residential recycling barriers & benefits report · residential recycling barriers &...

ResidentialRecyclingBarriers&BenefitsReportRFP17-116 October10,2017

This report was made possible by a grant from the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality. It was published by the City of Lincoln and prepared by Carson+Co Global and Verdis Group.

Introduction A guiding principle of Community Based Social Marketing (CBSM) is its focus on a specific and unique behavior one wishes to elicit. The campaign goal is to increase Lincoln’s recycling levels. Thus, a key, desired behavioral outcome for individuals is using recycling drop-off sites and/or signing up for curbside services. It is critical to understand the benefits associated with the desired behavior as well as the barriers that currently prevent individuals from engaging in it. The barrier research phase of this program was comprised of two components: intercept interviews with Lincoln residents and a series of focus groups with target audiences identified in the City of Lincoln’s original Request for Proposal. Intercept interviews provided a statistical approach for analyzing residents’ perceived barriers and benefits while focus groups allowed a more in-depth, qualitative analysis of key demographic groups. Overarching benefits and barriers are provided below, followed by a more in-depth analysis of each component.

Benefits of and Barriers to Recycling in Lincoln, Nebraska Prominent Benefits of Recycling Prominent Barriers to Recycling • Protect the environment and nature • Preservation of Earth’s / Nebraska’s pristine natural areas and

cities • Extend landfill life and divert waste • Experience intrinsic satisfaction • Easy to do • Decrease trash generation at home • Decrease carbon footprint • Make an investment in children and future generations • Right thing to do • Contribute to a cleaner community • Gain opportunity for potential financial gain • Decrease extraction of raw materials from Earth • Fulfilling civic responsibility • Saves time and money

• Cost of curbside recycling service subscription • Inconvenience • Lacking space for bins • Lacking knowledge of service providers and recycling • Lacking access to services by hauler or landlord • Not enough time to recycle • Inability to transport recyclables to drop-off sites • Opposition to coercion of ordinance • Generation of too few recyclables to warrant recycling • Issues at drop-off sites (muddiness, full roll offs) • Lacking follow through despite interest in recycling • Confusion about which materials are recyclable

(contamination) • Physical difficulty of breaking down cardboard boxes • Clutter of recycling bins • Inconsistent and/or insufficient pickup of waste/recycling • Messiness of recycling and having to rinse containers • Difficulty in accessing/signing up for curbside service • Double cost – pay for material, pay for its pick up • Environmental conflict of multiple haulers versus recycling

efforts • English as only language to communicate recycling • Little to no financial incentive to recycle • Wasteful use of water to prepare recyclables • Not getting to see the results of personal efforts

Results The barriers and benefits identified through intercept interviews and focus groups will guide our selection of behavior change tools. It is with these tools that all marketing, advisory and outreach actions will be built.


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Intercept Interview Report Overview Intercept interviews were conducted on Saturday, September 16, 2017 at the Haymarket in downtown Lincoln. A large aggregate of people was available due to a farmer’s market and morning Huskers football game. Four interviewers randomly approached and interviewed residents over a three-hour period (8:00 AM – 11:00 AM). All interviewers were trained according to an Intercept Interview Protocol (Appendix B). A total of 75 surveys were completed by Lincoln and Lancaster County residents. The demographics of survey participants are included below.

Intercept Interview Survey Development The intercept interview survey questions were designed to collect basic demographic information about individuals and their recycling attitude, behavior and knowledge, as well as awareness of the corrugated cardboard ban, curbside recycling subscription and residency type. The survey is included in Appendix A. Likert-based questions were developed from a published recycling attitudes measurement that had reasonable reliability and validity (Tilikidou 2000). Ten items were selected from the 13-item test to reduce the amount of time needed to complete the survey. Wording was adjusted to remove double negatives and reflect the Recycle Lincoln campaign. A 3-scale response (agree, disagree, unsure) was utilized. Recycling Methods The intercept interview form inquired whether an individual subscribes to curbside recycling. If an individual responded no, then the interview team verbally inquired whether they recycled. Thirty-nine percent of survey respondents subscribe to curbside recycling services.


