Associa-
tion of Recycling Industries (B and C), Container Corporation of America
(D). Aluminum Association  (F), Aluminum Company of America (G),
Reynolds Aluminum (H), Glass Packaging Institute (I), and the advertis-
ing firm of Cunningham, Black and Farley (J). Origin of "E" is unknown.
                                                      CODE


                                                      /\
                                                                               MATERIAL
£l \ ---- Poly-Ethylene Terephthalate (PET)



              ---- High Density Polyethylene
PETE
 /\    HDPE
      ____ vinyl / Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
                                                       ---- Low Density Polyethylene
                                                 LDPE
                                                             ---- Polypropylene
                                           pp
                                         OTHER
                                                 j^O \ ____ Polystyrene

                                                   ps
                                                ---- All Other Resins and
                                                           Layered Multi-Material
                                            49

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recycle plastic  containers.  NERC endorsed the adoption  of  the  seven identification

codes, but unanimously adopted a formal resolution which declares, in part:

         ... use of a three arrow, or other similar, recycling symbol  on plastics
         for  which a viable recycling system has not  been demonstrated is
         likely to  subvert such symbols' generally understood meaning,  and is
         likely to be detrimental to recycling programs.

         . . . whereas, (NERC) supports uniformity in plastic material identifi-
         cation codes, NERC opposes the use of a recycling symbol in conjunc-
         tion with plastic material identification codes (NERC, 1989).


         SPI  maintains  that use  of the  symbol is necessary to maintain visibility and

avoid confusion  by separating the code from other markings on the containers.  SPI's

members  are also  engaged in  major  research efforts to  improve  the recyclability of

plastics.  SPI members  are also  pursuing publicity campaigns  to  change the public's
perception of plastics as non-recyclable (Erickson, 1988).

         New Jersey's mandatory  recycling act, passed  in 1987, has, in effect, already

imposed a performance criterion that would limit the use of words or  symbols designating
items as recyclable.  Other states are considering the adoption  of similar language. An
excerpt of this statute reads:

         No plastic  or  bi-metal  beverage container  shall be identified  as a
         recyclable container unless the department determines that  a conveni-
         ent and economically feasible recycling system for that specific con-
         tainer is available (P.L. 1987,  c. 102, section 10)

         NERC's resolution against the SPI's proposed symbol is not the first time that it
has taken action on a problem of definitions. In June 1988, the  same ten states and the

City of Philadelphia voted unanimously to adopt standard  definitions for describing "post-
consumer material," "recovered  material,"  and "recovered paper  material"  (NERC,

1989).   In addition,  NERC has also recommended definitions for recycled content for
each major type  of recycled paper product.


        postconsumer material means  only those products generated  by  a
        business or consumer which have  served their intended end uses, and
        which have  been separated  or diverted from solid  waste for  the
        purposes of collection, recycling disposition.

        recovered  material means material  and byproducts which have been
        recovered or diverted from solid waste, but such term does not include
        those materials and byproducts generated from,  and commonly reused
        within,  an original manufacturing  process (such as mill broke or  home
        scrap).
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        recovered  paper material means paper  waste generated  after  the
        completion of a papermaking process, such as postconsumer material,
        envelope  cuttings, bindery  trimmings,  printing waste,  cutting  and
        other  converting waste,  butt  rolls and  mill wrappers,  obsolete
        inventories, and  rejected unused stock.  Recovered paper material,
        however,   shall  not  include  fibrous waste  generated during  the
        manufacturing process such  as fibers recovered from waste water or
        trimmings of paper machine rolls (mill broke), or fibrous byproducts of
        harvesting, extractive or woodcutting processes, or forest residue such
        as bark (NERC, 1988).

        While this consensus does represent progress for some legislative purposes rela-
tive to procurement standards, there yet remains a problem  of the generic use of the
term "recycled" in other settings.  The Coalition for Recyclable Waste is currently  con-
ducting a  letter  writing  campaign, encouraging  consumers to protest  the  labeling
practices of the greeting card company,  Recycled Paper Products,  Inc.  This company
uses display cases with its name, and also prints its company name, on the  back of cards
that are of glossy, non-recycled stock. Although the first cards  printed by this company
when it was first founded were on recycled stock, the company maintains that consumers
do not care whether the card  stock really is made of recycled paper. As a consequence
of this campaign, the company is engaged in a search to identify  a source that can supply
a glossy recycled card stock.   At present, this is not produced by any American paper
mill.
        Standardized labels that represent the sanctions of an official or expert body
promise a  safe avenue  for marketers to experiment with promoting recycled content.
However, there are exceptions, where a few companies are doing this on their own. One
such company, Overseas Marketing of Tinsdale, California, is  willing to share advice on
how that company  uses a recycled content label on its corrugated paper cartons.  The
President, Irv Wieder, explains that the carton is stamped: "Made from tested recycled
materials," for several reasons. First, this is  to explain why the color of the carton dif-
fers from that  which customers are accustomed  to.  Second, Wieder believes that the
word "tested" is a term that customers are very familiar with, and that it conveys relia-
bility and trustworthiness. For overseas customers, in particular, he believes that the
word  "tested"  carries connotations  of America's  best qualities  of  production, as in
"Tested by Underwriters' Laboratory" (Wieder, 1989).  However,  the testing  should be
based  on  agreed-upon  procedures.   American Society of Testing Materials  (ASTM)
regularly meets to research and develop  performance standards for a wide  range of
materials.
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         The key to successful marketing of recycled content could be to de-emphasize
its associations  with solid waste and  to  build, instead, stronger associations with the
more attractive concepts of ecology, sustainability, future resources, Mother Nature,
etc.  This also underscores the importance of establishing a universal seal or symbol that
could be  broadly applied to all kinds of products and packaging rather than simply declar-
ing recycled content on a label. A graphic symbol or seal could also lend itself to more
forceful  and  attractive presentation in a national advertising  and promotion campaign
aimed at consumers.
         There is good precedent for this approach.  Canada has just launched a program
to award the  use of an "environmentally friendly products" logo  to approved products and
packaging (Stoops, 1989; and McMillan, 1988). This program is based on a similar concept
in operation in West Germany (the Blue Angel  program) since 1978.  The winning design
in a  national  competition  for the Canadian logo showing three  intertwining doves in the
outline of a  maple leaf represents the cooperating sectors of consumer, industry  and
government (see Exhibit 6).
         This theme of cooperating sectors is consistent with the way in which product
evaluations need to be made, to  determine which products and packaging will be eligible
to use the logo.  The  review and selection process involves an independent association
equivalent to a U.S. Underwriters' Laboratory, non-profit public interest consultants, and
government representatives.  Similar concepts  for the use of a  symbol or seal are being
proposed in the U.S., as part of  an environmental organization's environmental shopping
campaign, in  educational brochures  by  state  and city governments,  and as  part  of
proposed legislation for RCRA reauthorization (The Waste Minimization and Control Act
of 1988).
                                       52

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                                  VII.  Conclusions
A.  Major Findings

         Many of the projects reviewed for this study started their consumer education

and promotion campaigns without the benefit of  guidance and experience from prior

projects.   This  study found several consistent  themes  in the projects  and research

reviewed  which should  be useful  in  designing similar programs  and planning future

research.   The findings are suggested  from examining strategies that were effective in

stimulating household demand for products and packaging that promote source reduction

and recyclability.  The effectiveness of consumer education programs can be enhanced if
the principles listed below are followed:

         •   Attention-getting techniques  for consumer education  programs
             must compete  with  other advertising.  To be successful, these
             educational programs must be of high  quality and as sophisticated
             as  other advertising  in targeting appropriate messages to various
             audiences.

             Long-term  changes  in consumer behavior depend  upon changing
             basic  consumer attitudes and  motives.    Consumer  education
             programs  should not  be  limited  to  short-term,  non-durable
             incentives but should be combined with self-sustaining motivation
             (having long-term durability).

             Household consumer  education programs should make consumers
             feel that their participation will  be a positive contribution to  the
             solution of an important problem.

             In  order  to  increase product choices  available  to consumers,
             upstream decision-makers, such as manufacturers and  product
             and packaging designers,  must be educated about the desirability
             of source reduction and product/packaging  recyclability as well as
             the economic and image enhancement.

             Definitions, labeling, and other important messages must be stan-
             dardized, simple, and well publicized, so that they are readily
             recognized and understood by consumers.

        In addition,  there are several important factors that affected the effectiveness

of the store- and community-based education  programs reviewed for this study.  These
include:

             Strategies designed  to change purchase behaviors  and attitudes
             are more likely to gain consumer acceptance and achieve lasting
             changes in buying habits.
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            The  quality and content of consumer education and promotional
            activities affect how the message of the program is received by
            the target audience(s).  The promotion must grab the attention of
            consumers and leave them with a sense  of wanting to help solve
            the MSW management crisis.

            Involvement of different interest groups helps to establish credi-
            bility and support from groups as diverse as concerned consumers,
            grocery store management, the department of public works, and
            industry.    Involving several  groups  into  the program  pools
            together  resources (e.g.,  labor, funding, access to advertising,
            endorsement) and expands support to a wider audience.

        •   Cooperation  of retailers  is critical for  store-based promotional
            campaigns.  Efforts to change purchase decisions are most effec-
            tive when community-based education is complemented by point-
            of-purchase information and reminders in the store.  Cooperative
            retailers  should be recruited prior to  start-up.  Promoting  the
            program  to  retailers  should  emphasize  the  benefits  (e.g.,
            enhancing store image, avoidance of disposal costs if linked with
            new recycling activities, and outside sources of financing).

            Development of programs designed for  the long term is essential
            if consumer-based programs are to contribute to mitigating  the
            MSW management crisis.  Only by permanently changing purchase
            behaviors can  we move  towards closing the  recycling loop by
            stimulating demand for products made from  recycled material
            and  reduce generation of MSW destined for disposal.   Long-term
            funding,  effective   feedback   of  audience   responses,  and
            adaptability are three key elements for a program's longevity and
            success.

        This study's assessment of marketplace initiatives revealed  that, while little has

been done to date, consumers, government, and industry can contribute to improving the
availability of, and demand for, products and packaging promoting source reduction and

recyclability.

            As consumers become increasingly aware of the range of environ-
            mental consequences of  their purchase decisions (e.g., resource
            depletion, exhausting waste  disposal capacity, introduction  of
            potential hazards into  the  environment during production  and
            disposal,  endangerment  of wildlife, and loss of esthetics  due to
            litter), they  will likely  select products  with fewer environmental
            impacts (also depending on the Four P's).  Astute marketers  can
            take advantage  of  the  popularization  of  environmentalism by
            offering  acceptable alternatives  that  satisfy  this  consumer
            concern.  Different  levels of  government and interest groups  can
            participate  in  educating  consumers   to   help   them   make
            environmentally beneficial product and package choices.
                                       54

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         •   Cause related marketing enhances a product's or package's image
             by  linking their purchase  with  a social  cause.    Frequently,
             marketers  are  linking   their  products  and  packaging  with
             environmental causes, thereby increasing consumer awareness of
             environmental  problems  and leveraging  financial  support for
             environmental programs.  Cause related marketing could also be
             used to promote source reduction and recycling activities.

         •   Environmental  shopping  and letter writing campaigns  may be
             effective in reducing the amount  and  toxicity of  post-consumer
             materials.  Environmental shopping campaigns are being used ir. a
             few  states,  localities,  and  national  organizations  to  educate
             consumers  about   the   environmental  consequences of  their
             purchase decisions  and  guide  them  in selecting products and
             packaging with fewer environmental impacts.  Typically,  environ-
             mental shopping guides contain  information about product  toxi-
             city, overpackaging, recyclability,  and desirable substitutes and
             alternatives.   Letter writing campaigns have been used  to focus
             consumer and media attention on selected products and packaging
             which a group views as desirable or undesirable.  After one such
             campaign  in  1987, a plastic-aluminum can  was withdrawn  from
             the market by two soft drink manufacturers.

             Standardized  labeling can be used to accomplish a variety of
             goals:  to educate and encourage consumers to buy products  and
             packaging with source-reduced or recycled content,  to  identify
             source-reduced,  recycled,  or   recyclable   materials  used  in
             consumer products and packaging,  and to  create  incentives for
             manufacturers to introduce and gain recognition for products and
             packaging  that  promote source  reduction  and  recyclability.
             Canada has begun  a program where products may be submitted
             for testing and certification  as "environmentally friendly."  It is
             important that all affected parties (including consumers, industry,
             retailers, government, and academia) be involved in the standard-
             setting process to ensure feasibility and support for these  types of
             programs.


B. Program and Policy Needs

         What is the current picture?  Although there was some federal funding of con-

sumer education projects during the 1970s, much of the recent work has been carried out
at the local level either by environmental coalitions or municipal or state authorities.  At

present,  states,  localities,  environmental groups, and industry are developing consumer

education strategies to meet their concerns as the need arises.  Twenty-four states have

initiated some  type of  "buy recycled" program (Andress, 1989).   These programs are

aimed at state procurement guidelines and, in several cases, at household consumers as

well.  Several states and coalitions are developing environmental shopping guides which
will  provide  listings  of products and packages  that are considered safer for  the
                                       55

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environment  and  will,  in some cases, provide  information  on  product  availability.

Michigan is facilitating meetings between manufacturers/packagers and consumer groups

so that each  can hear the other's concerns.  In addition, several manufacturers are now

taking advantage of consumer concerns about the environment by marketing products as

"safe  to the environment," "containing recycled materials," or "recyclable."  Each of the

major players involved could  benefit  from clear  policies concerning source reduction,

recycled content,  and recyclability,  and standardized definitions  of terms related to

product content  and attributes.


C. Activities for Industry, Federal, State, and Municipal Governments:

         1.   Conduct research  to  generate information about performance,
             appearance, and marketing advantages of products and packaging
             that  promote source reduction and recyclability.  This research
             could  include  confidential  surveys  of  industry  and  actual
             performance testing of products and packages

         2.   Examine  procurement specifications of products and  packages
             that  could be made from recycled content. Modifications may be
             made to  specifications,  based  on results of research regarding
             performance.  The American Society of Testing Materials has
             convened  a committee  to  consider  whether  modification   of
             performance  specifications  is needed  to  permit inclusion   of
             products and packages with recycled content.

         3.   Disseminate  information about performance, appearance,  and
             marketing  advantages  of  using  products  and packaging that
             promote  source reduction and recyclability.   The  appropriate
             federal agencies could engage in a joint effort to promote a "Buy
             American,  Buy Recycled Campaign."   In doing so,  it  would be
             most effective  to use  existing intermediaries  to communicate
             with businesses and industries:  trade associations, trade journals,
             and  trade  conferences.   Data can  be presented regarding the
             character   and  dimensions  of  the  MSW  magagement  crisis,
             research  about  model initiatives, and updates on the kinds  of
             regulatory and legislative initiatives being proposed at every level
             of government.  This should be done by publishing information and
             editorials,  establishing  an information  clearinghouse,  and  by
             presenting information at industry conferences.

             The  kinds of publications to be targeted may be characterized by
             type of readership and circulation.   In general, there are several
             major arenas suited to this  effort:  publications  for marketers,
             which would include new product and packaging designers, adver-
             tising agencies and media consultants; academic  journals whose
             readers consult for, or whose publications are read by, marketers;
             publications  aimed  at  specific  packaging industries; and the
             mainstream business press.
                                        56

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Publications for market researchers, marketers, and academics
include:

Academy of Marketing Science
American Association of Advertising Agents
American Marketing Association
Association for Consumer Research
Journal of Advertising
Journal of Advertising Research
Journal of Marketing
Journal of Marketing Research
Journal of Consumer Research
Marketing News

Industry trade association publications include, for example:

Beverage World
Fibre Market News
Packaging Magazine
Packaging News Packaging Digest
The State Reporter  (Society of the Plastics Industry)

The mainstream publications cited as most important by several
market experts include:

Advertising Age
Ad Week
Barron's
Forbes
Fortune

Likewise, each of  the industry  and  academic groups  offer
opportunities  for direct interaction  through trade association
meetings, seminars  and conferences.  Some of these forums for
presentations include, for example:

   The Industrial Design Society of America
   The Package Design Council
   The Ryder conference for  industry packager
   Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals conferences
   The Stanford Design  Conference sponsored by Stanford
     University

Offer  awards for  innovative use of recycled content and  for
innovative design of source reduced and recyclable products and
packaging.  A competitive awards program could be developed for
innovative, environmentally  friendly products and packages and
practices.   For  example,  the American  Institute  of Graphic
Artists sponsors  an  annual  competition  among  product  and
packaging designers.    For example,  the Department of Energy
sponsored an energy efficient design competition in 1980.
                          57

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5.   Support standardized labeling (e.g., logos, symbols, wording) for
    products  and  packaging  that  promote source  reduction and
    recyclability.  Marketers stress that consumers need a simple and
    reliable means to identify these products and packaging.  From
    the marketers' point of view, it may be less risky, at least in the
    near term, to advertise a product or package as "environmentally
    friendly" rather than use terminology that specifically refers  to
    recycled content.  The use of the  term "recyclable" will not  be
    valuable unless its  use  reflects a  consensus agreement among
    environmental,  government, industry,  retail,  consumer,  and
    academic experts.

6.   Foster data  collection to track use  and purchase of  recycled
    materials.    The  U.S.  Department of  Commerce  conducts  an
    annual census of manufacturers.   If  each industry  were also
    required to quantify its use of recycled materials for the census,
    this would provide a means to evaluate and publicize the success
    of various kinds of initiatives  to encourage  use of  recycled
    materials.  In addition, measuring the effectiveness of consumer-
    oriented education programs will provide a basis for revising and
    improving such programs.

7.   Share  information  about   procurement  practices.    Publicize
    accomplishments in procurement of products and packaging that
    are  source  reduced  or  contain  recycled   material.     With
    participation of state  agencies, a national computerized on-line
    database  of  procurement  transactions  could  be maintained.
    Product  specifications, quantities,  prices and  markets could  be
    posted continuously. Reading of information could be open  to all
    levels of government, industry and the public.

    An American business now is marketing "The Official Recycled
    Products  Guide,  (RPG)" (Boulanger,  1989).     More  than 200
    companies are already expected to have listings in the catalog.
    The  approval criteria for products to  be  listed are  based  on
    definitions  of   recycled   content  found  in   the   Resource
    Conservation and Recovery Act, or those recently agreed  to  by
    the Northeast Regional Council of Governments (NERC). Listings
    are free.  Subscriptions include quarterly updates.

8.   Use new marketing strategies to  develop an aggressive, broad-
    based public education program to build awareness and accep-
    tance of recycled content.  Recognize that different techniques
    are needed to  reach  different segments of  the marketplace.
    Identify  and  target particular  segments of  the audience, and
    develop strategies accordingly.

