Chattanooga: Financial incentives would aid recycling, study shows
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Just after the Chattanooga Green Committee released an interim report on how the city can lower its greenhouse gas emissions, an independent study of the Chattanooga region suggested economic incentives would induce more households to recycle.
The Community Research Council, a local policy research group, conducted the survey as part of its State of Chattanooga Region Report. The group sent Mayor Ron Littlefield and the City Council a letter with its basic findings Thursday.
Richard Beeland, spokesman for Mr. Littlefield, said late Saturday he could not comment much until the Mayor can review the full report, but he said the Green Committee’s interim report also touches on economic incentives.
Mr. Beeland said the CRC report’s findings will be useful.
RECYCLING HABITS
Percentage of different demographic groups in Hamilton County who reported recycling regularly:
Responders who had a college education: 61%
Who had a high school degree or less: 41%
Who had a household income of $50,000 or more: 56%
Who had a household income below $50,000: 47%
Who were homeowners: 59%
Who were renters: 28%
“It will be another tool that we can use to come up with ways that we can reduce the carbon footprint, which is what we’re trying to do with the Green report,” he said.
The study found that 30 percent of nonregular recyclers said they would recycle more if they received a $50 annual property tax rebate and that 22 percent said they would recycle more if they received discounts at local stores. The report also found that 20 percent of nonregular recyclers reported they would recycle more under an increase in curbside recycling.
The study concluded that to increase recycling, the proposed increase in curbside recycling could help, but that the city should also consider alternatives like an economic stimulus or more information about the costs of waste disposal and the effect on the environment.
The CRC surveyed Chattanooga and county residents on their recycling habits, including both drop-off and curbside recycling. Countywide, the Community Research Council study said 52 percent of those surveyed reported recycling regularly.
“Recycling rates ranged from a high of 65 percent in the Signal Mountain and Lookout Mountain areas within the county and 57 percent in Hixson to lows of 43 pecent in East Chattanooga and 48 percent downtown,” the study said.
Curbside recycling is available only within Chattanooga city limits. The Green Committee’s interim report called for the city to, among other things, step up curbside recycling and to add more drop-off centers that can handle an expanded list of items.
Based on a survey of 1,000 random Hamilton County adult residents, the CRC reported that most Chattanoogans who regularly recycle rely on curbside recycling, but that “residents who had access to curbside recycling (city residents) were not significantly more likely to recycle than residents who did not have access to curbside recycling (county residents).”
