Understanding Change in Recycling and Littering Behavior Across a School Social Network

Understanding how communities change requires examining how individuals’ beliefs and behaviors are shaped by those around them. This paper investigates behavior change across a large social network following a recycling intervention in a New Zealand high school community. We used a mixed methods design, combining focus group data with social network analysis from two waves of a questionnaire that measured friendship networks; recycling and littering behaviors; perceived behavioral norms; and teacher, friend, and parent encouragement for these behaviors. Recycling behavior increased significantly over the course of our study. Supporting the importance of social networks in this context, both littering and recycling behavior showed clear social clustering. Further, the degree of change in an individuals’ littering and recycling behavior across time was predicted by friends’ prior behavior. Focus group data provided insight into students’ perceptions of social interactions and how these contributed to littering and recycling behavior.