Recycling plays a vital role in conservation of natural resources and a sustainable future. Several studies across countries revealed that many people found recycling inconvenient, messy and thought that it requires time as well as effort (Vining & Ebreo, 1992). Examination of determinants of recycling behavior is a growing area of research in the field of environmental psychology and education.   The theory of planned behavior (TPB; Ajzen, 1991) is one of the theories, which offers a framework for identifying determinants of recycling behavior (Bagozzi, & Dabholkar, 1994; Boldero, 1995; Cheung, Chan & Wong, 1999).  TPB proposes that there are three conceptually independent predictors of behavioral intention; attitude toward behavior, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control (Ajzen, 1991).  Ajzen stated that a person’s intention to do a particular behavior is a fundamental factor in the TPB. Age, gender, education, family size and income, found to have roles to play in the prediction of recycling behavior.  Compared to other demographics, the relationship between gender and recycling behavior, for example, has produced mixed results. While some studies revealed non-significant relationship between gender and recycling behavior (Hopper & Nielsen, 1991; Oskamp, Harrington, Edwards, Sherwood, Okuda, & Swanson, 1991), others indicated that there is a significant association between them (e.g. Goldenhar & Connell, 1993; Meneses & Palacio, 2005).

Given the significance of recycling process for a sustainable future, this study attempted to explain determinants of recycling behaviors utilizing Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior. More specifically, this study sought to examine the following question: “How assessable conditions to recycle and gender shape recycling behavior?”

Study context

This study is comprised of analyzing two determinants that shape individuals’ recycling behavior: Assessable conditions to recycle and gender.  Evaluations have been made through Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and university students are preferred as the sample.  The most attractive feature of the university students subjected to this study is that, almost half of them were living in the campus, with access to recycling facilities, and the rest was living in a part of the city where the municipality implements a recycling project.  However, assessable recycling facilities are different in the two areas: Recycling in the campus has been attained by means of a project and several problems related to implementation caused a very low recycling rate in the campus (not more than 2-3%) (www.gerikazanim.metu.edu.tr).  In the city, however, the municipality has its own recycling system.  There have been awareness campaigns and the municipality has been implementing several instructions to motivate citizens to recycle (www.cankaya.bel.tr). Thus, under the above outlined circumstances and in the light of the related literature we decided to find out if assessable conditions in the living area (campus and city) and gender cause differences in the university students’ recycling behavior.  We believe in that, the results of such a research for Turkey and for the similar countries, where recycling has not become a widespread behavior yet, are promising to make a judgment related to developing people’s recycling behavior. 

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