Recycling Promotion Strategies: Statistical and Fuzzy‐Set Comparisons

Abstract

This research evaluates 10 methods of promoting residential curbside recycling programs (RCRPs) using data from a survey of RCRPs in the United States. Statistical and fuzzy‐set methods are used to analyze the promotions as evaluated by recycling coordinators. The 10 promotions considered range from personal communication to radio advertisements. Mailed fliers, newspaper advertisements, school education, and hand‐delivered fliers were the most commonly used promotions. Statistical comparisons of recycling coordinator responses suggest that personal communication is evaluated, on average, higher than all other promotions. Mean evaluations for hand‐delivered and mailed fliers, and reminder signs are also high. School education, television advertisements, enclosures in city billings, and newspaper advertisements, though considered somewhat effective, are less effective than all promotions except exhibits at fairs and radio advertisements. Fuzzy‐set mathematics are used to assign linguistic variables to promotion‐evaluation possibility distributions. Linguistic variables retain more information than evaluation means. Whereas identical means can be produced by very different distributions, linguistic variables reflect evaluation‐possibility distribution dispersion as well as central tendency. Several possible areas of future study in this area are introduced.