Research Design Connections: Recycling, Implications

Recycling stations are designed into many spaces, both public and private.  Van Doorn and Kurz have identified interesting repercussions of recycling; designers who are aware of their findings may devise ways to counter the effects noted.  Van Doorn and Kurz found that “when presented with [recycling] options people may come to psychologically frame their waste creation as a contribution to the collective good that makes them feel good about themselves. . . . making people aware of initiatives designed to limit the environmental damage of their consumption can go beyond hampering attempts to reduce waste . . . or increasing the quantity of recyclable products consumed. . . . communicating such initiatives can actually cause people to be more likely to unnecessarily discard products, or to choose a single use product over a re-useable one. . . . respondents are well aware that acting in a less-wasteful way is the more responsible thing to do, but that these perceptions become (erroneously) disrupted when the recycling option offered is advertised as leading to the creation of societally beneficial new products.”

Jenny van Doorn and Kim Kurz.  2021.  “The Warm Glow of Recycling Can Make Us More Wasteful.”  Journal of Environmental Psychology, vol. 77, 101672, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2021.101672

Sally Augustin, PhD, is the editor of Research Design Connections (www.researchdesignconnections.com).  Research Design Connections reports on research conducted by social and physical scientists that designers can apply in practice.  Insights derived from recent studies are integrated with classic, still relevant findings in concise, powerful articles.  Topics covered range from the cognitive, emotional, and physiological implications of sensory and other physical experiences to the alignment of culture, personality, and design, among others.   Information, in everyday language, is shared in a monthly subscription newsletter, an archive of thousands of published articles, and a free daily blog.   Readers learn about the latest research findings immediately, before they’re available elsewhere. Sally, who is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, is also the author of Place Advantage:  Applied Psychology for Interior Architecture (Wiley, 2009) and, with Cindy Coleman, The Designer’s Guide to Doing Research:  Applying Knowledge to Inform Design (Wiley, 2012).  She is a principal at Design With Science (www.designwithscience.com) and can be reached at sallyaugustin@designwithscience.com.