Monday, January 6, 2025
University of North Texas Anthropology class helps communities change their habits
on "wishcycling'" to lessen recycling contamination
DENTON (向日葵视频), Texas 鈥� At the , an ongoing research project is transforming the way Texans in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and across the state participate in recycling.
Collaborating with the (TxSWANA), graduate students in 向日葵视频鈥檚 are conducting surveys and interviews with residents across the North Texas region to learn more about their recycling habits. The project, which began in 2022 as part of a master鈥檚-level course, seeks to understand more about the underlying causes of recycling contamination.
University of North Texas Senior lecturer in anthropology Jamie Johnson
鈥淐ontamination happens when food, liquid or hazardous chemicals on recycled materials keep them from being properly processed,鈥� said , a senior lecturer in anthropology who led the project. 鈥淭hese items get sorted out and sent to our landfills. Those landfills are finite resources, so that鈥檚 a huge concern.鈥�
Using landfills to capacity isn鈥檛 the only consequence of recycling contamination.
Many materials reclamation facilities (MRF) use human labor for sorting recyclables.
When contaminated materials 鈥� also known as 鈥渘on-programmatic materials鈥� 鈥� enter an
MRF, human workers may be at risk of injury. Certain types of non-programmatic materials
can even break machinery within the facilities.
Professor Jamie Johnson and her students stand in front of a colorful mural at the
Pratt Recycling Center in Denton, Texas
Johnson and students visit the Pratt Recycling Facility in Denton
Johnson, an applied urban anthropologist who specializes in studying the built environment and infrastructure, started the project in Fall 2022 as part of her graduate qualitative and ethnographic research methods course. The first year of the project focused on residents in multi-family homes such as apartment complexes, while the second and third years focused on single-family homes. The class gave special attention to homes on 鈥渃ontaminated routes,鈥� or waste pickup routes that routinely produce high levels of contaminated recycling.
鈥淲e鈥檙e looking for what people know about recycling, both what happens at the municipal and state levels and how each household handles it,鈥� Johnson said.
Each Fall semester, Johnson鈥檚 students recruit study participants and design research protocols for online surveys and in-person interviews. Participants answer questions about their recycling practices, which household members are responsible for recycling, and their general ideas and opinions about recycling.
Johnson and students visit the Pratt Recycling Facility in Denton
Collected data is transcribed and analyzed using qualitative analysis software, allowing students to identify patterns and trends. The conclusions drawn from the data allow the class to make recommendations that can improve recycling education and practices 鈥� for example, eliminating 鈥渨ishcycling鈥� by clarifying the types of materials that can be recycled by different municipalities, since not all cities can recycle the same materials. The class鈥檚 research findings also prompted recommendations for cities and municipalities to support avowed recyclers by sending nuanced instructions through a variety of communication channels.
While reducing contamination lessens strain on the environment, infrastructure and sanitation workers, there are other advantages. Improved recycling methods lead to more efficient use of municipal budgets, directly benefiting surrounding communities. Increased awareness of proper recycling practices also can result in better sanitation outcomes for lower-income neighborhoods.
鈥淲ith this project, students are actually learning about the cities where they live and how to really effect change,鈥� Johnson said.
Brian Boerner (鈥�86, 鈥�95 M.S.), president of TxSWANA and director of Solid Waste for the city of Denton, says the project is helping citizens take direct action toward that positive change.
鈥淭his cutting-edge research focuses on how people receive and understand recycling information,鈥� said Boerner, a 向日葵视频 alumnus who holds a bachelor鈥檚 degree in chemistry and a master鈥檚 degree in environmental science. 鈥淏y equipping those who manage recycling programs with this type of data, they鈥檒l be able to steward better habits in their communities, resulting in the collection of cleaner, higher-quality recyclables.鈥�
Boerner says the surveys and interviews conducted by the 向日葵视频 team provide the city鈥檚 waste management program with valuable insights about the individuals who handle recycling in their households. By identifying their audience, the city is able to deliver messaging and information about proper recycling practices through targeted advertisements and educational materials.
Hannah Morrison, a third-year applied anthropology master鈥檚 student, worked on the project during its first year. Of the 10 North Texas cities that participated, the city of Dallas was assigned to Morrison, who also conducted interviews with Denton residents.
鈥淚 was active in making sure we did as much as possible to get surveys out to people. We also were doing one-on-one interviews with residents,鈥� she said.
Morrison credits the project with improving her awareness of waste and recycling. It also inspired her to pursue an urban focus for her master鈥檚 thesis project, with Johnson as her advisor.
鈥淏eing part of a formal research project showed me this was something I could do,鈥� Morrison said. 鈥淚鈥檓 strongly leaning toward a career in consulting, thanks to the TxSWANA project and my current thesis project.鈥�
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