    Prepare a comprehensive, business-like plan, comparable to  prod-
    uct  marketing  strategies.  William D.  Novelli  (1986)  wrote  a
    chapter "Nonbusiness or Social Marketing," for  the  Handbook  of
    Modern Marketing offering advice  on how to structure such an
    effort.  He advises  that such a plan must avoid these four "L's"
    which  generally  characterize marketing for  social causes: low
    visibility, lamentable budgets, little research, lack of continuity.
                               58

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            Give  the image of  recycled  content  a facelift.   In a book of
            advice entitled What They Don't Teach You in Harvard Business
            School, Notes from a Street Smart Executive, the importance of
            imaginative advertising is explained with an apt example. Author
            Mark McCormack (1985) observes that sushi restaurants would
            never have become popular if they were simply called "places to
            eat cold dead raw fish."

        9.  Promote buy-recycled programs at the point of sale.  Surveys that
            find consumers approving of recycled and recyclable products and
            packaging may be biased by the social context of the interview;
            there is a tendency to  give socially acceptable responses to the
            interviewer.   However, it is  at the  point of purchase  that the
            decision is made, and at that  point many other motivations (con-
            venience, attractiveness of the product, price, etc.) may override
            the expressed preferences for  recycled material.  For this reason,
            promotional  strategies  must be linked to  the act of purchasing
            products and packaging.  The use  of an easily recognizable and
            understood  universal  symbol or  slogan  is  recommended by
            marketing experts for this reason.

        10. Support  research.   Further  (economic,  technical,  and  socio-
            behavioral)  research  is  needed  to   demonstrate  the  societal
            benefits of  recycling.   Such  research should include improving
            understanding of  the   complex marketplace  inter-relationships
            among consumers,  industry, and government, in order  to better
            design strategies to promote  source reduction and recyclability.
            In addition,  community-based  pilot projects offer the opportunity
            to apply and refine research findings in real world settings.
D. Activities for Consumers:

         1.  Purchase products and packaging promoting source reduction and
            recyclability.

         2.  Conduct or participate in Environmental Shopping campaigns.

         3.  Write  manufacturers about preferences and dissatisfactions. All
            marketing experts interviewed for this report, both academic and
            professional, emphasized the reactive nature of the marketplace
            and the sensitivity  of  manufacturers to  communications  from
            consumers.   However, communication at  the point of purchase
            may not be effective; concerns should be conveyed directly to the
            maker of the product.

         4.  Review  and  comment on industry and government proposals for
            labeling schemes.
                                       59

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Kinnear, T. C.; J. R. Taylor; and S. A. Ahmed, "Ecologically Concerned Consumers:  Who
     Are They?" Journal of Marketing, Vol. 10, No.2, April 1974, pp. 20-24.

League of Women Voters  Education Fund,  Recycle? In Search of New Policies  for
     Resource Recovery, 1972.

League of Women Voters Education Fund, Reduce? Targets, Means and Impacts of Source
     Reduction,  1975.

Larson, M.A. and K.L. Massetti-Miller,  "Measuring Change After a  Public  Education
     Campaign," Public Relations Review, Vol. 10, No. 4, 1984, pp. 23-32.

Lyndenberg,  S.; A. T. Marlin; S.O. Strub; and the Council on Economic Priorities (CEP),
     Rating  America's Corporate  Conscience;  A Provocative Guide to the Companies
     Behind  the Products You Buy Every Day, September 1986.

Massachusetts  Department of  Environmental  Management  (MDEM),  "Household
     Hazardous Wastes," no date.

Mattheis, A., "New Jersey Lays Down the Law," Waste Age, June 1987, pp. 59-60.

McCarthy, E.  J., Basic Marketing:   A Managerial Approach, Richard  D. Irwin, Inc.,
     Homewood, IL, fifth edition, 1975.

McCormack, M. H., What They  Don't Teach You  in Harvard Business School, Notes from
     a Street  Smart Executive, Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, New York,
     1985.

McMillan, T., Minister of the Environment for Canada, transcript of speech at the Press
     Conference to Announce Details of the Environmentally-Friendly Goods Campaign,
     Press Release, Toronto, Ontario, June 27, 1988.

Michaels, M., "Perceptive Responses to an Anti-Landfill Public,"  World Wastes, June
     1988, pp.  38-40.

Michigan  Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), "Buy Recycled Products:  They're
     Worth Our Environment," 1988.

The Michigan  Recycling  Coalition (MRC),  "Michigan Buy  Recycled Campaign  Case
     Study," 1986, pp. B20-B21.

The Michigan  Recycling  Coalition  (MRC),  "Recycled/Recyclable Packaging  Design
     Contest: 1984-1985," 1984.

Mikitka, K.  F., "Promoting Recycling:   Supermarkets As Environmental Classrooms,"
     Illinois  Teacher, March/April, 1985, pp. 160-163.
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Mikitka,  K. F.,  "Recycling  Symbol  Research,"  Resource Recycling, Vol.  Ill, No.  5,
     September-October 1987, pp. 32-34,47.

Mikitka,  K., F.;  A. Gross; and J. Zeitler, "Recycling  Symbols,"  Resource  Recycling,
     July/August 1984, pp. 16-18.

Miller, R., "From the Publisher," Time, January 2, 1989, p. 3.

Modern Brewery  Age,  "Gallup poll shows Americans buy recyclable containers," July 4,
     1988, p. 4.

Naisbitt,  J., "Trend Letter," The Global Network, Washington, DC, February 16,  1989,
     p.2.

National  Solid Wastes  Management Association  (NSWMA), "Public Attitudes  Towards
     Garbage Disposal," Washington, D.C.,  1988a.

National  Solid Wastes  Management Association (NSWMA), "Recycling:  Treasure In Our
     Trash," Washington, DC, 1988b.

New Jersey  Department  of  Environmental  Protection (NJDEP), Here  Today,  Here
     Tomorrow ... Revisited;  A Teacher's Guide to Solid Waste, Division of Solid Waste
     Management, 1989.

New York  State  Legislative  Commission  on Solid  Waste Management (NYSLCSWM),
     "Where Will The Garbage Go?," Update, 1988.

Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) of the Eastern Regional Conference of the Council
     of State Governments,  A  Regional  Approach  to Buying Recycled Paper;   By
     Consensus Process to Achieve Common Goals, December 31, 1988.

Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) of the Eastern Regional Conference of the Council
     of State Governments, collection of materials, New York, NY, 1989.

Novelli, W., "Nonbusiness or Social Marketing," Handbook of Modern Marketing, McGraw
     Hill Book Company, New York,  1986, pp. 7-1 to 7-12.

O'Leary,  P. and P. Walsh,  "How to Make a Voluntary Program Work," Waste Age, May
     1988, pp. 98-104.

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ), "Packaging," 1980.

Ottman, J., personal communication, Ahern & Heussner, New York, NY, January 1989.

Palo Alto  Material Resource Recovery  Program  (PAMRRP), "Report on  Packaging
     Labeling" and other materials, dated 1970s.

Pardini, A. U. and R. D. Katzev, "The  Effect of Strength of Commitment on  Newspaper
     Recycling," Journal of Environmental Systems, Vol. 13, No. 3, 1983-84, pp.  245-254.

Pennsylvania Resource Council (PRC),  "Become an Environmental Shopper:  Vote for the
     Environment," 1988.
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Perrin, G., "In behalf of the fourth R: Recycling," The Boston Globe, September 21,  1988,
     p. 32.

Peto, P. A., "Composting in Paper Bags," Waste Age, May 1988, pp. 73-75.

Polaroid Consumer Resource Center, 784 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA.

Porter, J. W., "Is the Nation Entangled in a Solid Waste Crisis?," Waste Age, April  1988,
     pp. 42-44.

The  Procter  & Gamble  Company (P&G),  materials  compiled by E.A. Fox  of  P&G
     concerning P&G activities, 1988.

Public  Response Associates, Inc., A  Report  of a Survey Conducted for  The California
     State Solid Waste  Management Board, California State Solid Waste  Management
     Board, July 1981.

"P.L. 1987, c. 102, section  10," as amended December 11, 1987, The New Jersey Source
     Separation and Recycling Act, N.J.S.A.  13: lE-99.18a, Trenton, NJ, March 1987.

Recycling Today,  "Canadians Host  Recyclers at  Wide-Ranging Conference," June  1988,
     pp. 54-56.

Red Owl  Stores, "Final Report, Bring 'Em Back, Repack and Save," September 1973.

Research Alert, Alert Publishing, Inc.,  Long Island  City, NY,  1988, as reported in
     American  Demographics, May 1988.

Resource Recycling, "Shoppers favor recycled paperboard," Vol. V, No.2,  March/April
     1986, p. 42.

Rickmers-Skislak,  T., Publicity  and  Education For Recycling; An Informative Guide,
     TGRS, 1988.

Riggle, D., "Only Pay for What You  Throw Away," BioCycle, Vol.  30, No. 2, February
     1989, pp. 39-41.

Robert Marston and Associates, "Americans Agree:  Troubled Environment is an Election
     Issue," Press Release,  October, 1988.

Russel, C., "Guilty, As Charged," American Demographics, Vol. 11, No. 2, February  1989,
     p. 2.

Salimando, J., "A Tale of Two Californians," Waste Age, July 1986, pp. 39-45.

San  Diego  Ecology  Centre (SDEC),  Environmental  Shopping/Solid Waste Awareness
     Project, Final Project Report and Executive Summary, California State Solid Waste
     Management  Board, December, 1982.

Seattle Engineering Department (SED), Solid Waste Utility; Washington Energy Extension
     Service, "Cutting Down on Garbage," Seattle, WA,  1980s.

Silbergeld, D., personal communication, Consumers Union, New York, NY, January 1989.
                                      66

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Sproule, K. A. and J. M. Cosulich, "Higher recovery rates: the answer's  in the bag,"
     Resource Recycling, Vol. VII, No. 6, November/December 1988, pp. 20-21, 43-44.

Stern, P. C., "Saving Energy: The Human Dimension," Technology Review, January 1984,
     pp. 16-25, 62.

Stone,  B., Fountain Fresh Beverages, Salt Lake City, Utah, personal communication,
     September 21, 1988.

Stoops,  B.,  personal  communication  and  correspondence,  Environmentally  Friendly
     Products Program, Environment Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, February 1989.

Taylor,  E. H., "Consumer Reaction to Solid Waste  Problems  and Regulations,"  The
     Procter  & Gamble Company, a report on work in progress, July 15, 1988.

Thomas, L. M., "Statement before the Subcommittee on Transportation, Tourism, and
     Hazardous Materials of the Committee on Energy and  Commerce,  U.S.  House of
     Representatives," April 13, 1988.

Tracy,  A. P. and S. Oskamp, "Relationships Among Ecologically Responsible  Behaviours,"
     Journal  of Environmental Systems, Vol.  13, No.2, 1983-1984, pp. 115-126.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Characterization of Municipal Solid Waste in The
     United States, 1960-2000, (update 1988) March  "
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Let's Recycle!  Lesson Plans for Grades K-6 and
     ^12, SW-801, 1980.

U.S. Environmental  Protection Agency, "Program of International Paper Company and
     Wells Dairy," Reducing Waste at Its Source, May 1975.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Recycle," EPA/530-SW-88-050, October 1988b.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Source Reduction Fact Sheet: Red Owl Stores
     Program," Reducing Waste at its Source, 1970s.

U.S. Environmental  Protection Agency, The Solid  Waste Dilemma;   An  Agenda  for
     Action, February 1989.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Waste Not, Want Not," Washington, D.C.,  1976.

U.S. Environmental  Protection Agency,  "What You Can  Do to Recycle More  Paper,"
     1979.

VandenBerg, N., "Buying Recycled Plastic  Products - Barriers to Overcome," speech
     given at RecyclingPlas II — 87, June 1987.

VandenBerg, N., "Twelve Steps Toward Environmentally Sound Buying Habits," speech
     given at Office of Technology Assessment Workshop: State and Local Government
     Solid Waste Management, March 17-18, 1988.

Voegele, A., personal communication, Vermont  Republic Industries, St. Albans, VT,
     January 1989.
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"The Waste  Minimization  and Control Act of 1988," pp. S12179-S12180, September 9,
     1988.

Warkov, S., "Attitudes Toward the Future: Their Impact on Present Decisions," in W.D.
     Conn (ed.), Energy and  Material Resources; Attitudes, Values, and Public Policy,
     Westview Press, Boulder, CO,-1983, Ch. 7, pp. 131-143.

Watson, T., "FSC Paper builds markets with innovative approach," Resource Recycling,
     Vol. VII, No. 1, March/April 1988a, pp. 30-31, 53.

Watson, T., "Magazine Wastepaper May Have Future as Newsprint," Resource Recycling,
     Vol. VII, No. 6, November/December 1988b,  pp. 18-19, 42-43.

Wieder, I., personal communication, Overseas Marketing Exchange, Huntington Beach,
     CA, 3anuary 1989.

Working Assets, P.O. Box 2384, Boston, MA.

Young, R. and M. Storey, Challenging the Disposable Society;  An Overview of Waste
     Minimization Strategies, Philadelphia Recycling Office, 1988.
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                         Appendix A

                 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
A.I      CASE STUDIES
A.2      SURVEYS
A.3      RESEARCH REPORTS AND POLICY PAPERS
A.*      CURRENT EVENTS
A.5      EDUCATIONAL AND RESOURCE MATERIALS

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                          A.I  CASE STUDIES
Conservation News, 1976
Environmental Action Foundation, 1976
Gallager, S.M., 198*
The Hoosier Purchaser,  1970s
Palo Alto Material Resource Recovery Program, 1970s
Peto, P.A., 1988
Red Owl Stores, 1973
The San Diego Ecology Centre, 1982
U.S.  Environmental Protection Agency, 1975
U.S.  Environmental Protection Agency, 1970s.
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Conservation News, "Red  Owl: One Store's Attempt at  Recycling," Vol. 41, No.  2,
January 5, 1976, p. 13.

Environmental Action Foundation, Implementing  Waste Reduction at the Supermarket,
1976.

Red Owl Stores,  "Bring 'Em Back, Repack and Save," Final Report, September, 1973.

U.S.  Environmental Protection Agency, "Source Reduction  Fact Sheet:  Red Owl Stores
Program,: Reducing Waste at its Source,  1970s.


        Twelve Red Owl Stores in  Wisconsin began the "Bring 'Em Back, Repack and

Save" program during the summer of 1973 to promote the sale of reusable containers and

the use of bulk  dispensers.  Red Owl was responding to customer concerns about the

environment in the midst of the energy crisis.  For each container reused, the customer

received a cash refund (a sticker identifying a container as reusable was provided at the

time of original  purchase) at checkout equivalent to the  store's cost of providing a new

container.

        Reusable packages included  in the promotion were:

        •   egg cartons (3 cent refund per container);

            milk and soda containers (4 cent refund per container);

            checkout paper bags (2 cent refund per bag); and

        •   reusable checkout  plastic  shopping  bags   (25  cents each  to
            purchase and 2 cent refund for each reuse).

The conclusions drawn from the program included:

            the program  was  dependent on  advertising  (promotion was
            incorporated into the stores' regular advertising);

            program  participants   needed  constant   reminders  through
            advertising;

        •   it was important that the store showed enthusiasm;

            in-store promotion was  essential;

        •   the greatest  consumer  appeal was cost savings, though they also
            approved of the environmental goal to conserve natural resources;

