Public attitudes and behaviours toward the environment

Headline results from the 2007 Survey of Public Attitudes and Behaviours toward the environment were released today. They give a representative picture of what people in England think, and how they behave, across a range of issues relevant to the environment, including transport and waste recycling.

Of the issues people think the Government should be dealing with, the environment was the fourth most commonly mentioned behind crime, health and education.

About a quarter of people agreed with statements such as “It takes too much effort to do things that are environmentally friendly”, and “I don’t believe my behaviour and everyday lifestyle contribute to climate change”. However, about half disagreed. Three quarters of people believe that if most people in the UK recycled more, cut down their car use or flew less, it would have a major or medium impact on the UK’s contribution to climate change. However, although 60 per cent believe quite a lot of people are willing to recycle more, less than one-fifth think a lot of people in the UK are willing to use a car less, or fly less.

Over a half of people report that they never leave the TV on standby overnight, their mobile phone chargers plugged in nor lights on in rooms when not in them. However, approximately one-fifth say they always leave the TV on standby overnight, and a similar proportion that they always leave the tap running when brushing their teeth.

The proportion of people recycling paper, glass and plastic has almost doubled since 2001. In 2007 approximately three quarters of people said they recycled these materials, mainly via regular doorstep collection.

The publication is a Defra National Statistics publication, which reports the headline results from the 2007 survey of public attitudes and behaviours toward the environment.

http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/latest/2007/environment-0814.htm