Making people think about the products made from recyclables (e.g., what recyclables are transformed into) inspires them, increasing recycling rates.

1. From:
Recycling rates have stagnated.
Focusing on product transformation from recycling
can increase recycling rates.
Winterich, Nenkov, and Gonzales (2019)

2. From:From:
 Recycling: Process of collecting and processing
materials that would otherwise be thrown away and
turning them into new products (EPA 2017)
Product Transformation
Winterich, Nenkov, and Gonzales (2019)

3. From:From:
 Inspiration: The experience of gaining
awareness of greater possibilities and
becoming motivated to act in order to make
these possibilities a reality (Böttger et al 2017)
 Consumers are inspired by the transformation of
recyclables into new products, and this inspiration
motivates them to recycle.
Product Transformation  Inspiration
Winterich, Nenkov, and Gonzales (2019)

4. From:From:
Students doodled on
a piece of paper
before seeing one of
three messages:
Paper Disposal in a Lab Study
Winterich, Nenkov, and Gonzales (2019)
52%
82% 77%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Control Low Transformation High Transformation
% Recycling Scratch Paper
* *

5. From:From:
Disposal Field Study (Tailgating)
Winterich, Nenkov, and Gonzales (2019)
 Student volunteers shared one of two messages before a football game
 After the game, tailgates’ recycling and landfill waste was weighed
24% Recycling rate vs. 53% Recycling rate

6. From:From:
Disposal Field Study (Residence Hall)
Winterich, Nenkov, and Gonzales (2019)
 Posters placed above standard recycling
stations on two residence hall floors
 Waste audit – compared % of landfill
waste that could have been recycled
62.9%
51.5%
40%
60%
80%
Control Transformation
% of Recyclable
Landfill Waste
*
Note: Lower values indicate more recycling

7. From:From:
Takeaways
Winterich, Nenkov, and Gonzales (2019)
 Emphasizing the transformation of material into new products
can inspire consumers to recycle
 Simple implementation
 Only 15% of surveyed sustainability managers currently use
transformation messages!
 Products made from recycled material can emphasize
transformation to encourage growth of the circular economy