        •   even non-participants liked the idea of the program;
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         •    it  cost  the  stores  very  little  since  consumer  refunds were
             equivalent to the stores' cost of the packaging material and the
             advertising cost  was  incorporated  into  the  stores' newspaper
             advertising program; and
         •    many consumers were confused by the number of items included
             in the program.
         The Environmental  Action Foundation (EAF)  made  several  recommendations
based on an examination of the program.  The selection criteria for reusable packaging
should include the following factors:  ease of implementation (for stores and consumers);
security  (to prevent  increased  theft of bulk items); sanitation;  and product protection.
EAF felt that programs with a limited number of products to be  reused would be the
most effective.  They concluded that a simple program (e.g., one which reused only egg
cartons and  grocery bags) would be more  understandable  to the  consumer and would
receive higher levels of participation than a program which reused many containers.
         Suggestions concerning other aspects of the reuse program  included:
             products in the preferred package need to be available;
         •    store personnel  should have  a thorough understanding and  be
             enthusiastic about the program;
         •    there needs to  be a simple and effective method  by  which con-
             sumers can identify reusable packaging and containers;
         •    programs need  to make use of free media publicity and in-store
             promotion of packaging reuse; and
         •    it is important to incorporate  self-evaluation into program design.
Gallager,  S.M., Shelf  Labeling;  Packaging  Regulation  For  Oregon, Portland  State
University, 1984.
        This case study examined "the proposed introduction of shelf labeling for pack-
ages in Oregon stores as a means  of controlling waste production and recycling." Shelf
labeling legislation would require that a label be placed on the grocery store shelf below
each  item,  indicating  whether  the item  is reusable, made  of recycled  or  recyclable
materials, or is difficult or impossible to recycle.  The paper discusses three voluntary
shelf labeling programs.
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         1)  The American Paper Institute's "Gray Is Beautiful" campaign to promote the
use of recycled (gray) paperboard was adopted by the Women's Clubs of America in the
1970s and continues today.  It had received much media attention, but no formal review
as of 1985.
         2)  In the 1970s, a  similar  campaign, called the "Packaging Labeling Program,"
was tried in Palo Alto, California, with the support and assistance of the city government
(discussed  in greater detail below  —  PAMRRP,   1970s).   It  included a large public
awareness campaign both inside the selected stores  and in the local media. The program
also included a city-sponsored effort to increase recycling.  The  program produced no
change in shoppers' purchasing habits, and little increase in recycling as a whole.  The
program's coordinators responded by calling for more publicity and an expansion of the
program  into all the city's supermarkets (rather than just four CO-OP supermarkets).
         3)  In  San Diego, California  (1981),  the California  Waste Management Board
commissioned a shelf labeling program, which was implemented by the San Diego Ecology
Centre (discussed in greater detail  below — SDEC, 1981).  The program took place in
area Safeway grocery stores, and included an  education campaign  with a "buy recycled"
message  on buttons, posters, and grocery bags, labeling of recycled paperboard content
on egg cartons, and identification of products with recycled packaging on shelf labels.
Over two thousand consumers were  surveyed before and after the program to determine
if it had  increased their awareness of recycled packaging. Most survey participants said
that, not only did they not recognize the recycle symbol used in the program, but  they
were  also unaware  that  the program had even occurred.  But survey  participants did
indicate that they would prefer to buy products in recycled packages if they were of the
same quality and price as those packaged in virgin materials.
         In discussing shelf labeling, the author compared it to other legislative  mecha-
nisms, such as taxing packaging manufacturers  and users based on the amount of recycled
material  they use, or restricting the kinds  of packaging that can be used. This latter
technique,  known as design  restriction, was passed into  law in Minnesota in 1973, and
required  that all new packaging designs,  as  well  as  changes to  existing designs, be
approved  by a  regulatory  board.   However,  the  review  process  was never initiated
because  it  was  considered  too complicated.   The paper also  discusses government
positions on shelf labeling,  and opposition  to too  much labeling  from retail grocery
stores, container manufacturers, consumer groups, and packagers.
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The Hoosier Purchasor, "The Consumer Push Is On Toward Recycled Paperboard," 1970s,
p. 5.
        This article summarizes a program of the Chatham, New York Women's Club
promoting the purchase of products packaged in recycled paperboard by holding a contest
to see who  in the community could turn in the  greatest number  of  individual product
proofs of  purchase  with  the  characteristic gray  color or with  the recycled logo. The
contest was aimed at housewives.  Incentives and prizes  were not  mentioned  in the
article. This was part of the American Paper Institute's "gray is beautiful campaign."
Club members also wrote letters to  manufacturers  whose products could potentially be
packaged  in recycled material to  urge them  to  change  their  packaging practices.
Participation,  generated  primarily by peer promotion, was  reported to have been very
successful.  It is interesting to note that the program  was designed with the help of The
Brown Company, a nearby paper manufacturer.  Both the  General Federation of Women's
Clubs and  the National League of Women Voters promoted the campaign nationally.
Palo Alto Material Resource Recovery Program,  "Report on Packaging Labeling" and
other materials, 1970s.
         This is a collection of materials (report, press release, poster, sample question-
naire, and fact sheet) associated with the efforts of Palo  Alto, California to reduce the
amount of MSW generated by households  in the community.  These materials  were
designed to encourage grocery shoppers to become more aware of product packaging
materials.  The six-page report summarizes the three-month  Package Labeling Program
(PLP) undertaken in the  1970s by town officials, a chain of four CO-OP grocery stores,
and  the  Community Association  for the  Retarded.   Color-coded stickers rating the
packaging material (refillable,  recyclable, and costly to recycle)  were affixed to  all
shelves containing wine,  beer, and soft drinks.  A news conference  and in-store  posters
were used to further increase public awareness.
         While  the program measurably  increased shopper  awareness of  recycling,
significant changes in purchases had not  yet occurred, though it was thought premature
to make any firm conclusions.  One significant finding was  that if such a program is to be
maintained without demonstration project funding (this project was partially funded with
a small EPA grant) and expanded to other supermarkets within the community, the PLP
must demonstrate that  the program costs passed on to participating supermarkets are not
substantial.  The Palo Alto program depended upon volunteer labor  and other resources
from the  city.   A series of in-store surveys showed that while  shoppers became more
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aware  of  recycled content and  recyclability, there was no significant change in their
product selection. Consultants to the PLP felt that shopping behavior would not change
until shoppers' attitudes about  their contribution to the MSW problem  were altered.
Suggestions for future work included holding forums with packaging manufacturers and
reducing program costs by  incorporating the  recyclability rating on products' unit price
stickers rather than applying separate stickers to every shelf.
Peto, P.A., "Composting in Paper Bags," Waste Age, May 1988, pp. 73-75.
         This article examines an  experiment conducted in Essex County, New Jersey,
during the fall of 1985.  The experiment was designed to determine whether leaves could
be successfully composted in biodegradable paper bags and to judge household acceptance
of this alternative  to plastic  bags.  The paper bag's composting ability was found to
depend on the biological activity of the composting pile.  The study determined that the
public was pleased  with the quality of the paper bags, although they wanted a better
system for closing  them.  Participants considered the paper bag a desirable substitute
(because of  its degradability) for regular plastic bags if prices were comparable. How-
ever, the unsubsidized price of paper  bags was  three times greater than the  price of
plastic lawn bags. Obviously, this would lower demand for such a product.
         The author estimates that if the cost savings associated with composting leaves
were considered (i.e., disposal costs  avoided by the community), there would be a
community savings  associated with using  the  paper  bags.  The additional cost of using
plastic bags is due to the manpower required to break open  the bags and dump out leaves
before composting.
The San Diego Ecology Centre, Environmental Shopping/Solid Waste Awareness Project,
Final Project  Report and Executive Summary, California State Solid Waste Management
Board, December 1982.
         The  Environmental  Shopping/Solid Waste  Awareness Project (ES/SWAP),  also
called the Recycled Packaging Awareness Campaign, was funded by the California Solid
Waste Management Board and implemented by the San Diego Ecology Centre.  The proj-
ect  was active from July  1981  through December  1982  in  nine  San Diego  Safeway
stores. It followed the Von's grocery stores' Environmental Shopping Campaign of 1981.
The project had three main objectives:  increase  shoppers' awareness of the recycle
symbol and products packaged in recycled materials; inform shoppers of the important
                                       A-6

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contribution that recycled packaging  makes to resource conservation; and determine if
programs such as ES/SWAP increase  consumer awareness  of recycled packaging.  The
program  sought  to  use the supermarket  as an "environmental classroom" by placing
markers and signs in supermarkets to  identify products packaged in recycled materials.
The program also made use of store worker badges which explained the recycle symbol,
and bags imprinted  with an  environmental shopping message.  In addition, the program
took advantage of news coverage of the program on television and in newspapers.
        A questionnaire interview was the primary method for evaluating the program.
Two thousand three hundred pre- and  post-program interviews were conducted.  No sta-
tistically significant difference  was found between the responses of consumers before
(pre-program) and after the  program took place (post-program),  nor were the responses
of consumers at  the store where the program took place (program store) different from
consumers  at  stores that did not participate in the program (control store).   Ninety
percent of  the respondents (before and after the program, in program and control stores)
felt that using recycled packaging would help to reduce solid waste disposed.  Ninety per-
cent of the respondents replied that all things being equal they would prefer to buy prod-
ucts packaged in recycled materials.   Eighty percent  strongly agreed  that a recycle
symbol should appear on the outside  of  all  containers  made  from recycled materials.
Only 31 percent strongly agreed that consumers  should pay higher prices for products
that "pollute the environment."  Forty-one percent of the pre-program and 51 percent of
the post-program interviewees responded that they had seen the recycle symbol, but only
21 percent of pre-program and  28 percent of post-program respondents were able to
identify the symbol's meaning correctly.  Most respondents  identified mass media as the
method of  promotion in which they had seen the recycle symbol. Only 7 percent of the
post-program respondents had  seen anything about an environmental shopping campaign
in their respective supermarkets.
        The San Diego program suffered organizational  problems which may have led to
the minimal increase in awareness. These  included: inadequate number of  store  signs
(2-6  per store though  10 were produced); store managers permitted only a lower number
of recycled package markers to be applied  to the shelves  to reduce the clutter on the
shelves (100 - 200 per store, although 800 were projected); inconsistent  cooperation of
store  employees; and late arrival of promotional materials.  Furthermore, the program's
evaluation  was muddied by the fact that the control stores also  used shopping bags and
                                      A-7

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egg cartons with recycle symbols on them.  These problems were compounded by a new
store policy of emphasizing only one theme in the window display at a time and hanging
posters in obscure places in the store.
U.S. EPA, "Program of International Paper Company and Wells Dairy, Reducing Waste at
Its Source," May 1975.
        International Paper  Company  redesigned the half-pint  milk container in  an
attempt to conserve resources. Wells Dairy of Lemars, Iowa began using the containers
in a 5-month test starting in February of 1974. The slimmer milk carton used 31 percent
less paper and  16 percent less plastic coating than the traditional half-pint container.
Manufacturing these cartons also  resulted in reduced energy use and pollution; they are
also less costly to transport.  The package tested very well; a number of school systems
found it economical (it costs less) and convenient.
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                   A.2  SURVEYS
David A. Meeker & Associates, Inc., 1988
Erickson, G.,  1988
Mikitka, K.F., 1987
Mikitka, K.F.; A. Gross; and J. Zeitler, 1984
Modern Brewery Age, 1984
National Solid Wastes Management Association, 1988
Public Response Associates, Inc. 1981
Resource Recycling, 1986
Robert Marston and Associates, 1988
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David A. Meeker & Associates, Inc., "Environmental Public Relations Survey," October,
1988.
        During August and September 1988, David A. Meeker & Associates conducted a
survey of Fortune 500 industrial companies (i.e., firms subject to Superfund Amendments
and Reauthorization Act Title III chemicals reporting requirements) located in the Great
Lakes and western Pennsylvania regions.  Overall,  sixty-seven companies participated.
The objective of  the survey was to "[d]etermine current attitudes and practices of top
corporate communicators on environmental issues."
        Two general conclusions are drawn from among the survey responses:
        "1.   Environmental public relations, regardless of its percentage of
              overall communication  activity, is extremely vital and likely to
              grow in importance during the next few years.
         2.   There  exists  a wide range  of opinion on how best to handle
              environmental PR efforts" (e.g., proactive versus reactive, low-
              profile approaches).
        One of the comments from a respondent was  as follows:  "There just seems to
be no avoiding the fact that environmental issues are going to be of increasing concern.
The level of public awareness is starting to take off again."
Erickson, G., "Consumers Get Tough With Packaging," Packaging, June 1988.
        This article summarizes a 1988 nationwide survey of 756 consumers who were
asked 44 questions concerning packaging. One section of the questionnaire dealt with the
issue of recyclability of packaging.
        A question in the survey for three consecutive years has been "How important is
recycling to you?."  Responses to this question have remained fairly constant over the
years with roughly 30 percent of the respondents reporting that recycling was "extremely
important" to them,  50 percent reporting that it was "somewhat  important," 15 percent
reporting that it was "not very important," and 3 percent reporting that it was "not at all
important."   Between  the  1986  and  the  1988  Packaging  surveys,  the  number  of
respondents who claimed that they "often" or "sometimes" considered the recyclability of
packaging material when making a  purchase  rose  from 36.2 percent  in  1986 to 48.4
percent in 1988.
                                      A-10

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        Consumers  were  asked how hard they  thought it  was to  recycle  different
materials.  Consumers  in the following percentages replied that a material was "very
easy" or "easy" to recycle: aluminum (83.9 percent), paper (75.0 percent), glass (55.4
percent), steel (40.5 percent), and plastics (37.3 percent).  The survey also questioned
consumers  about which  industries   they thought were  doing  a good job of recycling.
Respondents gave  industries the  following percentages of "very good" and "good" ratings:
aluminum (73.7 percent), paper (52.9 percent), glass (46.6 percent), steel (29.9 percent),
and plastics (25.4 percent).
Mikitka, K.F.,  "Recycling  Symbol  Research,"  Resource  Recycling,  Vol.  VI,  No. 5,
September-October 1987, pp. 32-34, 47.
         This article describes current field studies and a survey conducted by San Diego
State University which are follow-ups to the San Diego County "Environmental Shopping"
and "Shopping for the Symbol of the 80's" promotion and education campaigns.  The sur-
vey's objective was to measure the correct identification of the "chasing arrows" recyc-
ling symbol and to obtain profiles of household consumers  and those who recycle.  The
survey was conducted at two shopping centers and two recycling centers in San Diego
County. While 44 percent of the respondents had seen the recycling symbol, only 31 per-
cent  of  them (34 percent of recycling  patrons and  28 percent of the shoppers)  could
define its meaning. This significant increase over the 12 percent recycling symbol recog-
nition rate of 1982 in San Diego County  was attributed to the educational and marketing
programs aimed at creating recognition of the  recycling  symbol and awareness of its
meaning.
         The survey found no significant differences in  the recycling  rate based on dif-
ferent social class categories. However, there is a difference in terms of reasons why
people  recycle.  It was found that individuals with  higher incomes are more likely to
recycle  for ecological reasons  and individuals with  lower incomes are more likely to
recycle for monetary reasons.
 Mikitka,  K.F.;  A. Gross; and  J.  Zeitler, "Recycling  Symbols,"  Resource  Recycling,
 July/August 1984, pp. 16-18.
         This article  discusses  the  importance of developing a standard symbol which
 connotes recycled content or recyclability.  Symbols allow for a quick understanding of
 packaging.    In  order for recycling symbols  to be  credible, standards need  to be
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established as a prerequisite for using the symbols.  A survey of 600 people, conducted by
a public relations firm for the California Waste Management Board in 1981, found that 90
percent of consumers believe that  the  recycling symbol  ought  to appear on packages
which are made from recycled materials, and 81 percent of those polled would prefer to
purchase items packaged in recycled containers if all things, including price, were equal.
Modern Brewery  Age, "Gallup poll shows Americans buy recyclable containers," July 4
1988, p. it.
         The Glass Packaging Institute commissioned the Gallup organization to conduct
a survey concerning the use of recyclable packaging.   Fifty percent of Americans sur-
veyed said that they would change their purchasing habits to buy foods and beverages
sold in containers that are or can be recycled.  Preference  for recyclable packaging
increases with household income.  Sixty percent of Americans with incomes over $40,000
said that they would switch to a product in a recyclable container. No mention was made
of price  considerations.  Lewis D. Andrews,  President of the Glass Packaging Institute,
said that more glass containers currently have greater  than 25 percent recycled content,
and they hope that this will rise to 50 percent.
National  Solid Wastes Management Association,  "Public  Attitudes  Toward Garbage
Disposal," 1988a.
         This report summarizes three surveys conducted for the National Solid  Wastes
Management Association by Cambridge Reports in 1988. These surveys included  a tele-
phone poll of 1,500 adults in February, telephone interviews with 500 "opinion leaders" in
March, and face-to-face interviews with 1,500 adults in July and August.
         In the February and March  polls, respondents,  asked to rank the importance of
issues facing local officials, placed solid waste disposal third,  behind improving education
and providing  affordable housing. In the July  and  August surveys, solid waste disposal
was ranked as the second most important problem facing local officials, second only to
improving education.  In the northeastern region of the U.S., solid  waste disposal was
ranked as the  most important issue facing local officials. Respondents were also asked
whether they favored or opposed siting new landfills or waste-to-energy plants. Neither
of these options was favored, although landfills were more strongly opposed.  The median
response to the question, "What percentage of waste can be  recycled?" was 44 percent.
When asked, "How should recycling programs be paid for?," 24 percent of the February

