This study examines the theory that public attitudes toward the siting of waste disposal facilities are motivated only by a narrowly defined cost‐benefit analysis of siting outcomes, the so‐called not‐in‐my‐backyard (NIMBY) phenomenon. Drawing from the policy science literature, three general types of variables hypothesized to influence siting attitudes (context, process, and outcome) are identified, described, and measured. These variables are then correlated with siting attitudes. The data collection method is a mail survey of 400 residents selected randomly from the population of the state of Connecticut. The results indicate that context‐, process‐, and outcome‐related variables are all significant components of attitudes toward siting of waste facilities. These attitudinal findings suggest that the NIMBY conception is not adequate as an explanation of public attitudes. Therefore policy tools and approaches based on this characterization are unlikely to be effective.