Building Student Sustainability Competencies through a Trash-Practice Nudge Project: Service Learning Case Study in Kuwait

Abstract

This discussion describes an experimental behavioral economics class implemented in a service learning format. Students implemented two nudge interventions to influence public trash behavior, which is an issue throughout the Middle East/North Africa (MENA). The aim in one project was to encourage more use of trash bins in a multi-screen theater and in the other to sort plastic, glass, and paper when throwing trash in the public bins at a university. These two organizations paid the implementation costs, which were quite low, as common for most nudges. The class was co-taught by two university faculty and several personnel from governmental and UN offices responsible for building nudge capabilities in Kuwait. In each case, results in the student projects demonstrated that nudging resulted in a substantial improvement. Students gained strong competencies in applying sustainability principles to a specific problem and in carrying out a real-world project. They learned the importance of collaborating with stakeholders and got to see that their work was actually used in policy formation by the Kuwait government and the UNDP’s Kuwait office.