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respondents felt that there should be taxes on packaging and nonrecyclable materials. In
the 3uly and August surveys, 41 percent felt that recycling should be paid for by taxes on
packaging and nonrecyclables.
Public Response Associates,  Inc.,  A Report of a Survey Conducted for; The California
State Solid Waste Management Board, California State Solid Waste Management Board,
July 1981.
         California State Solid Waste Management Board, in conjunction with the Ameri-
can  Paper  Institute, Von's  Grocery Stores, and the Charter Oak Women's Club, ran an
environmental shopping campaign  in  1981.  Flyers were inserted in grocery  bags during
checkout and packaging containing recycled materials was marked.   Public Response
Associates conducted a survey in order to test the effectiveness of the campaign.
         Six  hundred customer interviews were conducted  after the program had been
completed  in selected stores, 400 from  the two stores participating in the  program
(program stores) and 200 from the store that had not taken part in the campaign (control
store).   Consumers received information  about  Von's environmental shopping campaign
from a variety of sources:  in-store signs (38 percent); newspapers (35 percent); radio and
television  spots (35 percent); and grocery bag  stuffers (16 percent).  In-store  signs,
newspaper advertising, and radio and  television promotion  appeared to  be equally
effective in  getting the program's message to shoppers.  Flyers placed in grocery bags
were a relatively ineffective tool for promoting  the message.   Sixty-five percent of all
respondents felt that California was facing a garbage crisis.  Significantly more  shoppers
in the program  stores indicated  this perception  than in the control stores  (71 percent
versus 51 percent).  Forty-nine percent  of the  respondents shopping at program  stores
recognized the recycle symbol; thirty-two percent of the control respondents recognized
it.
         Of those who had seen the recycle symbol before, 87 percent of shoppers at the
program stores and  77 percent of  shoppers at the control stores could correctly identify
its meaning.  Of those program-store respondents who had  seen the symbol, 45 percent
mentioned seeing it promoted in supermarkets and 34 percent mentioned seeing  it in the
supermarket (17 percent) or on  packaging.  Fewer  of the control store  respondents
reported seeing the symbol in the supermarkets (17 percent)  or on packaging (16 percent).
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         Summary statistics were available only from the combined responses from all
 stores:  (1)  90 percent of respondents  felt that the recycle symbol should appear on
 recycled  packaging;  (2)  three-quarters of  the  respondents would  think  better of a
 company using recycled material; (3) two-thirds of  the respondents felt people should be
 required to separate  recyclables from garbage; (*) nearly  60 percent of the respondents
 preferred to buy products in containers made with recycled materials; and (5) over 55
 percent of  the respondents  felt that  business should use  recycled materials even  if
 consumers would have to pay slightly higher product prices.
 Resource Recycling,  "Shoppers favor  recycled paperboard," Vol. V, No.2, March/April
         In  a  survey  by ShopRite  supermarkets  and the  American  Paper  Institute,
thousands of ShopRite customers were interviewed and indicated their endorsement of
recycled paperboard packaging. The important findings included:  93 percent of those
surveyed thought favorably of recycled paperboard packaging; nearly 83 percent of those
surveyed believed that manufacturers should  label recycled paperboard packaging with
the recycling symbol; 71 percent claimed they would shop  for the recycling symbol if it
meant that  it  would decrease  the amount  of  solid  wastes sent  to  landfills;  and
approximately 81 percent stated that they  had taken newspapers to  a  recycling center
within the past year.
Robert Marston and Associates, "Americans Agree:  Troubled Environment is an Election
Issue," Press Release, October 1988.
        This nationwide survey conducted by Penn & Schoen Associates questioned 1,000
Americans about solid  waste management problems.   Eighty-eight percent of  those
surveyed felt that solid  waste disposal was an important issue.  Ninety percent felt that
recycling  and biodegradability will help to alleviate  the problem  of solid waste, and 91
percent of the respondents would pay  a few cents more for product packages which were
recyclable and  biodegradable.  Eighty-seven percent felt  that the  government  should
provide incentives for manufacturers to use recyclable and biodegradable packaging.
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   A.3  RESEARCH REPORTS AND POLICY PAPERS
Arthur Young & Company, 1981
Becker, B.W., 1981
Bingham, T.H.; M.S. Marquis; P.C. Cooley; A.M. Cruze; E.W. Hauser; S.A.
Johnston; and P.P. Mulligan, 1974
Conn, W.D., 1977
Conn, W.D., 1988a
Conn, W.D., 1988b
Conn, W.D., 1980
Crosby, L.A. and J.R. Taylor, 1982
Cutler, A., 1988
De Young, R., 1987
De Young, R., 1985-86
De Young, R., 1984
De Young, R., 1985
De Young, R. and Kaplan, S., 1985-86
Geller, E.S., 1989
Geller, E.S., 1981
Geller, E.S., 1986
Geller, E.S.; J.B.  Erickson; and B.A. Buttram, 1983
Geller, E.S. and G. Lehman, 1986
Hurst, K. and P. Relis, 1988
Katzev, R.D. and A.V. Pardini, 1987-88
Kinnear, T.C. and J.R. Taylor,  1973
Kinnear, T.C.; J.R. Taylor; and S.A. Ahmed, 1974
Larson, M.A. and K.L. Massetti-Miller, 1984
League of Women Voters Education Fund, 1972
League of Women Voters Education Fund, 1975
Mikitka, K., 1985
 Pardini, A.V. and R.D. Katzev, 1983-84
 Stern, P.C., 1984
 Tracy, A.P. and S. Oskamp, 1983 - 84
 Warkov, S., 1983
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 Arthur Young & Company, Factors Which Inhibit the Demand for Secondary Materials-
 Phase I Marketing Report, California State Solid Waste Management Board, November 2,
 1 xO 1 j pp« tm~2.j»
         Only two pages of this study were  received from the California State Solid
 Waste Management Board.  The study concluded that competitors  among oligopolistic
 industries tend to make very similar products. Using recycled products would differenti-
 ate one  company's product from another's.  An "environmentally conscious segment of
 the population" would find a recycled product appealing. However,  using "recycled" in
 advertisement  for personal hygiene  products or  durable products  may have  negative
 effects.
 Becker, B.W., "Using Consumer Issues for Competitive Advantage," Business  Horizons
 Vol. 24, No.3, 1981, pp. 43-47.	'
         This article reports that  "consumer concerns need not be threats to business.
 Viewed imaginatively and analytically, consumer issues can become  part of  a firm's
 marketing strategy to obtain competitive advantage."  Becker develops a "consumerism
 opportunity  matrix" that incorporates  a variety of  consumer  issues and offers four
 marketing decision variables within control of management:  changes  in the product
 (including packaging); changes  in price (marketing a  recycled  product as a cost com-
 petitive alternative); changes in location  (marketing recycled products in high-demand
 areas); and promotion of the relative advantages of a recycled product.  Two promotional
 strategies are provided:  making a  positive statement about a  company's response to
 consumer  concerns (e.g.,  advertising the  removal of fluorocarbons from aerosols),  and
 goodwill gestures that show company concern but do not directly relate  to the product
 (e.g., donations to charity).   Several examples of the successful marketing of products
 that promote source  reduction or  recyclability  are  provided: the marketing of high
 quality recycled writing  paper  by Bergstrom Paper Company and Simpson  Lee  Paper
 Company; elimination of fluorocarbons from aerosols by S. C. Johnson Company; reuse of
containers at  Red Owl  stores  in Milwaukee;  and Hunt-Wesson's campaign to buy and
preserve  eagle nesting land  for each  container  label returned.   The importance  of
determining consumer attitudes, designing  marketing plans for market segments, and the
need to measure a quantitative  goal, such as packaging reuse rates in a community, are
also discussed.
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Bingham, T.H.; M.S. Marquis; P.C. Cooley; A.M. Cruze; E.W. Hauser; S.A. Johnston; and
P.P. Mulligan, An Evaluation of the Effectiveness and Costs of Regulatory and Fiscal
Policy Instruments on  Product Packaging, U.S. EPA, 1974.
        "This study provides an evaluation of the costs and effectiveness of two types of
government policy instruments that may be used to influence the quantity and composi-
tion of consumer product packaging and the use of recycled materials in consumer prod-
uct package manufacture.  The policy instruments considered are a regulation requiring
the use of recycled materials in packaging and  several types of taxes on packaging. The
analysis provides an initial basis for policy decisions  regarding the desirability of these
policy instruments  as possible means for reducing  the  generation of packaging wastes,
increasing  the use of recycled materials  in packaging manufacture,  and reducing the
natural resource utilization of packaging."  (Abstract from document)
         The study found that, among the policy instruments examined, taxes on pack-
aging — with or without exemptions for recycled containers — induced the largest reduc-
tions in solid waste  generation.   However, a  tax on packaging materials without the
exemption was (1)  substantially less effective than one on containers with an exemption
in reducing raw materials consumption, and (2) ineffective in increasing the consumption
of secondary materials.
 Conn, W.D., "Consumer  Product  Life Extension in the Context of Materials and Energy
 Flows," in D.W. Pearce and I. Walter (eds.), Resource Conservation; Social and Economic
 Dimensions of Recycling, University Press, New York, 1977, Ch. 7, pp. 127-143.
         Extending product  life  is  considered  a means to conserve natural resources,
 reduce environmental  impacts,  and lower  costs  of  MSW disposal.    However,  Conn
 cautions policymakers that policies for extending the  lives of consumer products should
 be designed very carefully,  especially if these policies are supposed to also reduce the
 overall materials flow.  Otherwise, results may be counterproductive.  Furthermore,
 other factors besides a product's physical durability can affect  its lifetime, not all of
 which are  under the control of the manufacturer (e.g., consumer  treatment of the
 product, consumer decision to repair or  throw  away the product, availability and pricing
 of spare parts, and second-hand markets).
         Adding to the  complications of predicting consumer behavior and determining
 the relationship between product lifetimes and materials flow,  Conn points out that if
 extending product life results in a cost savings, consumers may purchase more products,
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 possibly resulting in a net increase in materials flow.  The author recommends that all of
 these and othe'r related factors should be understood before policymakers move .ahead.
 Conn,  W.D.,  "Product  Design  and Municipal  Solid  Waste,"  Journal of  Resource
 Management and Technology, Vol. 16, No. 2, July 1988a, pp. 100-103]	
         The  author  provides several examples of product design attributes which can
 have a potentially  significant  impact  on  MSW  disposal,  e.g.,  durability,  ease  of
 disassembly, and the  presence or absence of materials which can have a negative impact
 on product recyclability or treatment  and  disposal.   It  is also stated that product
 designers and  manufacturers have  little or  no incentive to consider whether product
 design affects the following: rate of MSW generation; feasibility of recycling; and the
 human and environmental safety aspects of MSW handling and disposal.
         Product charges and regulations are identified as approaches to get designers
 and manufacturers to recognize  the relationship between their product and the  MSW
 stream.  However, to date, these approaches have not received wide support.  The author
 proposes a third option: expand waste audits included in a subsidized technical assistance
 program for individual firms  to not only focus on their manufacturing processes, but also
 on the  fate of their products  (i.e., after they  leave  the company), as well.   At  a
 minimum, this approach could make  firms aware of the impacts  of their products on the
 MSW stream (see above), and perhaps profitable  waste-related design changes.   As  a
 goodwill gesture, firms may make changes in their product designs if positive impacts on
 MSW disposal would result.
Conn, W. D., "Reducing Municipal Solid Waste Generation:  Lessons from the Seventies,"
Journal of Resource Management and Technology, Vol. 16, No. 1, April 1988b, pp. 24-27.'
         This  study summarized the objectives (reducing  costs  of  MSW management,
reducing litter,  conserving natural  resources, reducing  adverse environmental impacts,
and removing  market inefficiencies) and approaches (reducing quantity of material used
per unit of product, increasing the lifetime of durable and semi-durable goods, substitut-
ing reusable  products for single-use "disposable" products, and directly  reducing con-
sumption of material goods) to waste reduction.  It also  outlines available policy options:
regulation; financial incentives;  and measures to promote voluntary efforts.  Voluntary
efforts included education and public awareness programs,  technical assistance, and, in
some cases, face-to-face persuasion.
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         From the author's viewpoint, the lessons of the 1970s were:  1) there needs to be
a  consensus of  goals  at  federal,  state,  and  local  levels;  2)  source reduction/-
reuse/recycling have been erroneously associated with  a decrease in the standard of
living; 3) most source reduction and recycling activities of the 1970s were a result of
resource/cost savings measures and innovations captured  by private  enterprise; 4)
regulatory  controls  receive  limited public support, are  difficult  to administer,  and
interfere in the "free market;" 5) financial incentives offer the advantage of encouraging
consumer  behavior  without  requiring  it, but  there is great  difficulty  in  finding  a
compromise between a tax or subsidy large enough to create a "visible" change in waste
generation and  a tax or  subsidy  that  is politically acceptable, especially  given the
additional governmental  cost of administration; 6) beverage container legislation was the
most widely adopted waste reduction measure in the 1970s for several social,  economic,
and political reasons; and 7) encouraging a wide variety of voluntary efforts will continue
to be the policy of first choice for most governments but raises difficult issues related to
the level of intensity of government sponsored persuasion.
 Conn, W.D., "Workshop on Waste Reduction, January 10, 1980: Summary of Proceedings,"
 Prepared for California State Solid Waste Board, 1980.
         Key points  made at this workshop which relate most directly to this report
 occurred in  the session "A marketing approach to waste  reduction."  Arthur Sterngold,
 President, Social  Marketing  Consultants, and  Assistant Account  Executive, Needham,
 Harper, and Steers Advertising, Chicago, Illinois, described the traditional approaches to
 changing consumer behavior (in  his order):  legal/regulatory measures  (facing growing
 resistance);  technological measures  (cannot  solve everything); economic measures (are
 appropriate  under  certain conditions but must be designed correctly); public education
 (important,  but  not enough on  its own because  behavior  does  not  depend only on
 awareness);  community action (encourages people to relate to problems close-to-home);
 and entrepreneurial action (using the free market to "social advantage").
          To reiterate  his point on  education, Sterngold cited the example of energy
 conservation research  which  showed  that attitudes are  not well  correlated   with
 behavior. "Once people are  made aware of the problem, they must be  told what to do,
 how to do it, where to  go  to  do it, etc."  However, public education is often  very
 impersonal; its effect can be improved by  making the message personal, e.g., through
 follow-up in the local community.
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         Furthermore, unlike commercial advertising which sells tangible products, the
 benefits  of  waste  reduction  can  be  intangible  and not  immediately obvious  to
 individuals.  The benefits may be made to appear more immediate through the following
 techniques:  economic  incentives/disincentives  (e.g., deposits); tangible products (e.g.,
 reusable shopping bags); and "down-to-earth symbols" (e.g., packaging labels).
 Crosby, L.A. and 3.R. Taylor, "Consumer Satisfaction with Michigan's Container Deposit
 Law-An Ecological Perspective," Journal of Marketing, Winter 1982, pp. 47-60.
         This article  described a  survey  investigating  consumer  satisfaction  with  the
 Michigan  beverage container deposit  law,  attitudes toward the system,  and consumer
 reaction to retailer activities complying with the law. The survey revealed a high degree
 of consumer satisfaction with the deposit law. More significant  for the purposes of this
 study, the survey found that consumers adapted to the new behaviors required under  the
 law  in about six to eight months.  Few of the consumers had been  engaged in recycling-
 oriented activities prior to the law, yet many quickly developed a "convenient behavioral
 repertoire."   The authors  suggest  that developing recycling-oriented behavior follows
 standard skill development processes:  it requires practice. In addition, the authors state
 that as behavior is  learned and "becomes more efficient  ... it will tend to be perceived
 as more convenient."
Cutler, H.,  "Is Mandated Recycling Possible?" Solid Waste & Power, August  1988, pp.
J^~' J / •
         This article argues that mandatory source separation programs, often  touted as
the answer  to the MSW  management crisis, will not provide  large-scale solutions until
markets for recycled products are created.  Successful source-separation programs can
provide a large supply of cheap raw materials, but  these materials will not be utilized
unless there is demand for the products they are used to create.
         The author argues that education programs which teach people about the ben-
efits of recycling and why individuals should prefer recycled products should be the first
step in any recycling  program. Moreover, the author asserts that these programs could
actually make mandatory recycling programs unnecessary:  if demand for recycled prod-
ucts were strong  enough, "the current non-mandatory recycling programs conducted by
private  parties would be  enlarged  to meet the new demand  of the manufacturing
industries, as they have historically."
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De Young, R., "Clean Michigan Fund 1986-1987 Resource Recovery Education Grants: A
Comparison of Selected Programs," University of Michigan, School of Natural Resources,
Spring 1987.

         This  report compares  survey data  from  six resource  recovery education

programs funded by the state of Michigan from early 1986 to mid  1987.  The surveys

were used to evaluate resident attitudes, behaviors, and motives pertaining to  resource

recovery, serving as a  baseline for future programs  in  these communities. Residents

were asked several  questions,  dealing with  the  following: importance of recycling;

experience with, and plans  for, recycling; and why people do, and do not, recycle. The

report's following conclusions were based on results from the survey, and may be helpful

to future resource recovery  programs:

         (1)   since a large percentage of the respondents viewed recycling as
              important, future  programs  do  not  need to  focus so  much
              attention on changing attitudes;

         (2)   since  a  large  percentage  of  the respondents  agrees  that
              recycling is  an appropriate behavior,  future programs  should
              focus more attention on converting people's  good intentions to
              actual  behavior   (e.g.,  helping  people  overcome   perceived
              barriers  [mostly due to  not  enough information  of what to do,
              not enough room, and too much hassle]  and promote recycling of
              a longer list of materials);

         (3)   effectiveness  of   future   programs  in  increasing  recycling
              behavior  will  be  greatest  if  they concentrate on providing
              information (i.e., increasing familiarity with recycling behavior),
              rather  than  focusing on  attitudinal,  ethical or motivational
              issues; and

          (4)  future  programs  should focus  on a  range of  non-monetary
              incentives (e.g., the effect  of  recycling  on  conserving natural
              resources,   the   benefits   of   recycling  for   a   charitable
              organization, and  the intrinsic  satisfaction derived from "doing
              the right thing").
 De Young, R., "Encouraging Environmentally Appropriate Behavior:  The Role of Intrinsic
 Motivation," Journal of Environmental Systems, Vol. 15, No. 4, 1985-86, pp. 281-292.

          This study was designed to explore the types of motivation which people  feel
 during their daily activities  towards conserving natural resources.  Data came from 263
 responses to  a mail-back questionnaire in Ann Arbor, Michigan in  1977.  Three  scales

 were examined in detail:  behavior, satisfaction, and motivation.
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         The study found that people derive  distinct satisfaction from reuse and recy-
 cling behavior and that much of their everyday conservation behavior was intrinsically
 motivated, i.e.,  dependent upon  internal goals and rewards.  Intrinsic motivation  was
 much  more  highly rated  as  a motivational factor for reuse and recycling than were
 extrinsic rewards. The author suggests that environmentally responsible behavior might
 be encouraged  by helping people  to discover the satisfaction  they  can derive from
 participation.  That is, a  program should not  invest all of its effort or  funding towards
 developing extrinsic rewards.
 De Young, R., "Motivating People to Recycle:  The Use of Incentives," Resource Recyc-
 ling, May/June 198*, pp. 14-15, 42.                                    	    y

         This article discussed various incentives that can be used to initiate and main-
 tain participation in recycling programs.   Both extrinsic  and intrinsic incentives  are
 examined.  Extrinsically-motivated behavior is motivated by a reward, such as money,
 social  approval, or increased convenience, while intrinsically-motivated behavior is done
 "for its  own  sake."  While  extrinsic incentives can be  every effective in promoting
 recycling,  the behavior  established often disappears after the incentives are  removed.
 Over-reliance on  extrinsic  incentives may  make an individual overlook their  intrinsic
 motivations.  The author also  raises the  question of whether large monetary incentives
 are cost-effective.  Intrinsic incentives  tend to be stronger and  more permanent than
 extrinsic ones, but they are far more difficult to establish.  The author suggests that
 basing extrinsic incentives on recycling performance (e.g., percentage of waste recycled)
 may help, and possibly enhance, intrinsic motivation.  The paper concludes that recycling
 programs are  too often designed solely around economic incentives, and that, with com-
 binations of extrinsic and intrinsic incentives,  recycling  programs could achieve more
 effective and enduring results.
De  Young,  R.,  "Satisfaction  from  Conservation  Activities  in  North  America"
Environmental Conservation, Vol. 12, No. 3, Autumn 1985, pp. 259-260.                '
        This article discusses findings from recent conservation behavior research.  Two
main themes are revealed from this research:
        (1)   There is a clear and stable structure to the satisfactions which
              people report  deriving from daily conservation activities" (i.e.,
              many   conservation  activities  are  no  different  than  daily
              behaviors).
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        (2)   These satisfactions are independent of satisfactions gained from
              material things" (i.e.,  non-economic satisfactions are derived
              from common conservation activities).
Satisfaction  is categorized by  the  following:  frugality (e.g.,  avoiding  wastefulness,
extending product life, and other activities tied to conservation),  participation (e.g.,
participate in a community activity with a feeling of making a difference), and luxuries
(research  indicates that satisfaction from material  benefits does not conflict with the
other  two  types of  satisfaction).    That   is,  people  can  derive  satisfaction  from
conservation.   "Together, these  findings  suggest that  environmentally  appropriate
activities might  be  made to  appeal to a broad cross-section of North Americans (the
well-off and disadvantaged alike) rather than just to people of a Spartan nature."
De Young, R. and S. Kaplan, "Conservation Behavior and the Structure of Satisfactions,"
Journal of Environmental Systems, Vol. 15, No. 3, 1985-86, pp. 233-242.
         Based on results from some prior research,  the authors state that satisfaction
(i.e., intrinsic motivation) may be more effective than extrinsic incentives in promoting
conservation behavior, based on  cost-effectiveness and the durability  of  the  behavior
once the extrinsic incentive is removed.
         A survey of thirty people with interest in conservation was conducted.  Results
of the survey included the following:
         (1)   People who conserve are not different from other people.
         (2)   A special outlook is not needed to foster conservation (several of
              the themes ranking conservation high also support a mainstream
              outlook,   i.e.,   even   though   survey   participants   are
              conservationists, they were not determined to be a fringe  group).
         (3)   There is a wide variety and commonplace nature of satisfactions
              (e.g., conservation ethic,  money, and comfort and  convenience)
              derived from conservation, similar to ordinary behaviors.
         The authors also state that although some of the themes (e.g., comfort  and
convenience  and  modern  lifestyle)  may  on  the  surface  appear  to  conflict  with
conservation, "there is a  potential for encouraging  desired  behavior  patterns  by
emphasizing qualities such as durability and  the sensual  qualities of  environmentally
appropriate  products rather than resource conservation as the bases for actions.  For
example, the desire  for quality  might  be satisfied  in an  environmentally appropriate
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 manner by purchasing only a few, high quality and long-lasting items rather than buying
 large quantities of disposable or less-durable goods."
Geller, E.S.,  "Applied Behavior  Analysis  and Social  Marketing:   An Integration for
Environmental Preservation," Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 45, No. 1,  1989, pp. 17-36.
         This  paper presents several methods for  integrating applied behavior  analysis
and  social  marketing techniques to  produce effective action  plans  for increasing
environmentally beneficial  behaviors  and limiting environmentally  harmful behaviors.
The  author  categorizes "behavior change procedures that have targeted environmental
preservation"  as either antecedent interventions (e.g., education, goal-setting, modeling)
or consequence procedures (reinforcement or punishment).
         In  the applied behavior analysis section of the paper, the author discusses the
necessity of identifying specific behaviors to target behavior-modification programs, and
identifies the essential components of successful  antecedent interventions (awareness
and education sessions, verbal and written messages, modeling and demonstrations, goal-
setting and commitment  procedures,  and engineering  and design strategies), and  the
different types of  consequence procedures (behavior response-contingent and behavior
outcome-contingent).  Following development of behavior change strategies, the author
recommends intervening on  a  community-wide (and more durable) level.   With larger
programs, results may  not be as favorable as with smaller scale efforts.
         In  the social marketing section  of the paper,  the author discusses the key
elements of social  marketing  — product,  promotion, place,  price, politics, and public
opinion — and their relevance  to  the design of programs  which seek to change people's
behavior.
Geller,  E.S., "Evaluating  Energy Conservation Programs:  Is Verbal Report  Enough?"
Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 8, December 1981, pp. 331-335.
         This paper examines  the stimulation of individual energy conservation behavior
through workshops and home visits. Based on his and others' research, the author asserts
that there is a discrepancy between self-report measures and actual  behavior (i.e., a
difference between attitudes and behavior regarding conservation). Workshop attendees
reported that the workshops had increased their concern about the energy crisis and that
they were more committed to conserving energy.  However,  after follow-up visits and
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prompts  to insulate  hot  water heaters, install water restrictors,  and  lower water
temperatures,  there  was  not  much  difference  in the  application of  these energy
conservation techniques  among forty  workshop  attendees and forty  non-attending
residents (the control group).
         The author suggests that workshops, informational pamphlets and media promo-
tion should not be relied on exclusively to promote energy conservation.  Geller feels
that additional motivation (e.g., a monetary reward and periodic or frequent feedback) is
needed to achieve high participation rates.
Geller, E.S., "Prevention of Environmental Problems," in B. A. Edelstein and L. Michelson
(Eds.), Handbook of Prevention,  Plenum  Publishing Corporation,  1986,  Chapter 16, pp.
361-383.
         The author summarizes a variety of behavior change intervention approaches to
environmental protection which may be applied in any of  eight target areas:  population;
food;  land; water; energy; solid  wastes; minerals;  and  the atmosphere.  This study,
however, focuses  on energy conservation.  Several characteristics of the behaviorist's
perspective and approach are discussed.
         In order  for a behavior  change  program to be effective, target behaviors and
groups must  be defined.  In some instances,  a change can be accomplished only  by a
repetitive action (setting back  room thermostats each night); in other instances, a single
action will affect a change (purchasing a more efficient automobile), but usually  at a
high up-front cost.
         Antecedent strategies (also referred to as prompting) are designed to increase
the likelihood  of  desirable target behaviors  or decrease the likelihood of undesirable
target responses.  Such strategies include verbal and written messages, awareness and
education messages,  modelling  and  demonstrations, goal  setting  and  commitment
strategies, and engineering and  design  technologies.  Response-contingent  approaches
(those dependent  upon performance or outcome) involve creating an incentive for the
desired  behavior  (or  disincentive  for   undesired  behavior), educating  or  increasing
audience awareness through media messages, providing  the  audience  with a model  of
successful participation, and  creation of commitment and  goal-setting  tactics.   The
effectiveness of behavior change interventions may also depend  upon the consequence
strategy  — creating  rewards for  the  desired  behaviors  or outcomes (e.g., a monetary
rebate for return of a reusable container  or mention on an "environmental honor role") or
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creating penalties for undesired behaviors or outcomes (e.g., a speeding ticket or verbal
condemnation).
         The author suggests changing attitudes  through behavior modification.  In so
doing,  it may be more cost-effective  to  apply intervention strategies to the  targeted
behaviors directly rather than applying  these strategies to changing attitudes and values
in the  hope that behavior changes will  follow. However, the author states a concern of
behaviorists regarding attitude formation and acceptance of behavior change — positive
attitudes  are  associated  with  incentives,  negative  attitudes  are associated  with
disincentives.
         To that end, frequent and specific feedback should be delivered to individuals.
The  author  also  notes  that  most   projects  have   been   short-term  small-scale
demonstrations and  have ignored the  "relationships that link  person, behavior, social
environment, and physical environment." Successful behavioral change programs must do
more than modify a single behavior.  The author finishes with a discussion of community-
wide (community may imply national or international  projects such  as "Keep America
Beautiful" and "Save the Whales") intervention, stating that the large-scale is the most
appropriate scale for creating long-term success.

