Социально-экономические практики населения как ресурс ослабления мусорной проблемы в России

Социологические исследования. 2019. № 6. С. 50–63.

Shabanova M. A.

Drawing upon an All-Russia Representative Survey (2017, N = 2000), this paper is the first
to present the data on the actual and potential involvement of the population in separate collection of
household waste (currently a purely voluntary practice) as well as in various socio-economic practices
aiming to reduce (directly or indirectly) the generation of waste. These practices include a reduced use
of plastic bags; the purchase of goods in recyclable/dissolvable packaging, with minimum or without any
packaging at all; donating unnecessary items in good condition to others; buying exactly the amount of
food that is needed so as not to throw away the excess; avoiding excessive consumption or buying items
that are not really necessary; reducing energy and water consumption. Various practices are shown to
appeal differently to different groups of Russians. A binary logit regression model is applied to assess
the connection between involvement of individuals in various practices and their socio-demographic
characteristics, education, income, type of the population center, specific value orientations as well as
membership in associations, participation in NPOs and civic initiatives. The study uncovers positions
with regard to separate collection of household waste (a key practice to alleviate the waste issue) held
by participants (and nonparticipants) in other socio-economic practices. The identified fragmentary
nature of the present-day array of practices aiming to alleviate the waste issue in Russia as well as the
degree and conditions of their intersection with separate collection of household waste underscore
the importance of developing a more comprehensive policy in this sphere that would expand entry
channels and possibilities for various population groups.

Keywords: civil society, гражданское общество в России, проэкологическое поведение, waste issue, consumers’ environmental and social responsibility, separate collection of household waste, proenvironmental behavior, socio-economic practices, мусорная проблема, экологическая и социальная ответственность потребителей, раздельный сбор бытовых отходов, социально-экономические практики

Publication based on the results of: The Monitoring of the State of Civil Society (Wave 14) (2019)