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Lincoln/Lancaster Co. resident 100% (n = 75)

Sex Male Female 40% (n = 30) 60% (n = 45)

Residency

Owner Renter 67% (n = 50) 55% (n = 24)

House Apartment 74% (n = 55) 24% (n = 18)

Recycling

Curbside Drop-off 39% (n = 29) 23% (n = 17)

Apt/Dorm Non-recycler 9% (n = 7) 29% (n = 22)

Corrugated Cardboard Ban Aware Unaware 56% (n = 42) 43% (n = 32)

Intercept Interviewee Demographics, Residency, Recycling Practices and Corrugated Cardboard Ban Awareness Data Analysis Original survey forms were scanned and reviewed for completion. Responses to demographic questions and the recycling attitude scale were statistically analyzed to generate averages, frequencies and correlation coefficients. Structural and emergent coding was employed to identify prominent recycling benefits and barriers described by survey respondents. Results: Perceived Benefits of and Barriers to Recycling Benefits and barriers were classified as prominent if voiced by more than one individual and as additional if voiced only once.

Benefits of and Barriers to Recycling in Lincoln, Nebraska Prominent Benefits of Recycling Prominent Barriers to Recycling Protect the environment and nature Extend landfill life and divert waste Intrinsic satisfaction Easy to do Decrease trash generation at home Decrease carbon footprint Investment in future generations Right thing to do

Cost of curbside recycling service subscription Inconvenience Lacking space for bins Lacking knowledge of service providers and recycling Lacking access to services by hauler or landlord Not enough time to recycle

Additional Benefits of Recycling Additional Barriers to Recycling Contribute to a cleaner community Potential for financial gain

Inability to transport recyclables to drop-off sites Coercion of ordinance Generation of too few recyclables to warrant recycling Drop-off site issues Lacking follow through despite interest in recycling


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Eleven respondents shared “ease” as a benefit of recycling, referring to the ease of being able to participate when services were supplied at their apartment or dorm and the convenience of single-stream collections. An exemplary statement coded under this category was, “it's available, so it's easy to do even if you don't "care" about it.” Respondents that reported the ease of recycling.”

Protecttheenvironment&nature,

25

Extendlandfilllifespan,12

Intrinsicsatisfaction,11

Ease,11Decreasetrashat

home,9

Decreasecarbonfootprint,4

Investmentinfuturegenerations,4

Rightthingtodo,3

Cleanercommunity,2Financialgain,1

Other,14

PerceivedBenefitsofRecycling

Costofcurbside,9

Inconvenience,5

Lackingspaceforbins,3

Lackingknowledge,4

Notenoughtime,2

Lackingservice,6Inabilitytotransport,1

Coercionofordinance,1

Toolittletorecycle,1

Drop-offsiteissues,1

Lackingfollow-through,1

Other,5

PerceivedBarrierstoRecycling


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Results: Recycling Attitudes, Knowledge and Behavior Survey respondents were provided with ten statements in the recycling attitude scale and asked whether they generally agreed or disagreed. They could also determine that they were unsure. Average dis/agreement was calculated for each of the item ten items.

Individuals were also assigned a recycling attitude score. After reverse-coding statement 5 and 6, agreement was assigned +1 and disagreement was assigned a -1. A value of 0 was assigned to an “Unsure response” and thus did not contribute to an individual’s overall score. A score of +10 indicates an individual has a positive attitude towards recycling whereas a score of -10 indicates a negative attitude towards recycling. Most individuals had a positive attitude towards recycling. Recycling attitude scores are illustrated below in a histogram.

0.95

0.85

0.93

0.96

0.07

0.07

0.96

0.95

0.95

0.96

0.04

0.08

0.05

0.03

0.89

0.84

0.03

0.04

0.03

0.01

0.01

0.07

0.04

0.09

0.01

0.01

0.03

0.03

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

10.Thebenefitsofrecyclingreturnbacktosociety.

