New research indicates a promising approach to increase recycling participation. It offers evidence that people are much more likely to recycle if they are offered a vision of what their old bottles, cans, and magazines could be turned into. “By bringing consumers’ attention to the transformation of recyclables into new products, the conversation shifts from ‘Where does this go?’ to ‘What can this make?'” writes a research team led by Karen Page Winterich of Pennsylvania State University. That mental image of a future product can apparently inspire people to change their behavior.
In the Journal of Marketing, the researchers describe six studies that support these findings. The first featured 111 Boston College undergraduates who “began the study session by taking one minute to do some doodling and drawing with paper and crayons,” ostensibly to “clear their minds before starting the survey.” They were then asked to evaluate an advertisement about recycling. One-third of them saw an ad that simply showed items being placed into recycling bins. Another third saw a version in which the old products went into a recycling bin, and “new products of the same type” emerged from the other side. The final third saw an image of old products being transformed through the recycling process into entirely different consumer goods.
After the participants indicated their views on the ad’s effectiveness, the lab assistant in charge thanked the participants and asked them, as they exited the room, to dispose of the paper they had been doodling on. Among those who’d seen the first ad, 50 percent did so using the recycling bin, while the other half simply threw the paper in a trash can. But among those who had seen images of the items getting transformed, 79 to 80 percent placed their paper in the recycling bin.
They were then asked to evaluate an advertisement about recycling. One-third of them saw an ad that simply showed items being placed into recycling bins. Another third saw a version in which the old products went into a recycling bin, and “new products of the same type” emerged from the other side. The final third saw an image of old products being transformed through the recycling process into entirely different consumer goods.
After the participants indicated their views on the ad’s effectiveness, the lab assistant in charge thanked the participants and asked them, as they exited the room, to dispose of the paper they had been doodling on. Among those who’d seen the first ad, 50 percent did so using the recycling bin, while the other half simply threw the paper in a trash can. But among those who had seen images of the items getting transformed, 79 to 80 percent placed their paper in the recycling bin.