Vidéki háztartások a körforgásos gazdaság megvalósulásáért – A háztartási hulladékok kezelése és a környezettudatos vásárlási döntések vizsgálata Sopronban és környékén

The rapid increase in the amount of waste is the result of our consumption and production. From the perspective of sustainability, reducing waste, including household waste, has become a general task. Waste not only poses an environmental burden, but also causes economic losses. The efforts of recent years have urged a shift from a linear economy to a circular economy, the condition for which is the return of waste to the economic cycle. With the current study, we map the attitude of the population and look for motivational factors regarding whether they, as micro-level units of the economy, feel the pursuit of sustainable development as their own. One of the cornerstones of the effort is the promotion of a circular economy as environmentally conscious consumers or by applying selective waste collection, exploring the possibilities of recycling waste. In our study, we selected households in and around Sopron using a random sampling technique, where we examined the steps taken to reduce household waste. During the studies, we tried to highlight the differences in the attitudes of people living in villages, urban agglomerations and city centers towards selective waste collection. In the case of the respondents included in the research, we expect a high level of support and positive reception of environmentally conscious purchasing behavior and selective waste collection, regardless of the demographic variables examined. It can be highlighted from the results that people living in Sopron and its surroundings are mostly aware of selective waste collection (which is supported by the values obtained for willingness and knowledge about the disposal of selective waste). We found that commitment is independent of gender, but is influenced by the place of residence (city center, urban agglomeration, village) and age. Those who do not collect waste selectively cited the lack of space and the inadequate infrastructure experienced by the service provider as the main reasons. Selective waste collection and reduction of the amount of waste are essential for the practical implementation of the circular economy. Respondents achieve this by purchasing sensible and packaging-free, as well as quality, long-lasting and environmentally friendly products.