Do you have "Recycling Bias?"

I heard an interesting story on NPR this past Friday morning about something they referred to as "recycling bias." Apparently, there was a study that indicated people are more likely to recycle entire sheets of paper than scrap paper bits. The scrap pieces generally wind up in the garbage can. And this isn't only true of paper; other objects, such as smashed soda cans (as opposed to in-tact cans) were also more likely to be thrown in the bin destined for the landfill, rather than in the one meant for recycling.

Marketing Professor Remi Truedel from Boston University conducted the research, and according to the NPR story noted:

"When a product is sufficiently distorted or changed in size or form, consumers perceive it as less useful, and when they perceive it as less useful, they're more likely to throw it in the garbage, as opposed to recycle it."

According to this same story, the EPA estimates that paper and paperboard made up 28% of the waste in 2011, while plastic and metal equaled another 22 %. Truedel asserts that we can change our habits by becoming more aware of our own biases, and by reconsidering what we think garbage is. It's an intriguing idea--if you are interested, you can check out the original story here.