Gamification or How to Make a “Green” Behavior Become a Habit

One of the main challenges faced by tourist destinations is waste management. A poor waste collection and management policy is an additional factor affecting the tourist destination's sustainability within this general problem. These situations are trying to be solved with incentives derived from gamification tools that motivate people to recycle. This study, within the scope of a European project called UrbanWaste, found significant results that suggested that this tool can promote recycling behavior, but what happens when customers come back home? Gamification even makes a habit take root in the people who use it by activating external motivators. This recycling habit emanates from an altruistic feeling and aims to leave a better world for future generations (intrinsic motivation). However, they also recommend the app to show a benevolent image by making the behavior visible (internalized extrinsic motivation) and improving destination branding.

Ascertaining the Inconsistency of AEC Students’ Perceptions and Behaviors Regarding Sustainability by Mixed Methods

University students in architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) are the main force and future leaders of the construction industry, and their values shape the model and direction of the industry’s future development. The construction industry is the largest contributor of waste and greenhouse gas emissions. However, there is an inconsistency between AEC university students’ perceptions and behaviors regarding sustainability, which has received little attention. This study attempts to shed light on the root causes of the inconsistency from the psychological perspective, incorporating construal level (CL) theory and psychological distance (PD) theory into situational settings of the experiment. We recruited 556 AEC students from 20 different universities to participate in data collection. Research findings revealed that PD has a significant influence on AEC students’ recycling behavior with variance in the effect of different dimensions, even though CL has no significant impact. Furthermore, findings show that spatial distance poses the greatest impact on AEC student recycling behavior, followed by information distance, temporal distance, experience distance, hypothetical distance, and social distance. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by introducing CL and PD into sustainability perception and behavior research in construction and has practical implications for universities with sustainability curricula in AEC.

Will Low-Carbon Purchasing Behavior Make Residents’ Behaviors Greener? Research Based on Spillover Effects

Low-carbon purchasing behavior is the core part of low-carbon consumption behavior. Its impact on low-carbon use behavior, recycling behavior, and garbage sorting behavior needs to be further clarified. Based on self-perception theory and cognitive dissonance theory, this paper constructs a theoretical model of the spillover effect of low-carbon purchasing behavior on low-carbon use behavior, recycling behavior and garbage sorting behavior through self-efficacy and environmental self-identity. This paper uses the Bootstrap method to analyze 494 valid questionnaires empirically. The results show that: low-carbon purchasing behavior has a significantly positive effect on low-carbon use behavior, recycling behavior, and garbage sorting behavior. Self-efficacy and environmental self-identity play partially parallel mediating roles in the spillover effect. The mediating effect of environmental self-efficacy is stronger than environmental self-identity between low-carbon purchasing behavior and low-carbon use behavior. The mediating effect of self-efficacy is weaker than environmental self-identity between low-carbon purchasing behavior and recycling behavior or garbage sorting behavior. The spillover effects are different in demographic variables. The spillover effect of men is more substantial than women. The spillover effect of residents in 18–44 years old is more significant than residents in other age groups. The spillover effect of married residents is the largest. Residents with a bachelor’s degree have the most significant spillover effects on recycling behavior and garbage sorting behavior than residents with other educational levels. Professional and technical personnel have the most considerable spillover effect than other occupation types. The spillover effect is the largest when the family have three members. The spillover effect of residents with a monthly household income of 6,000–8,000 yuan is the largest between low-carbon purchasing behavior and low-carbon use behavior.

Determinants of recycling behavior in higher education institution

Purpose This study aims to investigate the impact of theory of planned behavior (namely, attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control) on recycling intention, as well as the relationship between recycling intention and behavior in one of the top five universities in Malaysia. In addition, the mediation effect of recycling intention on the relationships is investigated. Design/methodology/approach A total of 180 responses were collected using online survey that distributed via Google Form. SmartPLS was used for data analysis via outer and inner model assessment. The assessments include construct reliability, validity and hypotheses testing. Findings The findings indicated that attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control have a positive and significant relationship with students’ recycling intention. Besides, students’ recycling intention is positively related to actual recycling behavior. Additionally, this study also discovered that recycling intention mediates the relationship between attitude and recycling behavior, between subjective norm and recycling behavior, as well as between perceived behavioral control and recycling behavior. Practical implications The result of the study may serve as a guide for universities or higher education institutions to design effective recycling campaigns to promote the campus sustainability. Originality/value Universities are in a crucial position to make a huge impact when they recycle. In Malaysia, there is still a lack of high concern of universities toward green and sustainability concept. This paper fulfils the gap to study how recycling behavior can be enabled.

Enhancement of Polyethylene Terephthalate Bottles Recycling in Mauritius Through the Creation of a Mobile Application

One million plastic bottles is currently consumed every minute in the world. This consumption trend is expected to further increase thereby worsening the problem of plastic pollution across the globe. Mauritius is also not left unaffected by plastic pollution and an increase in consumption of plastic bottles. Although plastic recycling is encouraged on the island, low recycling rate has been recorded (40%). In this context, this research attempts to enhance the solid waste management methods of Mauritius, more specifically in terms of PET beverage bottles, by creating a persuasive technological tool that promotes recycling behavior among the citizens of Mauritius. The persuasive technological tool developed is a mobile application which allows its users to locate their nearest recycling bins while also providing them with facts about the effects and significance of plastic pollution and recycling respectively. The tool also included a survey page for gathering data on demographic, the recycling attitude/ behavior of the users prior to and after the introduction of the tool and on the functionalities of the tool itself. The results showed that the tool helped 80% of the users in initiating their recycling activities while the rest reported that the tool helped them increase those activities.

The power of nudging: how adaptations in reverse logistics systems can improve end-consumer recycling behavior

PurposeResearch shows a recycling behavior gap where end consumers are positive towards recycling but do not act in accordance with their intentions. Such a gap creates challenges for reverse logistics systems. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how adaptations in reverse logistics systems towards end consumers-turned-suppliers can improve recycling behavior.Design/methodology/approachA framework with three propositions is developed and evaluated empirically using a two-group dependent post-test quasi-experimental design. The empirical setting is recycling of household waste. Three interventions are evaluated as: (1) the social norms nudge, (2) the distance nudge and (3) the availability nudge.FindingsThe results show that nudging improved recycling action behavior for the experimental group. Control group behavior remained constant.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper suggests that the end-consumer’s role as suppliers needs to be included more actively into reverse logistics systems for products to enter the preferred loops of recycling in the circular economy.Originality/valueA new field of climate psychology is used to explain challenges in reverse logistics systems and nudging is demonstrated as a tool with which to deal with them. The study also shows how quasi-experiments can be applied in logistics research.