9.Igetsatisfactionbytakingpartinrecycling.

8.Recyclingisworthmytimeandeffort.

7.Recyclingreducestheamountoflittergoingintolandfills.

6.Recyclingismoretroublethanit’sworth.

5.Itisuselesstorecycleifnotmanyotherpeopledothesame.

4.Recyclinghelpsprotecttheenvironment.

3.Itismypersonalresponsibilitytohelprecyclingefforts.

2.Iamwillingtoparticipateinrecycling,eveniftherearenofinancialmotives.

1.Recyclingisimportant.

Agree Disagree Unsure


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Survey respondents were split into recyclers (curbside subscription, drop-off site use or participation in dorm/apartment recycling). A correlation coefficient was generated for each of the ten items and total scores to determine whether there was a relationship between item responses and recycling behavior. Items 5 and 6 were reverse coded to generate an individual’s total score. Coefficients are listed below. Most items had a weak or no relationship with an individual’s recycling behavior. This suggests that positive recycling attitudes and knowledge only weakly predict an individual’s recycling behavior. This supports earlier studies conducted by the City of Lincoln that suggest individuals will recycle if it’s convenient.

Item Statement Correlation Coefficient Relationship 1. Recycling is important. 0.30 Weak 2. I am willing to participate in recycling even if there are no financial motives. 0.35 Weak

3. It is my personal responsibility to help recycling efforts. 0.36 Weak 4. Recycling helps protect the environment. 0.05 None 5. It is useless to recycle if not many other people do the same. -0.21 None 6. Recycling is more trouble than it is worth. -0.40 Moderate 7. Recycling reduces the amount of litter going into landfills. 0.17 None 8. Recycling is worth my time and effort. 0.40 Moderate 9. I get satisfaction by taking part in recycling. 0.30 Weak 10. The benefits of recycling return back to society. 0.14 None

0 1 1 1 3 1 37

3

55

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

-10 -9 -3 -1 4 6 7 8 9 10

Freq

uency

NegativeAttitude Score PositiveAttitude

RecyclingAttitudes


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Focus Group Report Group descriptions Asian: The Karen group consisted of three men and 8 women (plus 1 little girl) that all identified their names and described that they are refugees from Burma (via Thailand refugee camp). The translator is also a refugee. This group was predominantly elderly individuals except for the mother and her young daughter. The Vietnamese group consisted of three men and 1 woman. They, too, were all senior citizens. The Asian Community and Cultural Center hosted and facilitated the gathering of this group. Elderly: The elderly group consisted of seven women and three men. They were a friendly group of individuals that are long-term residents, with most being from Lincoln or Nebraska their whole lives or for many, many years. The Aging Partners of Lincoln hosted and facilitated the gathering of this group. Residents: The residential group consisted of five women and three men. Each individual belonged to a local neighborhood association and a total of seven neighborhood associations were represented. They are predominantly long-term residents of the Lincoln area. This group was hosted at the Gere Public Library. Non-curbside subscribers: The non-curbside subscribers group consisted of four men and four women, Individuals were evenly split as to whether they recycled (using drop-off sites) or did not recycle at all. This group was hosted at the Gere Public Library. Low-Income: This group consisted of eleven women and five men. We were unable to recruit attendees for a traditional focus group discussion. The Center for People in Need gave us permission to conduct intercept interviews during a food distribution event. Results were analyzed separately from the earlier intercept interview session and are included at the end of the focus group report.

Focus Group Code No. Attendees Date and Time Facilitating Organization(s)

Asian (Karen, Vietnamese) A 15 Fri., Sep. 15, 2017 10:00 AM

Asian Community & Cultural Center

Elderly E 10 Mon., Sep. 18, 2017 10:15 AM

Aging Partners

Residents R 8 (7 assoc.)

