MOTHERS are 20% more likely to recycle household waste than fathers, according to a recent study.
And residents in the Basque Country put aside the most space in their homes for separating rubbish for potential recycling, with the 35 to 54 age group being those most committed to doing so.
A report titled Recycling habits, commissioned from the Apolda Institute for the 'green' waste management firm Ecoembes shows that 34.4% of mothers in Spain regularly use paper, glass and plastic banks compared with 14.7% of fathers.
In 29.3% of cases, the decision to recycle frequently is made by the whole family, however.
Over three-quarters of Spanish residents between their mid to late 30s through to their mid-50s – just under 77% - set aside 'at least one space' in their homes for waste destined for recycling, closely followed by the over-55s at 72.5%.
Younger adults, aged between 16 and 34, are the least likely to be committed to recycling, although even then, two-thirds of them separate their rubbish for this purpose.
A typical Spanish household has three to four separate bins or other containers – bags or boxes – for separating rubbish into, although this varies according to family size.
Those in the Basque Country have an average of 3.7 different bins for splitting recyclable waste from ordinary refuse, followed by those in Navarra and Catalunya who have an average of 3.4 per home.
The overwhelmingly-cited reason for recycling was 'community spirit', seen in 95.9% of cases, whilst 'pride' featured in the decisions of 67.4% of people to recycle and 'general awareness' for 55.7%.
For those who do not recycle, the main hurdle – in 16.7% of cases – is 'lack of space'.
Plastic containers are the most likely item of household waste to be recycled, and 68.6% correctly identified their destination as 'the yellow bin', knowing this automatically because of using it so regularly.
Milk cartons are recycled in 60% of cases, drinks cans in 53% and jam jars in 47.3% of households, although aerosols and metal jar and bottle tops rarely end up in the recycling bank – in just 26.2% and 24.4% of cases – since householders are less likely to realise they can be reused as raw materials.
The report has not revealed differences in recycling habits between men and women as a whole, only those who are parents, so it is not clear whether childless women are as likely to recycle as mothers or whether dads do so more, or less, than those without kids.
No data are available for those living in towns with fewer recycling points, or at some distance from the nearest bins.
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