Time was also looked at as a variable that could affect recycling behavior since students might be consuming more canned beverages in one time period versus another. My hypothesis is that the promotional signs will increase the amount of cans in the recycling receptacles and decrease the amount of cans in the regular trash. In the United States alone, municipal solid waste is produced at the rate of over three pounds per person per day making a total of 160 million tons per year. This excessive waste had lead to many environmental concerns including the increased use of limited virgin resources, increased energy usage to turn raw materials into finished products, increased air and water pollution and decreased landfill space. With this issue becoming a growing concern, it is obvious that something needs to be done.
Recycling has the ability to become an effective resource-recovery mechanism.
Despite current recycling efforts, recycling hasn't become a universal way of life. Over 100 million tons of waste is still thrown away that could have been recycled. Numerous studies have been done on recycling by many different disciplines ranging from Psychology to Sociology to Economics to Law. Regardless of the discipline, all had a common goal-what factors affect recycling participation. There has been a large discrepancy in the overall proportion of recycling attitudes to recycling behaviors in people.