BEHAVIORS RELATED TO WATER POLLUTION AMONG TARGET AUDIENCES
Somewhat surprisingly, Rubbish Rebels are most likely to say that they have changed some of their polluting behaviors in the past five years. Two-thirds (67%) said they have made positive changes.
- Six-in-ten Neat Neighbors (60%) claim to have improved their habits related to the quality of runoff water.
- Only four-in-ten Fix It Foul-Ups (40%) make the same claim.
Most claimed behavior change centers around litter reduction. Half of Neat Neighbors (46%) and one-third of Fix It Foul-Ups (35%) claim to be littering less and/or picking up litter in their communities.
- More than six-in-ten (63%) Rubbish Rebels claim that they are dropping less litter and picking up litter they encounter in their environments.
- In addition to littering less, Rubbish Rebels are also recycling more.
- To a lesser extent, Neat Neighbors also claim to be handling automotive-related fluids (including wash water) better, conserving water, not letting water run into the street and recycling more than they did five years ago.
- Fix It Foul-Ups are reducing their use of pesticides and fertilizers and recycling more.
Objective measures of behavior among the target groups confirm that there have been some changes in residents’ behavior.
- On a monthly basis, fewer Neat Neighbors are dropping cigarette butts on the ground (more than 100,000 less each month) than they did in 1997.
- Unfortunately, however, slightly more of them are “passively littering” and throwing items directly in the storm drains.
- Fewer Fix It Foul-Ups are dropping litter on the ground or overwatering their lawns than in 1997.
- Rubbish Rebels have made dramatic improvements in terms of not throwing anything directly into storm drains, picking up after their dogs, not emptying car ashtrays into the street, not letting water run into the street and not washing off paint brushes under an outdoor faucet.
- Rubbish Rebels account for the biggest change in direct assaults on storm drains by eliminating nearly 100,000 occurrences each month.
- Although they claim to be littering less, there appears to be an increase (though not statistically significant) in the number of Rubbish Rebels littering in 2001. It may be that they are littering less often or that they are simply overstating intended behavior change.