Geller, E.S., 3.B. Erickson, and B.A. Buttram,  "Attempts to Promote Residential Water
Conservation with Educational, Behavioral and Engineering  Strategies,"  Population and
Environment, Vol. 6, No. 2, Summer 1983, pp. 96-112.
         This article presents the results of a program to promote water conservation.
After gauging baseline water consumption in 129 residences, researchers applied differ-
ent combinations of education, feedback, and engineering (e.g., use of water conservation
devices)  interventions.    Prior  research  has indicated  that  combinations  of these
strategies  are  more effective than  individual strategies.  "Significant water  savings
occurred following only the installation  of  low cost water conservation devices, although
the amount of water saved with these devices .  .. was much less than expected."
         The major  applicable finding  of the study is  that  feedback  and education
(informing people about the resource and monetary savings of conservation behavior) are
not,  by themselves, sufficient to promote conservation.  For  real, lasting changes  in
behavior, "a supportive motivational  system" must also be in effect.  Apparently, people
will conserve seriously only if direct, tangible  rewards  such as monetary savings and/or
resource cost savings are provided.  The author states that conservation programs should
include an assessment of changes in attitude, behavior, and consumption.
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Geller,  E.S.  and G.R.  Lehman, "Motivating  Desirable  Waste Management Behavior:
Applications  of  Behavior  Analysis," Journal of Resource Management and Technology,
Vol. 15, Nos.  2 & 3, December 1986, pp. 58-68.
        Geller and Lehman define two strategies for motivating desirable behavior and
reduce  undesirable behaviors.   These strategies  can be antecedent-  or  consequence-
oriented. Antecedent strategies take  effect before the targeted behavior is to occur.
They can be  general prompts which do not target any specific behavior. An example of
one such prompt is  a packaging label such  as "Dispose  of Properly." However, more
specific prompts are aimed  at promoting one behavior  (e.g., Place Recyclable  Paper
Here).   Antecedent strategies can announce disincentives (e.g., a  fine for littering) or
incentives  (e.g., a rebate for returning  recyclables). Modeling  is  another  antecedent
strategy, demonstrating specific behaviors. Modeling includes media presentations which
act out a behavior and the resulting consequence.  An additional method of antecedent
stimuli is a commitment strategy, where individuals make a verbal or written promise to
behave in a specific manner (e.g., I will separate recyclables).
        Consequence strategies take  effect after  a behavior has  been  enacted.   The
strategy can  be  positive or negative.  Positive  consequence stimuli reward an individual
for participating in a behavior. The reward can be based on a specific response (response
consequence) being performed (e.g., using a  particular trash can) or it can be  based on
the occurrence of a more general outcome or  outcome consequence (e.g., returning an
established amount of recyclables to  meet  a goal).  Negative consequence  stimuli are
typically laws or ordinances which outlaw or punish a certain behavior. Individuals choose
to behave  in a certain manner in order to avoid a negative consequence (e.g., paying a
fine for littering).  For a negative consequence  stimuli to be effective, there  needs to be
a strong likelihood that the consequence will in fact follow a behavior.  Typically, this is
expensive because  of the enforcement  and administrative  manpower which is required to
police  individual behavior.  Though  government and community agencies typically use
negative consequence stimuli, behavioral scientists have demonstrated several reasons
for their preference for positive consequence stimuli.
        The authors' conclusions include:
         •    antecedent prompts are not effective unless the target behavior
             is  relatively convenient  and the  prompt occurs at the point of
             desired action;
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             general prompts may be cheap but are typically not capable of
             changing behavior;
             consequence  strategies  require  antecedent  strategies  which
             announce the consequence of specific behaviors;
             antecedent strategies should  not threaten individual freedom by
             demanding a behavior;
         •    response consequences are more specific and informative than
             outcome consequences and are probably more likely to be effec-
             tive;
         •    consequence strategies must remain in effect over the long term;
             modeling strategies are often overlooked and might be effective;
             and
         •    goal-setting strategies are easy and inexpensive to implement and
             may be quite effective in changing behavior.
Hurst, K. and P. Relis, The Next Frontier: Solid Waste Source Reduction, Policy Paper,
Gildea Resource Center, Community Environmental Council, 1988.
         This report highlights source reduction as the most preferred MSW management
option,  though it  is usually the last to  be  considered.   The information provided is
designed to educate decisionmakers, planners, public interest groups, and others on the
subject.  Unlike the other MSW management options, source reduction directly addresses
a fundamental concern: the amount of MSW generated. The  authors state  that use of a
common definition of source reduction will reduce confusion  in the policy-making arena
as well as help to chart its progress and quantify its benefits.  Examples are provided of
what source reduction is, and is not, barriers to its adoption, as well as recent activities
by those groups taking a lead in this area.
         The report also identifies source reduction policy alternatives  (education and
recognition  resulting  in  voluntary  action; economic incentives and disincentives; and
regulation),   as  well  as  roles  and/or  activities  of  government,  industry,  public
organizations, designers,  marketing firms, and consumers. For example, consumers need
to be  informed which products  and packages  have  source  reduction  qualities  and
benefits.  The authors point out that significant consumer concern for the impact of their
purchases on MSW  disposal may serve to encourage manufacturers to respond and change
their  products  and packages, accordingly.   Recent evidence supports this:  consumer
interest in healthier diets has prompted marketers to promote products which appeal to
this growing segment of the population.
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Katzev,  R.D. and  A.U.  Pardini,  "The  Comparative  Effectiveness  of Reward  and
Commitment Approaches in Motivating Community Recycling," Journal of Environmental
Systems, Vol. 17, No. 2, 1987-88, pp. 93-113.
         In support of their claim that  prior research on conservation behavior has
focused too heavily on the use of incentives, the authors discuss the significant problems
related  to these efforts: (1) participation rates  in recycling  were typically low when
incentives were used; (2) many of the incentive programs were not cost-effective; and (3)
incentive programs  did  not  produced  long-term and  lasting  changes in  recycling
behavior. In contrast,  the authors report on their  research on the  use of "minimal
justification techniques,"  i.e.,  "modest" rather than "highly attractive" incentives to
stimulate internal motivations to recycle.
         This study was  conducted with  fifty-nine households in Portland,  Oregon to
determine "the  relative effectiveness of  commitment  and  incentive techniques in
promoting newspaper  recycling."  The study spanned eight weeks, with a  five week
intervention period and a three week  follow-up period.  Four groups of households were
established:
         (1)   Control — households were asked if they would participate in the
             project;
         (2)   Commitment  —  in  addition  to being  asked  to  participate,
             households were also asked to sign a commitment form;
         (3)   Token — households received a token each  time they recycled;
             and
         (4)   Commitment + Token —  households were provided information on
             the token system and,  if they were interested, were asked to sign
             a commitment form.
         Results of the study indicated that the Commitment and Commitment + Token
groups recycled substantially more  (based on frequency  and weight)  than the Control
group; the same was true for the Token group,  but not at  the relative magnitude of the
other two groups. During the follow-up period, only the Commitment and Commitment +
Token groups recycled  more than the  Control  group.   On  balance,  none  of  these
techniques was always more  effective than the others.  In addition, the results do not
suggest  that  incentives are required.   The Token group  never out-performed  the two
Commitment groups.  In fact,  75 percent of households  in  the Token  group redeemed
their  tokens, while only 28 percent of households in the Commitment + Token group
redeemed theirs1.
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        "Encouraging  individuals to begin [conserving resources]  by making a small
commitment to recycle a household  product can often  times act as a catalyst for
initiating  and sustaining  further  conserving  acts.  Unfortunately, most  social  policy
programs  begin by  making  relatively large, global  requests of consumers, without
recognizing  the importance of first establishing the basic components of these  target
behaviors, as  well as creating situations where  consumers can commit themselves to
undertake these acts."
Kinnear, T.C. and J.R. Taylor, "The Effect of Ecological Concern on Brand Perceptions,"
Journal of Marketing Research, May 1973, pp. 191-197.
         Kinnear and Taylor measured the association  between ecological concern and
product  brand  perception  using  statistical analysis  of  500 responses from a  western
Ontario consumer mail survey conducted in 1972.  They found that consumers who were
aware of the  impacts of  phosphates  on the  environment, and  other  environmental
problems, viewed laundry  detergents  containing  phosphates as  contributing  to the
pollution of  lakes and streams.  Low or non-phosphate detergents were seen as helping to
mitigate the problem of water pollution.
Kinnear, T.C., J.R. Taylor, and S.A. Ahmed, "Ecologically Concerned Consumers:  Who
Are They?" Journal of Marketing, Vol. 38, April 1974, pp. 20-24.
         The  article  examines twenty independent variables as possible  predictors of
scores on ecology concern indexes.  Seven of the variables were socio-economic (i.e., age
of wife, presence of children, education of  each  spouse, occupation of each spouse, and
family  income), twelve variables  were used  to  characterize  personality traits  (e.g.,
rebelliousness, depression, understanding, and  indifference), and one was perceived con-
sumer effectiveness in pollution  abatement. Regression analysis measured the relative
importance of these variables on individual ecological concern index scores.
         A profile of ecologically concerned consumers (derived from a mail question-
naire conducted in Canada and based on 500 respondents) suggests that they  perceive a
high consumer effectiveness against pollution, are  curious and open  to new  ideas, are
moderate in  their desire to avoid personal  harm (need for safety  or  risk  aversion) and
tend to earn  over $15,000 (1973  dollars) per year.   The results  suggest that personality
traits  are a  much better predictor  of environmental concern  than socioeconomic
variables.
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        The authors suggest  that  public  education campaigns center  their  appeals
around a mild arousal of the need  to  avoid adverse personal or social outcomes (i.e.,
strong negative campaigns may alienate their audience), and a  strong emphasis on the
individual consumer's effectiveness in helping to alleviate the environmental impacts of
waste disposal.
Larson, M.A.  and K.L. Massetti-Miller, "Measuring Change After a Public Education
Campaign," Public Relations Review, Vol. 10, No. 4,  1984, pp. 23-32.
         Based on pre- and post-campaign public opinion surveys for a nine-month state-
wide television and radio  campaign on California's garbage crisis, Californians showed a
greater realization of the seriousness of the crisis.  However, their  participation  in
recycling and  other "environmentally sound practices" was not on a regular basis.  These
results  were  consistent  with  the  findings  of other  public  information  campaigns,
illustrating "the  weakness  in  relying  solely upon  mass-media channels for  eliciting
behavioral  change in public awareness campaigns."
         To improve the effectiveness of the  public  education  campiagn, the  state
developed  community-level programs to promote recycling through use  of more diverse
methods (posters, brochures, articles, radio, television, slide shows, and speakers).  This
paper reports  on  the Humboldt County Recycling and Anti-Littering Education Project,
funded with $10,000 beginning in March 1981.  In comparing pre- and post-campaign data,
the authors determined that the education program was  effective in influencing attitudes
on  littering and  illegal dumping among recyclers.   However,  there  was little overall
change in  attitudes on littering or illegal dumping  or on recycling behavior.  Potential
reasons  offered  for this less-than-desired showing included:   (1) 75  percent of the
residents already  recycled; (2) opportunities to recycle dwindled due to strains on the
local  economy;  and  (3)  sufficient  opportunities  for  interpersonal  communication,
participation,  and social reinforcement were not provided.  Recyclers were  determined
to be more likely to purchase products in recyclable packaging than were non-recyclers
according to pre- and post-campaign data.
         The  authors also analyzed the key  factors affecting recycling behavior and
determined that  (1) education and community involvement were positvely  related to
recycling  behavior; and  (2)  age and  income  were negatively related to  recycling
behavior.  Based  on  their findings, the authors recommended that  helping  the  public
communicate  among themselves would reinforce or broaden recycling behavior.
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League of Women Voters Education  Fund, Recycle? In Search  of  New Policies  for
Resource Recovery, 1972.                                          ~               ~~
         As the solid waste burden grows, so does interest in recycling among people and
members  of  Congress.   This  report  helps  to educate  primarily  individuals  and
communities as to what  recycling  is, as  well as its benefits, barriers (economic and
institutional) to its greater use, ways (economic and institutional) to  overcome these
barriers, and  what lies ahead  for  recycling.   The  report  stresses  that  markets  for
recycled materials are more effective to  increase recycling than simply making these
materials available ("the supply push approach is [like] pushing on  a string").  However,
demand  for  these materials  is affected  by  technology,  their  quality,  procurement
specifications, and price.
League of Women Voters Education Fund, Reduce? Targets, Means and Impacts of Source
Reduction, 1975.                                                       	
        This report cites the U.S.'s increasing MSW generation rate, decreasing landfill
disposal capacity, potential environmental  problems with landfills, rising disposal  costs,
and material shortages, as key reasons why there needs to be greater attention to source
reduction.   Source  reduction is assessed based on its targets  (durable and non-durable
goods, packaging and containers, and beverage  containers), approaches (tools for control
[taxes  and  charges, deposits,  bans, design regulations, and  voluntary measures  and
education] and  policies for specific products),  and impacts (resources and energy, solid
waste management, and the economy).  Roles for industry, government, EPA,  and the
public are identified, all of whom  need to  be involved if source reduction is to be fully
effective.
Mikitka, K., "Promoting Recycling:  Supermarkets As Environmental Classrooms," Illinois
Teacher, March/April, 1985, pp. 160-163.
        The general purpose of this article is to provide subject matter and classroom
activities that build upon "environmental shopping" themes.  The author states that "per-
suasive educational and motivational strategies are needed to induce more consumers and
industries  to participate in  recycling."  She points out that stimulating the demand for
recycled and recyclable materials is considered a very direct way to increase recycling.
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        The author states  that  "[t]hree key assumptions, derived from  educational-
marketing program evaluations, underpin the article's recommendations:
        (1)   Social marketing techniques can enhance educational programs.
        (2)   When consumers are made aware of the negative economic and
              environmental consequences of  wasteful consumption, they are
              willing to support and participate in recycling programs.  When
              provided education and point of purchase information, they favor
              products made from recycled materials.
        (3)   Program  themes  incorporating bywords,  slogans and  symbols
              reinforce awareness."
        After discussing  the implementation of  a  consumer education project  in nine
San Diego,  California grocery stores (discussed in  Appendix A.I),  the author suggests
some  concepts and  goals that she feels need  to  be  included as part  of  in-school
environmental consumer education  programs.   Such programs should integrate basic
environmental and consumer economic principles, so that students understand the "sys-
tems relationships that influence the  recycling process."
        The author also points out that  recycling activities are strengthened  when the
economic  forces of supply and demand work together.  She stresses the  importance of
teaching students about their "dual role"  as consumers, that is,  as suppliers of materials
for recycling, and as a central force behind the demand for recycled materials.  When
consumers buy products and packaging  made from  recycled materials,  they  motivate
manufacturers to use more  of those materials. This creates a  demand for recyclables,
which  in  turn keeps their  prices high  enough to encourage recycling by  households,
organizations, and industries.
        The author  suggests general goals  for environmental consumer education pro-
grams.  She states that programs should teach students to recognize consumer  recycling
symbols and to understand that recycling  involves continuous and interdependent produc-
tion, consumption, supply and demand cycles. The article concludes  with some suggested
classroom  activities that teach  the "importance and methodology of recycling,"  and
environmental shopping  projects  which  can be  undertaken  cooperatively  by home
economists and supermarket  managers.
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Pardini, A.U. and R.D.  Katzev, "The Effect of Strength of Commitment on Newspaper
Recycling," Journal of Environmental Systems, Vol. 13, No. 3, 1983-84, pp.
        Past research on promoting recycling behavior has focused mainly on the use of
incentives alone.  In summarizing the results of some of these efforts,  the  authors
conclude that incentives  alone  are deficient:  (1) when  the incentive  is removed,  the
behavior change is unlikely to endure; (2) incentive programs generated low participation
rates; and (3) most of these programs were not cost-effective. The authors contend that
external incentives  do  not  help  to raise  an  individual's  internal  commitment  to
recycling. Rather, "minimal  forms of external justification" to promote development of
internal commitments  (called  the "minimal  justification principle")  may be  more
effective  than  "highly attractive external  incentives"  in  promoting  and sustaining
changes in recycling behavior.   For example, the "foot-in-the-door"  technique can  "be
quite effective in a variety of situations where a minimal amount of pressure is first used
to induce later compliance with a request that most individuals would not have otherwise
agreed to."
        This  paper  reports  the  results  of  an experiment  conducted  with  thirty
households in Portland, Oregon in 1982 to investigate the impact of three commitment
techniques  to   promote  newspaper  recycling.   The  project  included  a two-week
intervention period and a  two-week follow-up period.  Households were asked to recycle
under the following conditions: (1) information,  (2) minimal (i.e., verbal) commitment, or
(3)  strong (written) commitment (i.e., a foot-in-the-door technique).   The information
condition involved households receiving leaflets explaining the details  of the study.  The
minimal condition included the  same  information received by the first group but also
asked households to participate  in  the project.  The strong commitment included 2the
same information and question received by the second group but also asked households to
sign a statement committing them to the project.
        The project's findings included the following: the frequency of participation and
the  amount  of  newspapers  recycled  increased  as  did  the level of  commitment  by
households.  However, once the two-week  intervention was completed, only the strong
commitment  group continued to recycle newspapers.  Three important effects resulted
from the commitment techniques used:
        (1)    Gaining a commitment from individuals to  recycle increased the
              frequency of their  participation, as well as the  weight of  the
              material they recycled.
        (2)    The greater the  strength  of  the individual's commitment  to
              recycle, the greater the magnitude of both these outcomes.
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        (3)   Individuals  who had  made a  strong  commitment to  recycle
              continued to  do so, even  though they  were no longer bound by
              their original commitment."
Stern, P.C., "Saving Energy: The Human Dimension," Technology Review, January 1984,
pp. 16-25, 62.
         The focus of this article is on energy conservation but its findings can also apply
to consumer behavior  issues.    As starters,  "[e]nergy is ... psychologically  invisible
whenever people cannot see the connection between the actions they take and the energy
they use as a  result." Tangible evidence of energy conservation (e.g., solar collectors)
can matter more than intangible evidence (e.g., additional layer of insulation). Making
energy use visible to people can  improve the effectiveness of their conservation efforts
and help them realize their savings. For example, regular feedback on energy use can be
