A questionnaire survey was conducted to examine the community consciousness in relation to the waste reduction behavior of the residents in Takahashi City, Okayama, Japan. The community consciousness was evaluated on the basis of the responses to the questions regarding the following four factors: "solidarity," "attachment," "respect for privacy," and "dependency on others." The waste reduction behavior was evaluated on the basis of the responses to ten questions regarding the following three categories: "reduction and reuse behavior," "recycling behavior," and "behavior related to the rules of the community." The main results were as follows. The reduction and reuse behavior―which is considered to be the most important among the three categories for a fundamental solution to waste problems―was found to be practiced the least. On the other hand, the recycling behavior was practiced by the majority of the residents. An analysis of the relationship between the community consciousness and the waste reduction behavior revealed that "solidarity" positively correlated with the waste reduction behavior. Moreover, "dependency on others" negatively correlated with the waste reduction behavior. These results suggested that enhancing "solidarity" and decreasing "dependency on others" could promote the waste reduction behavior.
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