Wed., Sep. 20, 2017 5:30 PM

Neighborhood Associations

Low-income residents L 18

Fri., Sep. 22, 2017 2:00 PM

Center for People in Need, surveys

Non-curbside subscribers N 8 Wed., Sep. 27, 2017 5:30 PM

Individual contact


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Question Script We guided focus group conversations with a list of predetermined questions that assessed participants’ recycling attitudes, knowledge, social norms, and values as well as their perceived barriers and benefits of recycling. Recycling Knowledge Focus group participants were shown various waste materials and asked to classify the materials as recyclable or non-recyclable. All four focus groups were knowledgeable of the recycling status of paperboard, newspaper, aluminum cans, plastic bottles, and Styrofoam (non-recyclable). Confusion across groups was evident for a milk carton, with most participants classifying it as recyclable. There was some confusion about the recycling status for plastic bags (plastic films), a business envelope containing a plastic window, a yogurt container and a glass jar. Only the non-curbside focus group contained one individual who thought corrugated cardboard was non-recyclable. All other individuals indicated that this material is recyclable.

Item Material Asian Elderly Residents Non-curbside

Bagel bag Plastic film Mixed Mixed Correct Correct Business envelope Paper Incorrect Correct Correct Mixed Cardboard box Corrugated box Correct Correct Correct Mixed Food box Paperboard Correct Correct Correct Correct Glass jar Glass/metal Mixed Mixed Correct Correct Milk carton Wax plastic Incorrect Mixed Incorrect Mixed Newspaper Paper Correct Correct Correct Correct Pretzel bag Plastic film Mixed Correct Mixed Correct Shopping bag Plastic film Mixed Correct Correct Correct Soda can Aluminum Correct Correct Correct Correct Sports drink bottle Plastic Correct Correct Correct Correct Food container Styrofoam Correct Correct Correct Correct Yogurt container Plastic Mixed Correct Correct Mixed

Overall, most focus group participants are aware of the corrugated cardboard ban except for participants in the Asian focus group. The Residential and Non-curbside focus groups indicated an understanding of how to sign up for curbside recycling services. The Asian and Elderly focus group participants indicated confusion regarding how they might sign up for services. There were various questions voiced by focus group participants. The key question asked by each group was


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how corrugated cardboard should be handled if it cannot go in the trash. Associated with this question was concern about where drop-off sites are located. More specific questions included:

• How do I get it to a drop-off site if I don’t drive? • Is the City going to provide containers? • If I don’t have curbside recycling, do I have to bring it to a drop-off site?

Asian (A) Elderly (E) Residents (R) Non-curbside (N) 2018 Corrugated Cardboard Ban Awareness Unaware Aware Aware Aware Curbside service sign up Uncertain Mixed Aware Aware Key questions about corrugated cardboard ban

Where does cardboard go if not in trash? A, R, N Do I have to pay to recycle cardboard? A, N Where do I go to get curbside recycling services? A, E What is corrugated cardboard? E, N How will the ban be enforced? R, N Will hauler refuse trash if cardboard is in it? R, N What is the purpose of the ordinance? R, N How will multi-family units manage the ordinance? R How will pizza boxes be handled? R How will the public be educated about the ban? N How will college and university students be educated about recycling? R Why was corrugated cardboard targeted over other materials? N

Recycling Norms Focus group participants were asked to rank the importance of protecting the environment, saving money and being part of a community. All four focus groups most valued protecting the environment. Saving money was the second most valued in the Karen and Non-curbside groups. The Vietnamese group felt that being part of a “living community” was most important, after protecting the environment. In general, all groups agreed that recycling is important. The Elderly and Residential focus group participants all reported that they currently recycle at home. Despite the general consensus that recycling is important, all but one of the Asian focus group participants and half of the non-curbside participants are non-recyclers at home. Recycling as a social norm was mixed across the groups. Elderly focus group participants explained, “I would say it’s normal for the older people to recycle because they’ve been around a few days longer and they tend to care a little bit more about the environment.” Two non-curbside focus group participants explained that they were one of few households in their community that did not recycle. However other participants indicated that recycling was not the norm in their neighborhoods.

