Improving social technologies for recycling

Abstract

Although kerbside recycling participation rates have been well studied, little consideration has been paid to dense housing, especially high-rise estates, even though such areas have particularly low participation rates. Because such areas present infrastructural difficulties for recyclates storage and collections, reduced service often results. Nevertheless, solutions still emphasise communication strategies and householder responsibility over adequate infrastructural provision. This paper draws together three empirically based analyses focusing on the improvement of waste collection procedures and infrastructural design for high- and low-rise dense housing. Two sites were studied: an inner London estate and Portsmouth. Both sites have minimal storage space either within the home or in external private, communal or public areas. Both areas have high churn rates. Analysis of the findings suggests that consideration needs to be given to several factors: social, architectural, technological, infrastructural and organisational. Communication strategies need to be simple and consistent and need to acknowledge non-Anglophone residents. Spatial ownership needs to be clearly demarcated and maintained. Solutions must be tailored to existing exigencies of the built environment (such as poor vehicular access) and need to include broader infrastructural factors such as functioning lifts and convenient, safe storage facilities. New-build is better placed to integrate a flexible collection infrastructure. However, pressure to increase housing density is providing a continuing challenge to design appropriate storage and collection infrastructures.