NEW YORKERS CLEAN UP THEIR LITTER IN FAST-FOOD RESTAURANTS, ACCORDING TO HUNTER COLLEGE STUDY

97% of Those Observed Discarded Their Trash

Date: April 12, 2005
Contact: Meredith Halpern (meredith.halpern@hunter.cuny.edu)
Phone: (212) 772-4068

April 12, 2005 (New York, NY) -Contrary to the belief that New York City is full of litterbugs, nearly all fast-food patrons discard their trash. According to a study conducted by Hunter College students, almost 75 percent of the patrons in fast-food restaurants who were observed dispose of some or all of their litter themselves and an additional 22.7 percent have another group member dispose of some of all of their litter.

Another major finding in the study concerned the impact of a person's sex on busing behavior. Being a male or female in a mixed sex group has a major influence on busing behavior.   For example, in groups in which there was one male and one female, the male is far more likely to take away the female's litter than vice versa.

Other key findings in the study include:

• Teenagers are less likely to bus their trash than others in the study;
• Older people tend to stay longer in the restaurants than others;
• The social and economic characteristics of the neighborhood surrounding the restaurant do not seem to have a substantial effect on busing behavior.

The Hunter College students, all enrolled in an Introduction to Research Methods course, observed the busing behavior of over 1700 individuals in 29 different fast-food restaurants located throughout New York City.

The self-busing study was directed by Hunter Sociology Professor Peter Tuckel. Commenting on the findings that men were more likely than women to dispose of the other person's trash in mixed sex groups, Tuckel said, "This seems to be another example of the division of labor based on sex. Very often it is the man who takes out the trash at home and this is clearly representative of this behavior pattern."

"The findings in this study raise an important point," said Tuckel. "If patrons in fast-food restaurants clean up their litter, there's no reason why people in other locations, such as commuter trains, cannot be made more conscious of picking up their trash and disposing of it in bins."

About Hunter
With a highly diverse student population of more than 20,000, Hunter is the largest college in the City University of New York (CUNY) system and the first choice among all CUNY applicants. Founded in 1870, the College offers more than 170 undergraduate and graduate programs. Hunter is noted for its professional schools in education, health sciences, nursing and social work, as well as its excellence in the liberal arts. Heralded as the "Crown Jewel of CUNY" by The Princeton Review, Hunter College has a distinguished reputation for nurturing talented minority scientists and meeting the challenge of providing high-quality science education in the 21st century. The College also oversees the Hunter College Campus Schools serving gifted and talented students, preschool through grade 12. For more information about Hunter College, please visit our Web site at http://www.hunter.cuny.edu.

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