used to  show  the savings of energy conservation and enhance  the  credibility of such
efforts by communicating directly  with individuals and through word-of-mouth  contact.
The  credibility  of  energy  conservation efforts also  depends  on the  consistency,
understandability, and source  of the information provided.  How  the information  is
delivered is also  important: the author states that people will respond more  favorably if
they experience an increase in control over their environment (e.g., conservation should
not be equated with sacrifice).
         Individual  motivations to  conserve energy can  sometimes be influenced  by
values and habits rather  than by economic incentives (e.g.,  for some people, the times
and  days when  appliances are used depend more on  their individual commitment to
conservation than to price differences).  Commitment to conserve  may need to build on
small initial commitments, or  "foot-in-the-door"  techniques) e.g., distributing energy-
saving devices with information pamphlets).
Tracy, A.P. and S. Oskamp, "Relationships Among Ecologically Responsible Behaviors,"
Journal of Environmental Systems, Vol. 13, No.2, 1983-1984, pp. 115-126.
         In October 1981, 96 randomly  selected  adults in a Los Angeles  suburb  were
asked about their adoption of ecologically responsible behaviors.  Ecologically responsible
behavior refers  to actions which retard  the  degradation  of the environment.  Fifteen
behaviors,  including recycling, consumption of  more ecologically compatible products,
driving 55  mph,  and using  a low-flow shower  head were analyzed for the following
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factors:  1)  number of households participating; 2) positive relationship among behaviors
within subcategories; 3)  existence of a general relationship among all of the behaviors;
and 4) relationship between attitude and behavior.
         The experiment found  that  there was a  very low rate of participation for all
ecologically responsible behavior, including recycling and purchasing of more ecologically
compatible goods.  Participants recycled and/or consumed more ecologically compatible
products in  direct relationship to their concern for energy conservation (i.e.,  someone
who is concerned about any of  a wide range of ecological issues is more likely to take
action towards alleviating perceived environmental problems).
         The study found a lack of awareness of  what can be done at the individual or
household level.  The authors state, "[individuals  must be made aware of what  they can
be doing, and of which present behaviors are not ecologically responsible."
Warkov, S., "Attitudes Toward the Future:  Their Impact on Present Decisions," in W.D.
Conn (ed.), Energy  and  Material Resources;   Attitudes,  Values,  and Public Policy,
Westview Press, Boulder, CO,  1983, Ch. 7, pp. 131-143.
        This  article is  based on a  Spring  1979 telephone survey of 215 Connecticut
homeowners to  determine factors affecting their interest in installing (and receiving
grants for) solar hot water systems (i.e., energy conservation methods). Survey results
indicated that homeowner installation of solar system was significantly related to their
perception  of oil depletion (i.e., fear that some day there would be no more oil).  Intrinsic
(e.g., fulfilling one's obligations  to society and  future generations) and extrinsic (e.g.,
eventually  saving money or  insuring against future generations) and extrinsic  (e.g.,
eventually  saving money or  insuring against future  price increases) motivations were
found to have an insignificant impact on homeowner interest in a solar system.  However,
the author  points out that survey results may have been biased, e.g., the survey was not
conducted  in  the winter, when  energy use and prices are  of  greater  concern  to
homeowners.
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                A.4  CURRENT EVENTS
American Paper Institute, no date
American Paper Institute, late 1970's-late 1980's
Association of New Jersey Recyclers, 1988
Becker, R. H., 1987
Brinkman, D.W., 1986
Chemical & Engineering News, 1988
Elliott, C., 1987
Ferrand, T.L., 1988a
Ferrand, T.L., 1988b
Harrowsmith, 1988
Jacobs, K., 1988
McMillan, T., 1988
The Michigan Recycling Coalition, 1986
The Michigan Recycling Coalition, 1984
Perrin, G.,  1988
The Procter & Gamble Co., 1988
Recycling Today, 1988
Riggle, D., 1989
Sproule, K.A., and J.M. Cosulich, 1988
Stone, B., 1988
Taylor, E. H., 1988
VandenBerg, N.,  1987
VandenBerg, N.,  1988
Watson, 1988a
Young, R. and M. Storey, 1988
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American Paper Institute, "Gray is Beautiful" Newsletter, Vol. 1, Issues 3-5, no date.
         These  newsletters provide information on the "Gray is Beautiful" campaign that
promoted the use of recycled (gray) paperboard packaging, and environmentally conscious
shopping. The  newsletter, which provides  factual responses  to the "unfounded" claims
used by manufacturers for not using recycled paperboard packaging, also contains several
short articles describing the expansion of  the "Gray  is Beautiful" campaign to other
packagers.
American Paper Institute, series of newspaper articles describing API's "Shopping for the
Symbol of the '80s" and "Recycled Packaging Awareness Week" campaigns, late 1970's-
late 1980's.
         These  campaigns  involved  consumers, women's clubs,  grocery  store  chains,
manufacturers,   and  state  and local governments.  Products  packaged  in recycled
paperboard were identified by manufacturers using recycling symbols on their packages
and stores having stickers placed (typically by volunteers) near the products' shelf price
in participating stores.  These  campaigns were accompanied by media  announcements.
The  success  of these  programs in  changing  consumer purchase  decisions was  not
reported.   These  articles  promoted  programs which  took place in Charlotte, South
Carolina;  Los Angeles,  California; Palo Alto, California; and throughout  Arkansas  and
New Jersey.
Association of New Jersey Recyclers, "Recycled Paper Products? Well Sometimes . . . ,"
Recyclenet Gazette, May 1988, p. 5.
        Recycled Paper Products, Inc.  has become the United  States' third  largest
greeting card company, due in part to the popularity of  its use of recycled paper.  With
its growth, the company has developed new product lines, many of which do not contain
recycled  fibers.  These products are still marketed under  the Recycled Paper Products
trade name. Other manufacturers using recycled materials are concerned that consumers
will interpret the trade name to mean  that all  of their products have recycled content.
This case  demonstrates the need  for standard definitions of  symbols meaning "recycled
product."
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Becker, R. H., "Packaging and Waste Reduction: The Need for Consumer Awareness,"
paper presented at the  Conference  on  Solid Waste Management  & Materials Policy,
February 13, 1987.
        The  author describes the  Pennsylvania Resources Council's   Environmental
Shopping Campaign, a  short-lived pilot program  which sought to educate consumers on
ways they could lessen their generation  of solid wastes.  The program encouraged con-
sumers to, among other things, buy products made from recycled materials, or products
that were reusable  or recyclable.  The program had limited funds, but the consumers it
reached responded  enthusiastically.  Based  on this  experience, as well as on survey
results which indicated that the public favored recycling to reduce solid waste, but rarely
went  beyond  verbal  support,  the author argues  that  a  well-funded,  well-organized
consumer  education program that deals with one type of packaging at a  time  could
change consumers' purchasing habits.
Brinkman,  D.W.,  "Used Oil:   Resource  or  Pollutant,"  Chemtech, November 1986, pp.
682-684.
         This  article discusses  the history  of  the reused oil  industry and processes
involved with the recycling  of  used oil.  The  oil re-refining industry was  prosperous
during the  1940s-1950s.  Due to the increased use of additives in oil and economic factors
(low oil  prices),  the industry has since  declined.  During the mid-1960s, the military
stopped using  recycled oil. At the same time, Congress enacted a bill forcing all lubri-
cants containing any recycled material to be labeled as  "made from previously used oil."
The combination  of these events caused  consumers to assume that re-refined oil was of
inferior quality.
         The Used Oil Recycling Act of 1976 removed  the requirement that re-refined
oil had to be labeled as such. The Act publicized the fact  that re-refined oils can be of
very high quality. Brinkman argues that the promotion of re-refined oil needs  funding.
Chemical & Engineering News, "P&G to Test Market Recycled Plastic Bottle," October
31, 1988, p. 6.
         Procter & Gamble (P&G) plans to test market the first plastic bottle made from
100  percent  recycled polyethylene terephthalate  (PET) in  1989.   The material  for
manufacturing  these bottles is mostly  from used two-liter soft-drink containers.  The
containers are  ground and melted,  and the  resin is then filtered to remove impurities.
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The chemical and mechanical properties of the recycled resins are said to be identical to
bottles made with virgin PET.  P&G  is not  sure whether  the use of recycled resins will
reduce the production costs of its bottles.
Elliott, C.,  "Canada's Oil  Re-Refining Industry,"  Resource Recycling, Vol.  VI, No.  2,
May/June 1987, p. 26-27,42.
         This article discusses the major sales barriers facing the Canadian oil re-refin-
ing industry, which also exports to the United States.  Because of difficulties in selling
re-refined oil in Canada, the industry  sells to foreign markets (including the U.S.).  Not
the least of these barriers is the public perception  in Canada that re-refined oils are
inferior to  virgin oils,  despite extensive testing  by the national  Research Council  of
Canada which shows that "all properties of re-refined base oils are equivalent to, and  in
some applications better than, virgin base oils."
Ferrand, T.L., "Buy American, Buy Recycled," April 29, 1988a, Working Paper.
        This paper is based  on a presentation  made during a conference on "Recycling
Markets:  California and the Pacific Rim," sponsored by the California Waste Manage-
ment Board and the Gildea Resource Center. The author begins by discussing the "con-
sumer sector" in recycling, meaning individual and household purchase decisions.  Ferrand
asserts that in addition to encouraging consumers to participate in recycling, recyclers
must also  work to encourage consumers to buy  the  finished  goods  made  from these
reclaimed materials.
        The author's central point is that in order to increase demand for recycled prod-
ucts, the image of these products must be greatly improved.  The public perception of
recycled products  as oftentimes inferior to those made from virgin materials must be
changed.   In  addition,  consumer  education programs  must be decidedly upbeat  and
positive; somber reminders about the growing MSW  management crisis and the threat of
resource depletion will  not  work.  The author  states,  "We  are hard  to motivate with
negativity, and  are mostly  worn out  on  being afraid."  As  an example of negatively
oriented consumer education, she quotes the widely used slogan, "Use it up, wear it out,
make it do or do without," and argues that this kind of approach simply does not work.
        Consumer education programs should  focus on  the benefits that come from
recycling,  rather than the problems created by not recycling.
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Ferrand, T.L., "Mandatory Recycling:  Rhetoric Vs. Realism," BioCycle, Vol. 29, No.  7,
August 1988b, pp. 54-56.
         Ferrand attacks  the  rhetoric  surrounding  recycling.   She also claims that
existing  promotional campaigns  for  recycling  are not  appealing to society.    The
campaigns need to provide positive associations with recycling for people rather than use
negative messages. Conservation must be promoted by how it can make us "richer, more
self-reliant, and secure in our economy."
Harrowsmith, "Plastics, My Boy, Plastics," July/August 1988, p. 118.
        This article is Harrowsmith magazine's response to readers' criticism of a plas-
tic magazine wrapper.  They cite a 1986 West German study which found that the pro-
duction of plastic grocery bags uses one-third the energy and produces less sulfur dioxide,
carbon monoxide,  and hydrocarbon emissions than does the  production  of brown paper
bags.  However, it takes plastics much longer than paper to degrade once they are dis-
posed of.  Harrowsmith changed their packaging  in response to this criticism.   They have
begun to wrap their  magazines in Ecostar-blended polyethylene.  The starch content of
this bag allows it to degrade through a combination of oxidation and biological action.
Jacobs, K., "The Design of Garbage," Metropolis, The Architecture and Design Magazine
of New York, December, 1988, pp 54-59, 69-71.
         This article is prominently featured as the cover page story in a magazine tar-
geted to design engineers.  The writer is the Associate Editor of Metropolis, and the pre-
sentation style is that of an entertaining and dramatic editorial.  Data are presented on
the  magnitude of  solid  waste problems,  and  packaging  and  product  designers  are
criticized for their lack of attention to the solid waste impacts of design. A few industry
leaders are  quoted as saying that designers  must begin to  be  sensitive to these  issues
when designing products.  The controversy over the  term "recyclable" is explained,  and
new industry initiatives are described, such as  the Council on Plastic Packaging and the
Environment and the Packaging Coalition for Solid Waste Management.
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McMillan, T., Minister of the Environment for Canada, transcript of speech at the Press
Conference to Announce Details of the Environmentally-Friendly Goods Campaign, Press
Release, Toronto, Ontario, June 27, 1988.
         In response to public opinion surveys and consumer demands for "information on
how individuals  can help  protect  the natural environment," the Canadian government
plans to initiate a labeling program to identify "environmentally-friendly" products and
processes.  The labeling program  is  slated to begin operation  in January  1989, and  is
already receiving enthusiastic support from many business leaders and environmentalists.
         Surveys show that 94 percent of Canadians believe every person must take indi-
vidual actions to protect the environment. Furthermore, Canadians stated a willingness
to pay up to ten percent more for "environmentally friendly" products.
         The  labeling program will include advisors from government, trade unions, the
private  sector, academia, and  consumer  and  environmental groups, who together  will
review  products and processes in the  marketplace to determine which ones  merit
"environmentally-friendly" labels.  In addition, a competition will be held to select a logo
by  which consumers  can  readily  recognize "environmentally-friendly"  goods and ser-
vices.  The government will provide initial financial and administrative support, but the
program will ultimately be self-sustaining.  Applicants for the logo will pay  fees to have
their products evaluated and, should they receive approval, to have them labeled with the
"environmentally friendly" logo.
The Michigan Recycling Coalition, "Michigan Buy Recycled Campaign Case Study," 1986,
pp. B20-B21.
        This short write-up summarizes Michigan's "Buy Recycled" campaign. The cam-
paign focuses on six products made from recycled materials:
             plastic lumber used in marinas, parks and as highway markers;
             shredded  newspaper  in animal bedding, and  building insulation,
             and for erosion control;
             writing paper and greeting cards;
        •    retreaded tires;
        •    re-refined oil for industrial use; and
        •    paper packaging.
        The  first  step  in  the Michigan program is the development of a directory  of
products made with recycled material.  The State  will not produce the directory itself,
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but will instead conduct training workshops for local environmental, recycling, and civic
activists, along with anyone else who wants  to participate.  Once  trained, these volun-
teers will meet with interested businesses and trade groups to discuss the materials most
relevant to particular  consumer groups.  The program also includes training materials,
bumper stickers, speeches, clip art, posters, and brochures to help educate and motivate
consumers to recycle and purchase products and packaging that promote source reduction
and recyclability.
The  Michigan  Recycling Coalition, "Recycled/Recyclable Packaging  Design Contest:
1984-1985," 1984.
         This contest, co-sponsored by four major firms (Granger Waste Management,
James River Corp.,  Kellogg's, and Mead Paper), was designed to "encourage  innovative
packaging ideas that will not only meet the needs and criteria of the packaging industry,
but will also maximize the use of recycled and recyclable materials, and minimize depen-
dency  on non-renewable natural resources."  A cash  prize was to be  awarded for top
packaging entries which satisfied marketing concerns (i.e., product protection, contain-
ment,  information, convenience, marketability, and consumer  appeal) and environmental
concerns (i.e.,  reusability,  use of recycled materials, recyclability, dependency on non-
renewable natural resources, and biodegradability).
         Entry  forms were distributed  to schools and teacher associations but no entries
were returned and the prize money was returned to the co-sponsors.  Project staff felt
that concern  for  the MSW management  crisis and environmental  impacts of  waste
disposal was low in 1985. There  are no current plans to rerun the contest.
Perrin, G., "In behalf of the fourth R: Recycling," The Boston Globe, September 21, 1988,
p. 32.
         Jeanne Bakelar, a New Jersey woman, began a campaign in  1985 which pro-
tested the use of plastic bags in grocery stores.  The campaign has been  expanded to
include  promoting  the  use  of  recyclable  and  biodegradable  rather  than  plastic
packaging.  It is  now backed by  the General Federation of Women's  Clubs.  Bakelar
stated, "The whole thing boils down to education.  It's the  fourth 'R1 - recycling."  She
feels that it is up to the consumer to demand that manufacturers use recyclable and bio-
degradable packaging rather than plastics. (This short editorial article  does not provide
details of the campaign.)
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The Procter &  Gamble  Company, materials compiled by E. A.  Fox concerning  P&G
activities, 1988.
         Procter & Gamble is marketing both a liquid detergent  and a fabric softener in
several European countries using a packaging refill scheme which reduces packaging by
selling a reusable container of liquid detergent which may be refilled from smaller bags
of concentrate and adding water.  The reduction of packaging material was estimated to
be approximately 85 percent of the conventionally packaged liquid detergents.  Procter &
Gamble expects  to use the same packaging scheme, in improved form, for other products
within the same  market because of positive consumer response.
Recycling Today, "Canadians Host Recyclers at Wide-Ranging Conference," June 1988,
pp. 54-56.
         This staff article provided a brief synopsis of The North American Recycling '88
Conference.  One significant theme presented at the conference was the necessity  of
developing a steady demand for recycled products. One speaker said that market devel-
opment is "the  single  most important issue  facing  recyclers today.  (It  is) the last
remaining barrier to a mature recycling infrastructure."
         Another speaker stressed the importance of educating consumers, calling it a
key to improving the success of recycling programs.  Consumer education,  the speaker
suggested, should include labeling recyclable products as such, and teaching consumers
about the true costs of "consumption without disposal planning."
Riggle, D., "Only Pay  for What You Throw Away," BioCycle, Vol.  30, No. 2, February
1989, pp. 39-
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disposal is an  expensive  service, and  that  if I reduce  the  amount  I  throw away by
recycling, I will also reduce my garbage bill.  It's a different kind of education than
reading a  flyer or going to a meeting and really seems to bring about an awareness in
people of what's really going on."
Sproule,  K.A. and  3.M. Cosulich,  "Higher recovery  rates: the answer's in the bag,"
Resource Recycling, Vol. VII, No. 6, November/December 1988, pp. 20-21, 43-44.
         This  article describes the per-container system  of  charging households  and
businesses for their solid waste collection and disposal costs based directly on the number
of containers  set out for collection.  Twelve such programs are summarized, providing
information on  their  collection and  implementation  methods, containers used, fees
charged, and other program features.
Stone, B.,  Fountain Fresh Beverages, Salt  Lake City, Utah, Personal Communication,
September 21, 1988.
         Since  1982, the Fountain Fresh Beverage Company has been operating an inno-
vative program which encourages consumers to reuse plastic (PET) bottles. The program
works as follows.  The consumer fills a two-liter plastic bottle with any of a variety of
soft-drink  flavors  from an automatic dispenser in the store. At the register, the cashier
first  rings up the  price for the full bottle  using a Universal Product Code (UPC) label
scanner, and then places a new UPC label over the original.
         When  the consumer returns to the store, he or she brings back the empty bottle.
Attached to the soft drink dispensers are patented, automatic bottle washing units.  The
consumer simply places the bottle in the unit, which thoroughly washes and rinses it.  The
consumer then refills the  bottle with soft  drink and takes it to the register.   The new
UPC  label  registers a  lower price than the original.  No  additional  labels are applied
after the initial purchase.
         There are approximately 180 dispensing-and-washing units in operation, 60 to 70
of  which are in  Canada.   In  the  U.S.,  the units are located primarily in the Pacific
Northwest  states,  Florida, and  some Western states.   The  Fountain Fresh company
reports that consumers have responded positively to  the program.  Canadian consumers
have  accepted the program much more enthusiastically than have their counterparts in
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the United States.  A representative said the Canadian response has been "unbelievable,"
and attributed it in large part to the high levels of environmental awareness and concern
in Canada.
Taylor,  E. H., "Consumer Reaction  to  Solid  Waste Problems and  Regulations," The
Procter & Gamble Company, a report on work in progress, July 15, 1988.

