Chris Bendz - Final Oral Defense, MSPH Tech Report - 5/12/06

This exploratory analysis examined the performance of North Carolina county programs that collect and manage two types of special wastes: discarded household appliances (also called “white goods”) and scrap tires. Two performance measurements for these programs, pounds collected per county resident and program cost per ton, vary significantly across the state. Linear regression was used to analyze relationships between these measurements and several factors, including endogenous program characteristics collected through phone surveys and exogenous county factors obtained from census sources. More densely populated counties reported collecting lower quantities of white goods but greater quantities of scrap tires per-capita, and counties with larger populations reported higher scrap tire costs per ton. Counties that presented recycling information at community meetings collected lower quantities of white goods per-capita. White goods costs per ton were lower among counties that did not outsource operation of remote collection sites, but higher among counties that extracted refrigerant gases. Scrap tire costs per ton were lower among counties that educated tire retailers and presented at community meetings, but higher among counties that used pamphlets, brochures, radio and television advertisements, and speeches by local officials to educate citizens and businesses about special waste disposal. No factors displayed the same relationship with the same measurement for both types of waste, which suggests significant determinants of program performance depend on specific characteristics of the special waste.

Committee Members:
Advisor: Dr. Pete Andrews
Readers: Dr. David Moreau
Michael Symons

For further information please contact Rebecca Riggsbee Lloyd by email at Rebecca_Lloyd@unc.edu