Identifying the socio-demographic profile of household used cooking oil recyclers in 10 municipalities in Greece

Abstract Available studies have shown that the level of household participation in used cooking oil (UCO) recycling is notably limited, even in communities with well-established collection systems. The research area is characterised by very limited relevant literature, mostly in countries outside of Europe. The main aim of the present study is to collect information about the UCO ‘recycler’ at household level, in order to give a description of its characteristics. For the purpose of the current research, four online qualitative surveys conducted in ten municipalities in Greece were used, which obtained responses from 3,000 people. There was a significant disparity in the level of personal involvement in traditional recycling (79%), compared with UCO recycling (11.9%). Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to explore how specific demographic groups engage in both traditional and UCO recycling practices, and it was found that the profiles were nearly aligned, with sex being associated only with UCO recycling. Logistic regression indicated that municipality of residence, marital status, and sex are the strongest predictors of participation in UCO recycling, while monthly family income and number of children were the weakest. Females, older than 36 years, more educated, employed people with low incomes and children are more involved. These findings highlight the need to adopt targeted strategies to promote UCO recycling participation, and examine demographic factors in the design of relevant recycling programmes. This study contributes to the limited literature on UCO recycling and provides useful information to waste management policymakers and stakeholders.