title: Sorting and disposing of waste at recycling centres--a user's perspective.
abstract: This paper investigates Swedish recycling centres from the users' perspective. The aim was to describe the characteristics and experiences of the users and their activities when sorting and disposing of waste, and to identify improvements for the users. The typical recycling centre user is a recently retired man, living in a house with a garden, having travelled 5 km alone in his own car. The users requested longer opening hours and better information available at home and at the recycling centre. The major difficulty for the users is to understand which fraction their waste belongs to, and consequently into which container they should throw it. The most important sources of sorting information, in addition to experience from earlier visits, are signs and asking the personnel. Although the service at recycling centres is perceived positively by a majority of users, substantial improvements can still be made, and a number of such suggestions are given.
authors.affiliation: Division of Industrial Ergonomics, Department of Management and Engineering, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden. jorgen.eklund@sth.kth.se
authors.forename: Jörgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Eklund
authors.forename: Annika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kihlstedt
authors.forename: Inga-Lill
authors.initials: IL
authors.lastname: Engkvist
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007221:Industry; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012037:Refuse Disposal / Q000379:methods*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden; D055815:Young Adult