The Economic Contribution of Recycling in Kahramanmaras

Abstract

Recycling is the process of collecting and processing materials that would otherwise be thrown away as trash and turning them into new products. The use of recycled paper in paper manufacturing is known to reduce air pollution by 74-94%, water pollution by 35%, and water use by 45%. Objectives of this study was to determine the consumer's point of view on recycling and pollution in Kahramanmaraş city center, increasing the awareness of consumers about recycling and determine the factors that are effective in informing consumers about the recycling. For this purpose, a face to face survey in 2017 was conducted with 268 people in the city center of Kahramanmaraş. Descriptive statistics and Chi-Square test were applied to analyze the data obtained from the survey results. According to results, 76% of consumers do not know the real definition of garbage, 81% of consumer do not know the definition of household waste, 70% of consumers have information on recycling, 26% of consumers separate garbage as recyclable and not recyclable, %78 of consumers know products that can be recycled, %23 of consumers looks for the symbol of recycling when buying a product and %78 of consumers are willing to buy recycled products. Moreover, according to results, the most important environmental pollution in Kahramanmaraş region is air pollution (%36), noise pollution (%31), soil pollution (%22) and water pollution (%11). According to the results of the analysis, the level of knowledge and awareness about the importance of recycling are increasing as the level of household income and education increases. Some of the recommendations from study are; adding more recycling bins in public spaces, explaining the benefits of recycling to consumers, share details about the recycling supply chain, educate the community by adding more informative banners or panels in public space, creating activities and organizing public platforms and events in schools to target the younger citizens.