         In 1987, Procter &  Gamble  anticipated that there would be  increasing state
regulation designed to reduce MSW. The company expected that state activities ranging

from  taxing or banning certain packaging material to  mandating trash separation and

recycling would become more prevalent.  Group interviews were conducted in California,

Georgia, Michigan, New Jersey, and Tennessee to ascertain consumer  awareness of solid
waste problems  and attitudes  towards  corrective  actions.  In  order to gain  a better

understanding  of household awareness, over one hundred follow-up home visits were con-
ducted in communities in Connecticut, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Washington.  The
findings include:

            Consumer  awareness of  national and  local solid waste problems
            was directly proportional to the level of publicity.

            Even where awareness existed, the typical  response was  to blame
            "the system."  There was a great resistance to changing waste
            disposal practices.

            The desire for biodegradable packaging is not based on an  under-
            standing of  the  relative merits  of degradable packaging, but
            rather the  consumer's desire for a "panacea" to the waste disposal
            problem.

            The greatest weaknesses of municipal programs are communica-
            tion, consistency,  and dependability.  The municipality's  inability
            to get the  message across to  households results in confusion and
            lack of cooperation by households.

            Industry support may be required and industry could gain strategic
            market advantage from knowledge of consumer interests.

            Both  industry   and solid  waste  officials   (at  all  levels  of
            government)  should  pay  more attention to what consumers are
            willing and able to do to solve  the MSW management crisis.
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VandenBerg,  N., "Buying  Recycled  Plastic Products - Barriers to Overcome," speech
given at RecyclingPlas II — 87, June  1987.

        Nancy VandenBerg's  speech stresses the need to overcome barriers to buying

plastic products with recycled content.  She states that there is no problem  meeting
feedstock requirements, and that increasing demand for end products will benefit every-

one. The  principal impediment to increasing demand for products with recycled content
is lack of availability.   Most  "buy recycled"  programs have great difficulty  finding

recycled plastic products.  Most  manufacturers and dealers will  not admit that their
products  contain  recycled content.   Randy  Duncan,  in  Austin's  (Texas) purchasing

department stated,

         "Finding opportunities to buy, that's the hardest part. Paper, glass, and
         aluminum are easy, it's going a step beyond that's hard. The recycled
         content is all I ask [for]."

Manufacturers fear losing customers because labeling a product as containing "recycled

material" might connote  lower quality.  Six barriers to increasing consumer demand and

some solutions were mentioned:

             What is the  definition of recycled plastic content?
             The  definition  must be supported by all constituencies and must
             be adopted quickly.  Standard definitions will help to simplify the
             bidding for institution and government purchasing.

          •   How can recycled content be proven?
             Government approved  certification will help overcome the doubts
             of skeptical consumers and prevent the creation of an over-used
             label such as "all natural" on food products.

             Overcome manufacturers' fear of losing customers.
             Information  on recycled content  should  be  made available to
             those interested in buying recycled products, including household
             consumers,  government  buyers,  and the  business  community.
              Information on recycled content will also be helpful to education
              programs and retailers promoting purchase of recycled products.

              Publicize recycled content in products that work.

              "The prejudice against recycled content is still very real." Publi-
              city of products with high recycled content that are  already suc-
              cessful will increase consumer acceptance.

              Recognize existing products as well as innovations.

              Unfortunately,  new products  and innovations  are the focus of
              industry and trade  association  publicity.  The growing trend of
              recognizing  existing products with  recycled  content should be
              supported.  Eventually, trade associations may be formed by man-
              ufacturers of products with recycled content.
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             Make it easy to find recycled products.

             An  up-to-date computerized directory of recycled plastic prod-
             ucts for individual and industrial consumers is needed.  A product
             directory would be a valuable public relations tool.


VandenBerg,  N.,  "Twelve Steps Toward Environmentally  Sound Buying Habits," speech
given at Office of Technology  Assessment Workshop: State and Local Government Solid
Waste Management, March 17-18, 1988.                                 «»»ieni soiia

         The author states that getting consumers to accept and buy goods with recycled
content will require some fundamental changes in American thinking. Furthermore, the

message should be fashionable  and  the educational campaign should be well crafted to

achieve the  goal  of  long-term changes in purchasing behavior.  However,  educating

consumers  to buy these goods will not be effective  if they  are not available in  the

marketplace.  As  a result, policy makers and industry decision-makers must first address
the following twelve problems:

         *    Shifting  to  Recycled Materials Use.  A broad-scale commitment
             to using recyclables is  needed.

             Learn from Countries  using U.S.  Scrap Materials about  recycling
             industries that could be sited in  the U.S. and capitalize on U.S.
             feedstocks.   Department  of  Commerce should  begin tracking
             those materials that can be recycled.

             Develop  Data  for Strategic  Planning which  currently is very
             difficult to gather.

             Define Source Reduction,  Reuse, Recycling, Incineration,  Land-
             fill.The waste management hierarchy adopted by EPA needs to"
            be well defined and well publicized  to avoid  confusion and inac-
            curate use of terms.

            Establish  Common Definitions  for  Recycled Content so  that
            recycled content labels always refer to a consistent, nationwide,
            minimum qualifying percentage for any given product.

            Set Purchasing Strategies to  Match Waste Management Strat-
            egies.  This could  provide  major reductions in waste generation.
            For example, a double-sided copier capable of reading single- or
            two-sided originals could cut paper use in half.

            Develop  and Publicize Fundamental Formulas which not only
            include the purchase price but also consider avoided disposal costs
            available to the region.
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            Re-evaluate  and Improve Upon the Language in RCRA  6002.
            Streamlining the certification requirements for government pro-
            curements  will, on a cost basis, increase the attractiveness  of
            recycled purchases.

            Release and Publicize Federal Agency Reports and Publish Useful
            Bibliographies.  This would be most useful if conducted according
            to subject area  and would prevent duplication of research by dif-
            ferent agencies.

            Redesign Shipping  Strategies to Backhaul  Recycled  Feedstock.
            Transport costs could be cut if the delivery vehicles picked  up
            recyclable materials.

            Target Materials Collections to Industries Which Limit Recycled
            Product  Production Because of Lack of Supply.  Lack of supply is
            often  the easiest barrier to overcome but requires  research  to
            determine  which industries  need better feedstock supplies and
            what can be done to facilitate the return  of post-consumer and
            secondary materials.

            Market  Development  Must  Be  Concurrent with  Collection  of
            Recyclable  Materials or  else supply and demand will always  be
            out of balance.
Watson, T.,  "FSC Paper builds  markets with innovative approach," Resource Recycling,
Vol. VII, No. 1, March/April 1988a, pp. 30-31, 53.

        This article describes FSC Paper Co.'s (Alsip, Illinois) Total Recycling program:

they will purchase all the waste newspaper collected by a community if the community's

newspaper  publisher agrees  to buy a certain amount of FSC's  100 percent recycled

newsprint.  FSC's recycling program represents a self-contained recycling program and is

offered to  communities within  one  to  two hours  of  driving  time from  their  mill.
Currently, nine Midwest communities participate in the program.
Young,  R. and M. Storey, Challenging the Disposable Society: An Overview of Waste
Minimization Strategies, Philadelphia Recycling Office, 1988.

         This  paper  summarizes  current state waste  minimization programs along the

East Coast. The focus is on activities states can undertake, such as refundable deposits,

packaging taxes, or prohibitive regulations, to discourage or prevent the purchase of cer-

tain packaging  materials.   Because of  the  authors' attention  to  legislative solutions,

efforts  to affect consumer behavior  through education were mentioned only in passing.

Education was seen to be most effective in raising citizen awareness of the need to mini-
                                       A-49

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mize waste generation.  Two publications oriented  towards creating consumer demand
for recyclable products were cited:  the West Michigan  Environmental Action Council
Education  Foundation's "Waste  Reduction  Handbook" and the Pennsylvania  Resource
Council's (PRC) "Environmental Shopping List."   Because the PRC expects that these
activities would be  most effective at the local  level,  it  is sponsoring a competition
among garden and women's clubs awarding $100 to  the club that is  most active in
changing their consumer habits.  Rhode Island has already developed legislation  which
would require labeling to inform consumers about  a  product's durability  and reusability.
Similarly, a twelve state consortium is considering labeling requirements informing the
consumer of the recyclability of plastic products.  There is no discussion  of the  expected
effectiveness of any of these programs.  One section highlights industry responses such as
the Coca-Cola  Corporation's joint venture  to  produce  and  market  the world's  first
refillable plastic soft drink container.
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   A.5  EDUCATIONAL AND RESOURCE MATERIALS

American Paper Institute, 1988
Bell, C.O. and M.M. Schwartz, 1989
Brandt, P. and M. Swanson, 1984
Browne, E.R., 1988
Chown, C. and C. Fridgen, 1986
Citizens' Program for the Chesapeake Bay, Inc., 1986
City of Berkeley, 1980s
Connecticut Fund for the Environment, 1987
Council on Economic Priorities, 1988
Dadd, D., 1984
Enterprise for Education, 1988
Environmental Action Foundation, 1980s
The Household Products Disposal Council, no date
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management, no date
Michigan Department of Natural Resources,  1988
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, 1989
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, 1980
Pennsylvania Resources Council, 1988
Seattle Engineering Department, Solid Waste Utility,
   Washington Extension Service,  1980s
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1980
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1988b
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1976
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1979
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 American Paper Institute, "12 Facts About Waste Paper Recycling," 1988.
         This pamphlet presents twelve facts which support the recycling of waste paper.
 These include a reduction in landfill disposal costs and the positive effect of demand for
 recycled paper on encouraging markets for waste paper.
 Bell, C.O.and  M.M.  Schwartz, OSCAR's  Options;  A  Supplementary  Environmental
 Education Curriculum, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, 1989.	
         The lessons included in  this manual are for grades 4-8 and designed for Rhode
 Island schools.  To address the state's problems of MSW disposal, the following topics are
 covered:  natural resources,  litter,   household hazardous  waste,  source  reduction,
 recycling, composting, incineration,  and  landfills.  Each  topic  has a list  of  lessons,
 arranged sequentially,  along with suggested time allotments.  Students are encouraged to
 become  concerned consumers,  to  learn  of  the environmental consequences of their
 purchase  decisions,  and  to  buy products  which   promote  source  reduction  and
 recyclability, and thereby reduce  their environmental impacts.
Brandt, P. and M. Swanson, "The Environmental Consumer," 1984.
         "The Environmental Consumer" is a twenty-minute automatic  slide and tape
series.  The program begins with a discussion of the "throw away" ethic in American soci-
ety.  This ethic  has  made some raw  materials scarce and has created a  solid waste
disposal crisis in America.  The slide show suggests that the solution to the solid waste
crisis is to  change the existing "throw  away" ethic  to a  conservation  ethic.   The
presentation  suggests  how individual  consumers  can  avoid  products  which  are not
recycled, recyclable, or are over-packaged.  It also discusses how individuals  can recycle
materials and describes which  materials  are recyclable.  Government agencies and
community groups  can help by developing recycling  centers  and separated  curbside
collection systems.  Government agencies  can also create incentives for  manufacturers
to produce goods that promote source reduction and recyclability.
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Browne, E.R., 'Teaching Kids to Teach Others," Waste Age. April 1988, pp. 154-156.
        Brown claims that, "[i]t  makes good  business sense to teach your community
about the environmentally  sound aspects of modern solid  waste management."   The
author cited programs targeted  at  elementary and  high  school students in  Florida,
Missouri, Ohio,  and New York City that  promote awareness of recycling and other
aspects of solid  waste management through participation in  recycling drives, field trips
to a disposal or  recycling facility, and school science  projects. Project staff in Colum-
bus, Ohio measured success according to the level  of  student participation in school
science projects focusing on solid waste topics.  Although the current programs do not
stress changing buying habits to promote the same goals, project staff felt that teaching
students is always a good conduit for reaching and informing families.
Chown, C. and C. Fridgen, "Alternatives to Hazardous Household Products: You Have a
Choice," Michigan State University, Cooperative  Extension Service,  Bulletin WM  01,
December  1986.
         This pamphlet discusses  the dangers  of hazardous  household  products and
provides a  list of alternative safe substitute products and proper disposal methods for  the
following products:  household cleaners, aerosol sprays; automotive and paint products;
and pesticides,  herbicides, and rodenticides.  Referral information such as additional
reference  materials and phone numbers and addresses of environmental agencies and
groups is also provided.
 Citizens' Program for the Chesapeake Bay, Inc., "Baybook: A Guide To Reducing Water
 Pollution At Home," Baltimore, MD, 1986.
         Although targeted at people living in communities near the Chesapeake Bay and
 its tributary waterbodies, this guide is a reference source for  anyone concerned  with
 water pollution.  The guide discusses potential  sources of pollution from the home, and
 provides information on how to reduce or  prevent it.  The guide  is divided into chapters
 on topics  such  as  erosion control,  septic  systems,  gardening,  household chemicals
 (includes discussion  of less toxic alternative products and appropriate disposal methods),
 and community action.
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 City of Berkeley, "Precycle. Do it Right from the Start!," Berkeley, California, 1980s.
         "Precycle" is described as "[a] new, perhaps revolutionary, way of thinking about
 waste."   It draws  a direct link between what we buy and  what we  throw away,  and
 stresses source reduction  through purchase  decisions made at the  store.  Examples of
 precycling include  choosing products carefully, being selective  on packages, avoiding
 disposables, buying  in bulk, and reusing and repairing items.  Locations of  collection
 points for recyclables are also listed.
Connecticut Fund for the Environment, Don't Throw This Away!, 1987.
         The coalition prepared a booklet which summarizes statistics about solid waste
and recycling, provides advice on how to reduce waste volume and toxicity by changing
purchase decisions, and tells where and how to recycle household wastes.
Council on Economic Priorities, "Shopping For A Better World," New York, NY, 1988.
         A pocket  reference  guide  designed for  consumers to carry with  them while
shopping.  Includes a section called "Shopping  For A Cleaner World," which rates com-
panies in terms of the environmental safety of their products and/or manufacturing prac-
tices.  Companies using modern pollution controls, practicing resource recovery, elimin-
ating hazardous ingredients, or  using  more  recyclable  and/or biodegradable packaging
materials (or combinations of these activities) are rated and named.
Dadd, D., Nontoxic and Natural, Jeremy P. Tarcher, Inc., Los Angeles, CA, 1984.
         A book rating over 1,200 brand-name items for nontoxicity, and suggesting over
400 safe, inexpensive  alternatives  to commercial products.   Covers cosmetics, food,
cleaners, pesticides, office supplies, and building  materials.  Includes a bibliography, a
directory of manufacturers, importers, distributors, and mail-order sources.
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Enterprise for Education, Inc., Hazardous Wastes from Homes, 1988.
        This color booklet provides  a brief history of the  creation, introduction, and
widespread use of  household chemicals. The booklet outlines the dangers of many com-
mon chemicals, and gives instructions  on the safest ways to dispose of virtually all house-
hold chemicals.  It advises consumers to change their buying habits to avoid purchasing
dangerous products, and to recycle  their hazardous  wastes.   It also supplies general
guidance and suggestions  for  implementing a  community household  hazardous  waste
collection and disposal program.
Environmental Action Foundation, "SWAP: Solid Waste Alternatives Project," 1980s.
         "The goal of the  Solid Waste  Alternatives Project is to encourage states and
communities to implement successful waste reduction programs  that maximize source
reduction,  reuse,  remanufacture, recycling and  composting."  This brochure  discusses
strategies  to encourage greater levels  of  these waste reduction measures as well as
actions individuals can take in their purchase and use of products, as well as in  their
everyday lives.
 The Household Products Disposal Council, "Disposal:  Do It Right. Managing Household
 Wastes," Washington, DC, no date.
         This booklet discusses the potential hazards of, and proper disposal methods for,
 common household products.  It includes  a section on how communities handle different
 kinds of household wastes, a checklist of "do's and don't's" for household hazardous waste
 disposal  (e.g.,  don't  pour  any  wastes  into  storm  drains),  recommended  disposal
 instructions for household products, and information on setting up a community household
 hazardous waste collection day.
 Massachusetts  Department   of  Environmental  Management,  "Household  Hazardous
 Wastes," no date.
         This pamphlet  describes  the environmental hazards of careless storage and
 disposal of many common household products. It includes a list of benign and inexpensive
 alternatives  to  such products as oven cleaners, roach  poisons,  and silver polish.  The
 pamphlet also  encourages  consumers to change  their buying  habits  so as to  avoid
 purchasing environmentally hazardous  items.

