The Influence of Location and Moral Appeal Messages on Voluntary Participation in a Hotel's Recycling Program

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of moral appeal messages and location of recycling bins on voluntary participation in a tourist accommodations recycling program. The sample was actual visitor days at the hotel during the summer of 2001. Guests were randomly assigned to their hotel rooms and the treatment was designated by the date of their arrival. Assignment of guests to a specific room was by random chance. The hotel was the University Guest House. Salt Lake City. Utah. The results of this study revealed that the presence of a recycling bin within the room generated more recycling materials than when the bin was placed in a central location. Although more materials were generated when a moral appeals sign was present the results were not significantly different. Therefore, we conclude that the location of the recycling bin has the greatest influence on the amount of recycling materials generated