The majority of the public think there should be restrictions put in place on how much people use their cars, according to a survey by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
The 2007 Survey of public attitudes and behaviours toward the environment found 54% disagreed or tended to disagree that ‘people should be allowed to use their cars as much as they like, even if it causes damage to the environment’.
Only 8% of respondents strongly agreed with this statement. Over half said they ‘would like to reduce their car use, but find that there are no practical alternatives’.
The survey also found the proportion of people recycling paper, glass and plastic had almost doubled since 2001. Around three-quarters of people said they now recycled these materials, mainly via doorstep collection, but one-quarter 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’.
Three-quarters of people believed that if most people in the UK recycled more, cut down car use or flew less, it would have a major or medium impact on the UK’s contribution to climate change.
While 60% believed many people were willing to recycle more, less than one-fifth thought a lot of people in the UK were willing to use a car less, or fly less. Just over half those questioned said they ‘would favour a system that rewarded them if they recycled everything they could, and penalised them if they didn’t’.
More than four out of five strongly agreed or tended to agree that ‘people have a duty to recycle’.
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