Asian Elderly Residents Non-curbside

Value: What is most important? Protecting the environment

Protecting the environment



Norm: Do you feel that recycling is important? Important Important Important Important Behavior: Do you recycle at home? No Yes Yes Mixed

Behavior: Recycling method N/A Drop-off sites Both drop-off sites & curbside Drop-off sites

Social norm: Do people in your community recycle? No Yes No Mixed


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Recycling Attitudes Focus group participants were asked to explain how recycling makes a difference. Participants employed rewarding phrases including keeping the environment clean, preserving the Earth for future generations, saving resources (materials, time and money), and extending the life of the landfill.

Focus group participants employed negative words to describe wasteful behavior, including mad, disturbed, frustrating and selfish. The Elderly, Residential and Non-curbside focus groups all linked wasteful behavior to younger generations. They perceived themselves as more environmentally aware and conservative, describing younger generations as a throwaway society.


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Perceived Benefits of and Barriers to Recycling We asked specific questions about the benefits of and barriers to recycling. However, the discussions as a whole helped generate the lists of barriers and benefits below. We were interested in determining if the physical requirements for breaking down cardboard boxes would be an issue for residents, especially the elderly. One individual from the Elderly focus group and one from the residential group voiced concern – however this potential barrier was not as considerable as anticipated. As with intercept interviews, perceived barriers were more individual and thus diverse. Perceived benefits voiced by focus group participants were more uniform and resembled those voiced by Lincoln residents during intercept interviews.

Perceived Benefits of and Barriers to Recycling

Prominent Benefits of Recycling Prominent Barriers to Recycling Decrease extraction of raw materials from Earth (E, N, R) Fulfilling civic responsibility (E, R) Investment in children and future generations (E, N) Preservation of Earth’s / Nebraska’s pristine natural areas and cities (E, R) Saves time and money (E) Decrease trash generation at home (R) Extend life of landfill (R)

Confusion about which materials are recyclable (A, E, R, N) Cost of curbside recycling service (A, R, N) Breaking down cardboard boxes (E, R) Clutter of recycling bins (E, N) Inconsistent and/or insufficient pickup (E, R) Messiness of recycling and having to rinse containers (E, N) Difficulty in accessing/signing up for curbside service (A) Awareness of the corrugated cardboard ban (A) Double cost – pay for material, pay for its pick up (N) Environmental conflict of multiple haulers versus recycling efforts (N) English as only language to communicate recycling (A) Little to no incentive to recycle (R) Opposition to being forced to recycle (N) Wasteful use of water to prepare recyclables (N) Not getting to see the results of personal efforts (N)

In Their Own Words: The Benefits of Recycling Future generations: “I do it for my grandchildren.” (E)

“Recycling would not only improve the environment for our generation but for future generations. But with this project, “I cannot get it done by myself. It should be a community project.” (A)

Responsibility: “I’m responsible for a lot of other stuff. Why not be responsible for [recycling], too?” Extending the life of the landfill: “[Recycling] gives more life to the landfill. Nobody wants a landfill in their backyard but it

has to go somewhere. [...] Question is how long can you make it last?” (R) Intrinsic satisfaction: “I just find that since I’ve been [recycling] my trash can is only half full. It’s really rewarding to see it

makes a difference.” (R) Saving our natural areas: “[Recyclables] are all raw materials that have to be mined, extracted from the Earth. We can save

our pristine places by reusing what we’ve already extracted.” (R) Worth it: “[Recycling] is not messy. It is a lot of work but it is worth it.” (A)


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In Their Own Words: The Barriers of Recycling Cost of recycling: “I know a lot of neighbors that can’t afford to pay for curbside, and kids who can’t take the time to drive

out their bins [to a drop-off site]. They hated that they couldn’t [recycle].” (R) “I get stuck on cost. We have to pay to get the product and pay to have it removed. It the principal, not the

affordability, of cost…” (N) “I won’t pay to recycle. It comes down to cost. I’ll burn it in the backyard.” (N) “There shouldn’t be a charge if the City is demanding that we recycle cardboard.” (A)

