Resources, Conservation and Recycling 47 (2006) 133–159 Justifications and self-organization as determinants of recycling behavior: The case of used batteries Ralf Hansmann a,∗ , Petra Bernasconi a , Timo Smieszek a , Peter Loukopoulos a,b , Roland W. Scholz a a Chair of Environmental Sciences: Natural and Social Science Interface, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich (ETH Z¨ urich), Universit¨ atsstrasse 22, ETH Zentrum CHN J76.3, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland b Department of Psychology, G¨ oteborg University, Box 500, SE-405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden Received 17 May 2005; accepted 25 October 2005 Available online 15 December 2005 Abstract Much previous research on recycling behavior has drawn heavily on models of personal and per- ceived social norms, as well as of personal attitudes, to explain recycling behavior. Although such models have received empirical support, the issue concerning discrepancies between norms, personal attitudes and an individual’s behavior is yet to be resolved. Using battery recycling in Switzerland as a case in point, the present questionnaire-based research examines via regression analyses the relationship between self-reported recycling behavior and socio-demographic variables, attitudes towards ecologically positive waste disposal, trust in waste disposal authorities, specific knowledge concerning recycling, justifications for not participating in the recycling scheme, self-organization of recycling behavior, and level of battery consumption. It was found that recycling knowledge, self-organization of recycling, and disagreement with justifications for non-recycling were posi- tively related to recycling behavior, while attitudes towards ecological waste disposal and trust in waste disposal authorities were not directly related to respondents’ self-reported battery recycling behavior. On the basis of these results, with reference to Sykes and Matza’s Neutralization the- ory [Sykes GM, Matza D. Techniques of neutralization: a theory of delinquency. Am Sociol Rev 1957:22(6):664–70] a contextualized model of recycling behavior is proposed. This model is able to account for inconsistencies between personal attitudes and perceived social norms, and has prac- ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +41 44 632 6316; fax: +41 44 632 1029. E-mail address: hansmann@env.ethz.ch (R. Hansmann). 0921-3449/$ – see front matter © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2005.10.006