Using multilevel models to evaluate the attitude of separate waste collection in young people

Separate waste collection represents one of the necessary conditions to guarantee an efficient protection of the environment. In particular, raising awareness of young people towards eco-sustainable behaviors, such as waste sorting and waste recycling, is an essential target that institutions should pursue in order to contribute to the reduction of the environmental impact of waste. Thus, an appropriate assessment of the determinants which influence environmentally responsible practices is of wide interest, not only for its implications in environmental science, but also in other scientific fields, such as Sociology, Chemistry and Engineering. This paper is focused on an innovative analysis based on the use of multilevel models suitable to evaluate the young people’s attitudes towards waste sorting in three different daily life contexts, i.e. school, family and spare time. A data set regarding a survey on a sample of students attending upper secondary schools, in the Province of Brindisi (Apulia Region), is used.