Confusion about recyclable materials: “The only effective instructions we can find are on the bins themselves.” (R) Difficulty in accessing/signing up for curbside service “We are only provided with one [trash] bin in apartment. If we were

given another [recycling] bin, we would do it.” (A) Environmental conflict of multiple haulers versus recycling efforts: “If everyone in Lincoln has to recycle - how many more

trucks will there be in Lincoln? Los Angeles instituted a similar ban. Hundreds more trucks had to be built. I support protecting the environment but I don’t know that [the corrugated cardboard ban] actually protects the environment. […] I’m being made to feel guilty that if I don’t recycle I don’t care about the environment.” (N)

Clutter of recycling bins: “I don’t want to have all these different containers sitting around.” (N) Opposition to being forced to recycle: “I like to recycle. I use drop-off sites. I don’t like being told that I have to.” (N) Intercept Interviews with Low-Income Residents Intercept interviews were conducted on Friday, September 22, 2017 at the Center for People in Need in Lincoln, NE. A large aggregate of people was expected during a scheduled food distribution event. Two interviewers approached and interviewed patrons over a one-hour period (2:00 PM – 3:00 PM). A total of 16 surveys were completed by Lincoln and Lancaster County residents. Demographics of participants are included below.

Benefits of and Barriers to Recycling of Low-Income Residents in Lincoln, Nebraska Prominent Benefits of Recycling Prominent Barriers to Recycling Help Earth Protect the environment and nature Potential for financial gain (aluminum cans) Intrinsic and personal satisfaction

Land-lord related barriers (service and bins unavailable) Lacking knowledge of service providers Cost of curbside recycling service subscription Lacking follow-through (“just haven’t gotten to it”) Lacking space for bins Lacking knowledge of recyclable materials


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Results: Recycling Attitudes, Knowledge and Behavior Survey respondents were provided with ten statements in the recycling attitude scale and asked whether they generally agreed or disagreed. They could also determine that they were unsure. Average dis/agreement was calculated for each of the item ten items. One-hundred percent of survey respondents agreed with the following statements: Recycling is important; Recycling helps protect the environment; The benefits of recycling return back to society.

References TILIKlDOU, C.S. "Consumer attitudes towards recycling: construction of a reliable and valid multi-item measure." (2000).

1.00

0.81

0.75

0.94

0.19

0.19

1.00

0.81

0.75

1.00

0.13

0.13

0.06

0.75

0.75

0.06

0.06

0.13

0.06

0.06

0.19

0.19

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

10.Thebenefitsofrecyclingreturnbacktosociety.

9.Igetsatisfactionbytakingpartinrecycling.

8.Recyclingisworthmytimeandeffort.

7.Recyclingreducestheamountoflittergoinginto…

6.Recyclingismoretroublethanit’sworth.

5.Itisuselesstorecycleifnotmanyotherpeopledo…

4.Recyclinghelpsprotecttheenvironment.

3.Itismypersonalresponsibilitytohelprecycling…

2.Iamwillingtoparticipateinrecycling,evenif…

1.Recyclingisimportant.

Agree Disagree Unsure

Lincoln/Lancaster Co. resident 100% (n = 16)

Sex Male Female 37% (n = 6) 63% (n = 10)

Residency

Owner Renter 31% (n = 5) 69% (n = 11)

House Apartment 44% (n = 7) 56% (n = 9)

Recycling

Curbside Drop-off 13% (n = 2) 19% (n = 3)

Apt/Dorm Non-recycler 0% (n = 0) 69% (n = 11)

Corrugated Cardboard Ban Aware Unaware 31% (n = 5) 69% (n = 11)


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Appendix A: Intercept Interview Survey Form

Educational Campaign Short Questionnaire

Lincoln/Lancaster County resident Yes / No

19+ years old Yes / No

Sex Male / Female

Residency Owner / Renter AND House / Apartment

Do you subscribe to curbside recycling? Yes / No

IF YES: What benefits do you experience from recycling?

