UAlberta researcher sheds light on why some recyclable items
still end up in the trash—and what can be done about it.
Findings from a University of Alberta researcher shed new
light on what may be stopping people from recycling more.
Jennifer Argo, a marketing professor in the U of A’s Alberta
School of Business, says that people are psychologically hard-wired to believe
that products that are damaged or that aren’t whole—such as small or ripped
paper or dented cans—are useless, and this leads users to trash them rather
than recycle them. To circumvent overcrowding landfills and environmental
problems, Argo says consumers and manufacturers can take steps to override the
urge to toss wholly recyclable items.
“We can change the way products look. We can change the way
people perceive them too in terms of their usefulness,” she said.