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A Zero Waste Community: Bridging
the Gap Between Goals and BehaviorsNicole Harman, Sustainability Office Manager
Aaron Witham, Director of SustainabilityGreen Mountain College
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• Why is waste diversion important for creating sustainable communities?
• How can service learning projects be useful tools in advancing community development?
• Background on survey creation, sources, delivery, data collection and turning results into actionable steps
Learning Outcomes
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Dash the Trash
● On July 1st, 2013 I decided I was not going to generate any waste for a year and that I would keep the waste that I did generate
● I also decided to be anti-consumerism and not purchase anything that was not necessary for survival
● I wanted to learn through the process and share my knowledge, so I started a blog called ‘Dash the Trash’
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Independent Study Creation
• Wanted a structured way to learn about waste in relation to dash the trash
• 40% of grade based on service learning project
EconomicsPsychologyDesignPolicy
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Act 148: The Universal Recycling Law
Will require:● Recyclables to be banned from landfill in 2015● Leaf, Yard and Clean Wood debris to be banned in 2016● Food Scraps to be banned in 2020
http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/wastediv/solid/urresidents.htm
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● Lowers Vermont’s GHG emissions (by 38%, projected)
● Increase recycling rates and lower need for landfills
● Conserves resources and reduces energy consumption
● Stimulates economic growth
● Supports the local food system
● Foster’s stronger community connections
http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/wastediv/solid/urresidents.htm
Act 148: Purpose
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But how will it be enforced?
• The Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) is responsible for enforcement
• Impossible to monitor everyone's disposal habits • Mainly hoping to change behavior surrounding waste
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From Readings to Service Learning
● Osbaldiston et al. (2012) Meta-Analysis analyzed 87 published articles containing experimental treatments that measured increase or decrease in pro-environmental behavior (PEB)
● Meta-Analysis combined economic, design and psychological incentives for different pro-environmental behavior
● Using the analysis to guide question creation, I drafted a survey that would assess what would be the most effective incentives to increase town-wide composting and recycling rates
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(Osbaldiston et al. 2012)
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Survey DesignCommunity-Based Questions(#1-10):• Have community members heard of Act 148?• What should be factored into the design of a community compost
pick-up program?• How much compostable material is generated?• How much would participants be willing to pay for collection?• What accessible leverage points would convince community
members to divert waste from the landfill?
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State-Wide Questions(#11-15):• If we could do anything to increase participation in waste
diversion programs, what would be most effective?• Monetary Incentives• Town-wide waste diversion goals• Community meetings regarding composting and
recycling• Curbside pick-up versus transfer station drop off• Easily Accessible Information• Cognitive Dissonance
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Working With The Agency of Natural Resources● ANR will require municipalities to administer a survey to their
district assessing community knowledge of current waste disposal options
● Using my survey and research as a model, I worked with ANR to develop their survey that:o Assesses current knowledgeo Aims to educate community members about disposal options
and Act 148o Determines most effective incentives for compliance
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Poultney as a PilotAfter survey was edited and finalized for piloting by ANR I administered it in Poultney● 31 Responses● Great insight into question redesign and refinement● Some very useful data
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Data
● 100% of survey respondents currently recycle
● 74% respondents estimated that they currently recycle or compost 50% or more of their household waste
● 45% of respondents had heard of Act 148
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6.5%
29%
64.5%
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Incentives that were ‘likely’ or ‘very likely’ to influence waste
disposal• Free curbside pick-up of each material, 94%• Accessible drop-off location in 5-10 mile radius, 94%• There were well advertised collection events for each material
hosted bi annually in your community, 77%• Your town had town -wide waste-diversion goals with a firm
target and reporting system, 48%• You were provided with a brochure containing information about
how to dispose of each category of waste, 77%• You were provided with information outlining exactly where your
waste ends up and its effects on the environment, 71%
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Turning Survey Results into Action
• I will continue to work with ANR to develop their survey that they will distribute to all municipalities in Vermont in the Spring
• Assist in the research and design of a certified composting facility at Green Mountain College to support composting efforts in Poultney
• Keep the conversation going with Poultney residents
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Citations● Osbaldiston, Richard, and John P. Schott. "Environmental
Sustainability and Behavioral Science: Meta Analysis of Proenvironmental Behavior Experiments." Environment and Behavior 44.2 (2012): 278. Print.
● Folz, David H. and Joseph M. Hazlett. “Public Participation and Recycling Performance: Explaining Program Success.” Public Administration Review, Vol. 51, No. 6 (Nov. Dec., 1991), pp. 530. Print.
● Schultz, P. Wesley, and Stuart Oskamp. "Effort as a Moderator of the Attitude Behavior Relationship: General Environmental Concern and Recycling." Social Psychology Quarterly 59.4 (1996): pg.378. Print.
● http://www.virtualvermont.com/towns/poultney.jpg