Search Results (2)

The detrimental impact of visitor-induced litter pollution on ecosystems, wildlife, and overall quality of life emphasizes the urgency of mitigating it. This study uniquely focuses on diverse visitors’ perceptions of littering behavior in open spaces, facilitating comprehensive assessment and targeted mitigation strategies. This study aimed to analyze attitudes, willingness to act, and responsibility perceptions, considering diverse demographics in Israel’s multicultural context. It sought insights into littering rationales, potential remedies, and the identification of relatively acceptable littering behaviors for focused attention. This profound comprehension is crucial for conserving ecologically sensitive open areas, necessitating optimized management for interface preservation. Leveraging insights from an online survey involving 401 recent open-space visitors, this research reveals a disparity between self-professed and actual littering practices. Intriguingly, 32% of participants who claimed never to litter described instances of doing so. Furthermore, disparities emerged between anti-litter attitudes, willingness to act, and individual accountability, which were influenced by demographic variables. While individuals from various demographic cohorts attested to littering behavior, young ultra-Orthodox Jews possessing solely a high school level of education exhibited a proclivity for increased littering. Perceptions predominantly attribute purposeful and recreational motives to littering, rather than substantial reasons. Participants conceive a diverse range of effective strategies to address the issue, highlighting its intricate and multifaceted nature. Consequently, this study advocates for a multifaceted approach combining enhanced enforcement, educational campaigns, informative initiatives, and infrastructural enhancements. By acknowledging the complexities of littering behavior and embracing multifarious interventions, policymakers can enhance the likelihood of successfully curbing this pervasive challenge. Full article

Diverse elements of anti-littering campaigns may be effective at addressing different causes of littering. Therefore, a complementary approach combining various elements is needed to ensure the behavioral effectiveness of corresponding campaigns. The present study investigates personal, problem-centered face-to-face conversations compared to three different types of anti-littering posters (witty, authoritarian, environmentally oriented). In total, N = 147 persons participated in the questionnaire-based survey. Pictures of the three anti-littering posters were presented to all respondents, but only 82 of them additionally took part in problem-centered face-to-face conversations. Participants of the latter condition liked the conversations significantly more and judged them more effective for reducing littering than each of the three posters. Intentions for future behavior also improved more in the condition with face-to-face communications than in the reference condition in which only the anti-littering posters were presented. Regarding the posters, it was found that the witty and the environmentally-oriented poster were liked more and judged to be more effective by the respondents than the authoritarian poster. Findings are discussed in relation to the design of campaigns, which combine elements with reference to an integrative behavior model covering a broad range of factors, including processes of justifications, habit formation and reactance. Full article