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Michigan Department of Natural Resources, "Buy Recycled Products: They're Worth Our
Environment," 1988.
         The Michigan Department of Natural Resources, with funding from the Clean
Michigan Fund  Program,  has  produced a  series of pamphlets under  the  title,  "Buy
Recycled Products.  They're Worth Our Environment."  The pamphlets begin  by present-
ing information  about the solid waste management crisis in Michigan.  This information
includes how  much solid waste is generated  in Michigan, where and how the waste  is
disposed of, and the potential problems associated with  disposing of waste in these  ways
(e.g., ground water contamination from landfills and air pollution from incineration).
         The pamphlets  suggest that recycling is one way individuals can  help solve
Michigan's solid  waste crisis. In order to increase  the demand for recycled products, the
Michigan Buy  Recycled Program concentrates on  encouraging the purchase of recycled
paper and paper packaging, recycled plastic, retreaded tires and re-refined  automotive
oil.  The pamphlets describe the types of products which are available in each of these
categories and dispute some of  the common myths concerning  recycled products' quality
and price. There is  also a smart shopper's guide to source reduction.
New  Jersey  Department of  Environmental  Protection  (NJDEP),  Here  Today, Here
Tomorrow  ...  Revisited; A  Teacher's Guide  to  Solid Waste,  Division of Solid Waste
Management, 1989.
         This is a  manual developed and designed for New Jersey students and teachers
in grades 4 through 8, and written by New Jersey teachers and solid waste management
professionals.  Activities in  the manual are designed around  New  Jersey solid waste
management issues, intending to increase student (and teacher) awareness and knowledge
of the subject.  Students and teachers are also asked to participate actively (e.g., through
their  roles  as consumers) in  solving the state's solid waste dilemma.  Student activities
are described  by  individual objectives, subject  areas,  skill identification,  materials
needed, study procedure, study extension possibilities, and the solid waste component(s)
(source  reduction,  recycling, resource recovery, and landfilling) to which the activities
are related.
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Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, "Packaging," 1980.
        This flyer discusses the uses of packaging as well as what makes some packaging
excessive.  It lists alternatives for consumers and provides a self test to determine how
socially conscious a consumer is.
Pennsylvania Resources  Council,  "Become  an Environmental  Shopper:   Vote for the
Environment," 1988.
         These materials ask  consumers to think about the environmental impacts of
their purchasing decisions, and to become "environmental shoppers" by learning the four
R's:   reduce the amount of waste produced;  reuse as  much  as  possible;  recycle the
recyclables; and reject (i.e., don't purchase) over-packaging and products hazardous to
the environment.   The  brochure  offers an environmental shopping guide which  lists
products that  are packaged  in recycled/recyclable  packaging.  Information on how the
brochure was  distributed and  its effectiveness is contained in  the Ruth Becker speech
(1987) contained in Appendix A.4.
Seattle Engineering Department, Solid Waste Utility; Washington Energy Extension Ser-
vice, "Cutting Down On Garbage," Seattle, WA, 1980s.
         This booklet provides information on environmental shopping, reuse, recycling,
composting, other ways  to  reduce MSW  disposal,  and information on the hazards of
common household products.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Let's Recycle! Lesson Plans for Grades K-6 and
7-12, SW-801, 1980.
         In  1975, EPA  provided  financial  and technical  assistance to  Somerville,
Massachusetts  to  determine  the  feasibility  of   residential  source  separation  of
recyclables.  A key component to the program's success was the education campaign used
for residents and students.  The lesson plans included in the  manual are based on those
used in Somerville; they are designed  to inform students of  the environmental impacts
from MSW, the benefits of recycling (and reuse), and how to participate in recycling (and
reuse) activities.
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Recycle," EPA/530-SW-88-050, October 1988b.
         This brochure describes the MSW problem  and the role of recycling in reducing
the reliance on landfills and incinerators, saving on disposal costs, protecting health and
the environment, and conserving natural resources.  Information is also provided on what
recycling is, and how to participate in it, as well as how to be a smart shopper.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Waste Not, Want Not," Washington, D.C., 1976.
         This one-page  flyer discusses how households can help reduce the amount of
packaging used.  It  describes in simple terms how households can minimize, shop  for,
reuse, discard properly, compress, and recycle their packaging wastes.
U.S. Environmental  Protection Agency,  "What  You Can Do  to  Recycle More Paper,"
1979.
         This pamphlet  discusses the benefits of recycling in conserving resources  and
protecting the environment.  It is pointed out that demand by individual consumers  and
bulk users  for  recycled paper is  necessary if wastepaper is  to  be used to make new
paper.   There is lengthy discussion  of the various roles for consumers and households
(e.g., ask for it, buy it),  citizens (e.g., write about it, participate in it), students (e.g., ask
for it,  study it), teachers (e.g., write for it,  teach about it), and  employees (e.g.,  ask
about it and for it), to increase the demand for products made of recycled paper.
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                                    Appendix B
                 ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS CONTACTED


Telephone Interviews
        Informal telephone interviews were conducted with members  of industry asso-
ciations,  individual  companies,   government  organizations  dealing  with  recycling
programs, environmental coalitions, and numerous consultants and other experts.
        Industry associations were  asked  about the types of products and packaging
their members produce, how consumers have responded to the promotion of products and
packaging that promote source reduction  or  contain  recycled materials,  whether the
industry  makes  any efforts to create a  positive  image for recycled  products  and
packaging or downplays that they are recycled, and their opinions on the appropriate
roles for the public and private sectors in promoting recycled products and packaging.
        Members of government organizations were asked for information on projects
currently  underway  or  planned  for the future, and  for their opinions of the proper roles
for government  and industry  in stimulating  demand for products and packaging that
promote source reduction or recyclability.
        Individual companies were asked essentially the same questions as were industry
associations, except that special attention was paid to the specific details of each com-
pany's situation and products and packaging.
        The consultants, experts and coalition members were asked for any information
they had, as well as for their  assessment  of the current level of consumer awareness
about products and  packaging that promote source reduction or recyclability and their
opinions about the essential elements of a successful education program.
        The following  is a list of the  primary contacts made during telephone inter-
views.
Industry Associations;
Aluminum Association
American Retreaders Association
American Paper  Institute
Food Marketing Institute
Glass Packaging  Institute
Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries
New Jersey Food Council
Society of the Plastics  Industry
Tire Retread Information Bureau
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Government;

California Waste Management Board
Environmentally Friendly Products Campaign of Canada
Illinois Dept. of Energy and Natural Resources
Maryland Energy Office
Michigan Department of  Natural Resources
Ministry of the Environment, Canada
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Minnesota Waste Management Board
Pennsylvania Resources Council
Recycling Council of Ontario (Canada)
Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
Rhode Island Solid Waste Management Corp.
U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Companies;

Ahern and Heussner
American Demographics Magazine
FSC Paper
Metropolis Magazine
Packaging Magazine
The Procter & Gamble Company
The Recycled Paper Company
Recycled Products Guide
Rubbermaid
Turtle Plastics
World Waste Magazine
Experts and Coalitions;

American Recycling Markets
Bentley College
Columbus Clean Community
Consumers Union
Council on Economic Priorities
EcoNet/PeaceNet
Environmental Defense Fund
Ferrand Associates
Markets for Recycled Products, New York City
New Alternatives
New York City Environmental Action Coalition
Overseas Marketing Exchange
People Technologies
Public Management Consultants
Reed College
Resource Conservation Consultants
San Diego Ecology Centre
San Diego State University
Social Investment Forum
Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals
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Technical Assistance Research Programs Institute
University of Michigan
University of Pennsylvania
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
WorldWatch Institute
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                                   Appendix C
              MATERIALS IN THE MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE STREAM
       AND SELECTED PRODUCTS AND PACKAGING WHICH MAY HELP TO
                    MITIGATE THE MSW MANAGEMENT CRISIS
        This appendix provides a summary of products and packaging and practices that
can help reduce the MSW problem.  MSW  is defined by  U.S. EPA (1989) as referring
"primarily  to  residential  solid  waste, with  some contribution  from commercial,
institutional and industrial sources."  The first section discusses products and packaging
that promote source reduction and recyclability.  The  second section reviews several
environmental shopping  guides that can help consumers modify their  purchasing habits
and become more conscious of the environmental impacts posed  by common household
products and packaging.

Summary of Products and Packaging
        The  study  generated a list of the  types of  household consumer products and
packaging that  promote source reduction and recyclability.  The  list  is not exhaustive,
and no brand names  are provided.
        Products and packaging that promote source reduction include redesigned half-
pint milk  cartons (use  less  paper), durable  products, reusable products  and packaging
containers, and non-toxic alternatives  to household  products and chemicals.  Products
that are repairable  also contribute to source reduction in  that worn components, rather
than the entire  product,  are replaced.
        Products and packaging that promote recyclability include: paper, glass, ferrous
metals, aluminum,  plastics,  rubber, waste  oil,  textiles, yard wastes,  and  municipal
sewage sludge.  The  most common reusable items  found in households  are containers
such as returnable bottles, durable packaging, and boxes.  In addition, numerous non-toxic
or low-toxicity pesticides are available to consumers.  The following materials, discussed
in order of their contribution to  the  MSW stream  (see  Exhibit C-l), are  considered
recyclable.   It is  important  to note  that  until both  the  technology  to reclaim and
reprocess those materials  and the market  for  reclaimed materials  exist,  a  material
cannot be considered recyclable.
                                      c-i

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                                  Exhibit C-l
                Recyclable Constituents of the MSW Stream
                                                 ^-"> u
                                                  1.8% Mlsc-
                                                  6.5% Plastics
                                                  7.9% Glass
                                                  8.0% Rubber, Leather, Textiles & Wood
                                                  8.2% Food Wastes
                                                  8.7% Metals - 7 -
                                                        Yard Wastes
                                                  41.0% Paper and Paperboard
(U.S. EPA. 1980a)
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        Paper makes up 41 percent of gross discards of the MSW stream.  On average,

about 22 percent of used paper is recovered (USEPA, 1988a).

             Recyclable  paper  products include  newsprint,  office paper,
             computer  paper, magazines, and  cardboard.  The specific paper
             products   accepted  for  recycling  often  vary  with  recycling
             centers.  The paper recycling process can be hampered by certain
             items, including envelopes with cellophane "windows",  and peel-
             off  note  paper ("stick-on notes")  backed with polyvinyl acetate
             adhesive.

             Recycled  paper  products  include  gray  cardboard, high-grade
             office paper, xerographic and laser  printing paper, mixed paper,
             newsprint, photographic  paper,  corrugated cardboard, gypsum,
             wallboard  liner,  cellulose  insulation,  tissue  products,   and
             "agropaper", a soil mulch.

        Yard wastes are  17.9  percent  of gross discards of the  MSW stream (USEPA,

1988a). Yard wastes can be composted and sold as  a soil enhancement or mulch. Because

yard  wastes constitute such a large  share  of  the  total MSW  stream, and because

composting  them is relatively simple and avoids  the cost of disposal, communities are

increasingly  turning to composting yard wastes  to help reduce the  amount of  MSW

destined for disposal.

        Glass makes  up  8.2 percent  of gross discards of  the MSW stream.  Of this

amount, approximately 8.5 percent is recovered (USEPA, 1988a).

             Recyclable glass  products  include all  glass containers such as
             bottles and  jars.   Most non-container glass  products, such as
             dishes and plate  glass,  are not  accepted at  recycling centers
             because they are made of different materials than are bottles and
             jars.   In addition,  certain specialty  glass  products  are  not
             recyclable.  These include safety glass, which is laminated with a
             plastic film, and heat-resistant (Pyrex)  glass, which  is extremely
             difficult to melt for re-molding.  Glass is an extremely efficient
             material to recycle, because it can be melted and re-molded into
             new containers with no loss: one pound of  discarded glass can be
             recycled  into one  pound  of new glass (Glass Packaging Institute,
             pamphlet, no date).

         •   Recycled  glass products  include new glass containers, fiberglass
             insulation, aggregate  substitutes  (fill),   foam insulation,  and
             "glassphalt," a paving material.

        Ferrous  Metals compose 7 percent of  gross discards of the MSW stream.  Less

than 4 percent of ferrous metal discards are recovered (USEPA, 1988a).

             Recyclable ferrous metal products include a wide variety of scrap
             metal items.  Household  ferrous recyclables include steel cans,
             automobiles (bodies, engine blocks), and major appliances.
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             Recycled ferrous metal products encompass the same wide range
             as do the recyclable products.  For example, the steel from used
             appliances can be recycled into sheet steel, and engine blocks can
             be recast into any number of items, including new engines.

         Aluminum makes  up  1.5 percent of gross discards of  the MSW stream, of which
25 percent is recovered (USEPA, 1988a).

             Recyclable aluminum products include cans, and  a wide variety of
             other products, ranging from aluminum engine blocks to miscella-
             neous scrap.   Like glass,  aluminum is an efficient material to
             recycle.  It  requires much less energy to recover and recycle
             aluminum than to mine and refine the bauxite ore for virgin metal
             (Aluminum Association, personal communication, 1988).

             Recycled  aluminum  products   include  much  more  than  just
             beverage cans.  Virtually every product made from aluminum has
             at least some recycled aluminum in it.  The Institute of Scrap
             Recycling  Industries  (personal contact,  1988)  has  stated that
             recycled  aluminum  performs  better than virgin metal in die
             casting.

         Plastics  make  up   6.5  percent  of  gross  discards  of  the  MSW  stream.
Approximately one percent of  discarded plastics is recovered (USEPA, 1988a).

             Recyclable plastics include discarded polyethylene terephthalate
             (PET) bottles, high-density polyethylene (HOPE) milk and  juice
             jugs, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

             Recycled plastic products vary depending  on the type of plastic
             that  is recycled.  PET bottles  are  recycled as: fiberfill  for coats
             and sleeping  bags, rigid plastic  foam insulation, woven or spun
             geotextiles/geofabrics  (used   in  erosion  control),  continuous
             filament yarns, carpeting, garbage  bags, and garbage cans.  High-
             density polyethylene is made into: drain pipes, pallets, playground
             equipment,  plastic  lumber, plant  pots,  hoses, urethane  foam
             insulation, and  molded plastics  (e.g.,  shower stalls). Polyvinyl-
             chloride is  recycled to make: urinal screens, floor  mats, auto-
             mobile battery casings, and tire traction mats.

         Before they can be recycled into  new products, discarded  plastic items may

need to be sorted by resin types (i.e., PET  separated from PVC, etc.).  In an effort to

facilitate such  container sorting, and thus to increase plastic recycling, the Society of

the Plastics Industry  has recently designed  a  Voluntary Plastic  Container Coding

System.    Under  the  system,  which  began  in July  1988, participating  container

manufacturers will imprint symbols that  identify resin types on the bottom of  all plastic

bottles with  a  capacity of 16 ounces  or more,  and  on other  plastic containers with a

capacity  of 8 ounces or more.  It  is expected that most plastic bottles will be coded by
mid-1991.
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         Rubber and Leather make up 2.5 percent of gross discards of the MSW stream
(USEPA, 1988a).  A small amount of discarded rubber (less than 3 percent of the rubber
and leather) is recycled into products such as irrigation hoses and automobile retreads.
         Textiles comprise 1.8 percent of the MSW stream. An extremely small portion
of the textile discards  is recycled (USEPA, 1988a). Waste wool and cotton are used in
recycled cloths (industrial wiping cloths), and discarded polyester is recycled as mattress
pads and carpeting.
         Municipal  wastewater treatment sludge comprises 1 percent of gross discards of
the MSW stream. Currently, approximately 41 percent of all sludge generated is sent to
municipal landfills, while 25  percent is applied  to land  as a soil amendment, either
directly or after composting.
         Waste Oil  can  be re-refined for use as a lubricant. Waste oil can also be burned
as a fuel, but this practice produces emissions of heavy metals and other contaminants
unless adequate pollution controls are used. Despite negative public perceptions  about
its  quality,  re-refined  oil  has been shown to  be as good  as  virgin  oil (see Elliot,
Appendix A.4).

Shopping Guides
         State and  local governments as well as some private companies and non-profit
organizations now offer environmental-shopping guides. These guides range from lists of
products and packaging  made from recycled materials, to brand-name evaluations of the
toxicity of common household products  and suggestions for non-toxic alternatives. The
guides also include lists of companies that practice source reduction, utilize state-of-
the-art pollution  controls, eliminate toxic materials in their production processes, and
use more recyclable  materials  in their  packaging.  Some examples of these kinds  of
guides are:  Shopping For  A  Better World, by  the Council  on Economic Priorities,
Nontoxic & Natural,  written  by Debra  Lynn Dadd, and  Recycled Products  Guide, by
Recoup Publishing (available March 1989).
         Consumer  shopping  guides  are useful for several reasons.  First,  and  most
obviously,  these  guides  help  consumers  make  environmentally-conscious purchase
decisions by providing them with basic  information about  the  products on  the  market.
Second, because they  make environmental shopping less confusing, the guides encourage
consumers to modify their purchase  habits.  Third, by showing consumers the social-cost
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differences between products with similar or identical  functions, these guides may help
consumers recognize  that by  choosing carefully  what to buy, they can influence which
products are manufactured and sold.
         There are also numerous guides available that provide information on reducing
the amounts and toxicity of wastes leaving  the  home.  Some guides, such as  the  those
available  from the Environmental Action  Foundation (1980s, 1976)  as part of its Solid
Waste Alternatives Plan  (SWAP),  the  Seattle  Engineering Department  (1980s), the
Michigan  Department of Natural Resources (1988), the Pennsylvania Resources Council
(1988), or from the U.S. EPA (1988b, 1986) focus  on ways to reduce MSW.  Others guides,
such  as  those  from  the  Citizens Program  for  the  Chesapeake Bay, Inc. (1988), and
Enterprise for Education (1988), emphasize the pollution hazards  posed by many common
household products such as cleaners, polishes, disinfectants, motor  oil and antifreeze.
These guides  also discuss  safe ways to  dispose of household  hazardous wastes and
encourage the use of non-toxic alternatives.
                                                          »U.S. Government Printing Office: 1990-721-255
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&EPA
     United States
     Environmental Protection
     Agency
     Washington, DC 20460

     Official Business
     Penalty for Private Use
     $300

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