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Behavioral spillover between the use of reusable shopping bags and recycling at home: A field experiment

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This study examines positive behavioral spillover between waste-related behaviors that vary in complexity. Specifically, we test whether encouraging a relatively simple behavior-using reusable shopping bags-can lead to increased adoption of a more complex behavior, such as recycling. To investigate this, we conducted a longitudinal field experiment. Additionally, we explored the moderating roles of three individual-level constructs: Perceived Difficulty, Self-efficacy, and Perceived Consumer Effectiveness. Our findings show that positive spillover occurs for recycling at home, but not for recycling elsewhere. Moreover, Perceived Difficulty strengthens this effect, while Perceived Consumer Effectiveness diminishes it. We conclude by discussing how these insights can inform public and private interventions aimed at promoting recycling.

Source: PLoS ONE

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0328259

Authors: Claudia Arias, Carlos A. Trujillo

Institutions: Colegio de Estudios Superiores de Administración, Universidad de Los Andes

Language: English

Topic: Environmental Education and Sustainability

Subfield: Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Responsible consumption and production

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,382