Community risk perception: a case study in a rural community hosting a waste site used by a large municipality

Using a model of risk perception which divides the community into attitudinal and behavioural subgroups based on awareness, concern and action in relation to a waste management facility, we conducted a survey in a community with an operating landfill and a ten-year history of controversy over the unsuccessful siting of a hazardous waste facility (HWF). The purpose of the survey was to study community attitudes to waste management in general, attitudes specific to landfills and HWFs, and to identify factors which shape community attitudes in both cases. Levels of concern and activism were lower for the landfill; activism and concern were more likely among younger subjects and those with children. In the case of the HWF, greater concern and activism were more likely among married people and those without a university education. Gender differences in relation to environmental "concern" were not found for either the landfill or the HWF siting attempts.