IF NO: What currently keeps you from recycling?

Are you aware that on April 1, 2018, the City of Lincoln will enact an ordinance banning corrugated cardboard from being dumped in landfills?

Yes / No

In general, do you agree or disagree with the following statements? A: Agree D: Disagree U: Unsure

1. Recycling is important. A D U

2. I am willing to participate in recycling, even if there are no financial motives. A D U

3. It is my personal responsibility to help recycling efforts. A D U

4. Recycling helps protect the environment. A D U

5. It is useless to recycle if not many other people do the same. A D U

6. Recycling is more trouble than it’s worth. A D U

7. Recycling reduces the amount of litter going into landfills. A D U

8. Recycling is worth my time and effort. A D U

9. I get satisfaction by taking part in recycling. A D U


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10. The benefits of recycling return back to society. A D U


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Appendix B: Intercept Interview Protocol BRS-R - Intercept Interview Protocol Contact Information - CALL IF YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMS OR QUESTIONS! Kim Morrow: 402-405-9425 Louise Lynch: 914-443-5702 Intercept Interviews We are carrying out intercept interviews. This is a method of engaging people to share feedback - in this case it is feedback about their recycling attitudes and behaviors. Covering Ground to Conduct the Survey We will split up so that we can cover multiple locations. Find a location that has some foot traffic but is also quiet enough for you to hear the respondent. If a place you are in gets too quiet, go ahead and move to a better place. It is going to be crowded so make sure you have our phone numbers so you can find and reach one another if needed. Making your Approach

1. Know the Survey. Make sure you have reviewed the survey and are familiar with the items. Read it aloud a few times so you are comfortable with how you will ask things.

2. Smile! Being friendly helps you build rapport with the potential respondent. We have to make the approach and people often automatically have their guard up. It is unlikely that people will come to us.

3. Pick every fifth person. Wherever you are set up, draw an imaginary line in the ground, at the entrance or midpoint of the space you are in. make sure it is somewhere you can easily stand. Create an imaginary line across which people are walking. When you are ready to start a survey, approach (intercept) the fifth person that crosses the line. If they start the survey, great! If they refuse, thank them, return to your line, and intercept the next fifth person who crosses.

4. Introduce yourself and State your purpose. a. Hi! I’m Kim. I’m not selling anything. b. I’m doing a short survey about recycling to support the City’s recycling campaign. c. It takes less than 5 minutes to complete. Would you have a moment to provide some feedback?

5. Say Thank You. We won’t have compensation for people, other than our appreciation for their time. Make sure to thank them for their time and input and tell them to enjoy the rest of their day.

6. Don’t worry about rejection. “People will tell you they do not want to participate. People will run past you before you can even ask them to participate. People might even say unfriendly things to you. This is almost never a reflection on you. We live in an over-researched world. If you find that many people are saying no, take a break and recalibrate yourself.” If you have any problems or complications, please reach out to Kim or Louise immediately.

Meeting & Training On Saturday, September 16th, we will meet at the Bill Harris Iron Horse Park (Q St. and P St.) at 8 AM sharp. A map is attached below. We will have a brief training at 8 AM to review how to gather survey data.


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We will regroup 30 minutes after starting interviews to make sure everyone is doing alright and to adjust approaches, locations, etc. if needed. Attire and Things to Bring Wear comfortable shoes and comfortable, but neat pants or shorts. We will provide a green Recycle Right T-shirt. You may wish to wear a hat to help block the sun. Don’t forget sunscreen and water! Items we will provide We will provide you with everything you need to conduct the surveys, including

• A clipboard and pens • Printed surveys • A Recycle Right t-shirt • A name tag • Support! Don’t be afraid to call or text use during the session if you need help.

Resources https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2016/02/the-art-of-the-intercept/ https://rmsresults.com/2014/04/07/7-tips-for-conducting-intercept-surveys/

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