Proper Use of an HHW Facility: Teaching and Maintaining New Behaviors

University Of Utah, Salt Lake City UT

Investigators

Abstract

Every year, Americans use more and more chemicals to maintain their homes and yards. Concern is increasing that pesticides and other toxic chemicals are harming living things -- ourselves, our families, our pets, and the natural world around us. The current research project poses the questions, "why do we use so many chemicals?" and "can we get people to reduce unnecessary use of toxic products?" We want to understand motivations for using toxic products. This project also helps County Health Departments educate citizens about the dangers of toxic products. It emphasizes reducing the danger in several ways: 1. teaching people about effective nontoxic alternatives they can use instead of harsh chemicals; 2. teaching proper storage for safety and to maintain the chemical's effectiveness (instead of letting chemicals become ineffective when they freeze or cook in the garage); 3. encouraging people to use up leftovers instead of disposing of them; 4. encouraging people to give away leftovers instead of disposing of them; and 5. for leftovers that cannot be used up or shared, teaching people about proper disposal, such as at county-maintained household hazardous waste facilities. The project uses informal group meetings as the setting for discussing these and other issues. During the 2.5 years we developed this educational approach, we noticed considerable variability in how audiences responded. A primary purpose of the current project is to see if we can identify what features of the audience, leader, or discussion seem to yield the most educated and satisfied participants.