Policy Analytics, Household Informedness and the Collection of Household Hazardous Waste

Abstract

Proper collection of Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) is an important action to support environmental sustainability. We investigate the role of household informedness, the degree to which households have the necessary information to make utility-maximizing decisions, as they relate to participation in HHW collection programs. We find two factors that influence household informedness: the provision of public education about HHW and environmental quality information. We conducted an empirical study on HHW collection in California to obtain statistical evidence on the effect of these factors on the amount of HHW collected. The findings of this policy analytics study improve our understanding of how household informedness influences household decision-making in participating in HHW collection programs. This study is useful in the guidance it offers to devise new information policies to maximize households' participation in HHW collection program.