Fighting contamination: adding friction with shape-sorting bins
Singapore designer Tommy Cheong tackles recycling contamination by creating bins that activate your conscious “System 2”
Singapore designer Tommy Cheong tackles recycling contamination by creating bins that activate your conscious “System 2”
What unsustainable behavior needs to change:
One of the biggest problems in recycling is the contamination of recyclables. To encourage more recycling, a common solution is to increase the numberof recycling bins. Unfortunately, this inadvertently means that people would discard non-recyclables into these conveniently placed bins, resulting in the contamination of recyclables.
People often develop routines and habits when it comes to waste disposal, and these habits may not align with proper recycling practices. For example, if someone is accustomed to throwing all their waste into a single bin at home without considering recyclability, they may continue doing so even when recycling bins are available in another setting.
Breaking ingrained habits and establishing new ones that prioritise proper recycling behaviours can be a key factor in reducing contamination and promoting effective recycling practices.
The Green Nudge:
Tommy Cheong, a Singaporean industrial designer who graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS), came up with an idea to improve the design of recycling bins by “adding friction.”
His design has three key features that tap into the principles of behavioural science.
The result: The trial of this bin design at shopping malls yielded a remarkable outcome, with contamination rates for plastic bottles reducing from 79% to an impressive 29%.
As you can see, green nudges can sometimes make use of more ‘friction’, especially if we are trying to discourage incorrect behaviour. And when it comes to recycling, having fewer but cleaner recyclables may actually be better than having lots of contaminated items.
Are you aware of any other nudges that help to keep recycling streams clean? Feel free to get in touch: hello@green-nudges.com
From Yee Siang who is the Behavioural Insights Lead at Singapore’s Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment. His work focuses on using behavioural science to support the ministry’s mission in making Singapore a sustainable and habitable place to live. Also read his article on how to improve recycling using behavioural insights here.
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