Motivations and Barriers to Household Waste Sorting in Reykjavík

Abstract

Although the Icelandic waste management system has undergone significant changes from the 1990s onwards, and more people than ever before have been stating to engage in household waste sorting, landfilling is still the most widely used management method in Iceland. In 2016, as much as 61% of municipal solid waste (MSW) went to landfill, while only approximately 33% was returned to the production cycle. In the meantime, quantities of per capita MSW were approximately as high as just before the 2008 financial crisis, indicating a strong link between consumption patterns and waste generation.Given that the diversion of household waste from landfill through recycling and other forms of material or energy recovery depends heavily on public participation in waste sorting schemes, the objectives of this study are to explore perceptions of and experiences with systematic approaches to household waste sorting in Reykjavík, and to identify what motivates and inhibits waste sorting at the household-level. To conduct the study, a qualitative method of in-depth interviews with 16 members of households located in Reykjavík was employed. Through thematic analysis, 13 themes could be constructed that were found to be pivotal to the research participants’ decision as to whether or not, and to what extent, to engage in waste sorting. These include historical context, concern for the future of Earth, infrastructure and storage space, personal initiative and effort, consumer culture, informedness, trust and transparency, spillover effects from non-domestic contexts, sense of order, monetary incentives, environmental impact, recyclability and reusability, and low weight and volume and rare use.

Minnkun urðunnar í gegnum endurnýtingu og endurvinnslu heimilisúrgangs er verulega háð þátttökunni heimilanna í flokkunarkerfum. Þó að íslenska úrgangsstjórnunarkerfið hefur breyst mikið síðan í upphafi 1990s, og margir halda fram því að þeir flokki, urðun er ennþá algengasta förgunaraðferðin á Íslandi. Árið 2016, 61% af úrgangi frá sveitarfélögum var urðað, en bara 33% fór aftur í framleiðslukerfið. Á sama tíma, magn úrgangs á mann var um það bil sama magn og fyrir hrun efnahagkerfsins 2008. Það gefur til kynna tengsl neytendamynstur og losun úrgangs.Tilgangur þessara rannsóknar er að kanna álit og reynslu Reykvíkingar með flokkun heimilisúrgangs, ásamt að finna út hvað hvetur og hvað hindrar þá frá því að taka þátt í úrgangsflokkunarkerfunum. Rannsóknin var framkvæmd með eigindlegum aðferðum. Gögnum var safnað með half-stöðluðum viðtölum við 16 einstakingla staðsetta í Reykjavík. Við greininguna gagna var notuð þemagreining. Samanlagt voru greind að 13 þemu hafa áhríf á ákvördun þátttakenda rannsóknarinnar um flokkunarmál. Þessi eru sögulegt samhengi, áhyggjur af framtíð jarðarinnar, flokkunarstöðvar og geymslupláss, persónulegt frumkvæði, neyslumenning, kunnátta, traust og gagnsæi, gagnúð, hirðusemi, fjárhagsleg hvati, umhverfisáhrif, endurvinnslu- og endurnotkunarhæfni, lítil þyngð og lítið rúmmál, og sjáldgæf notkun.