Feedback to Minimize Household Waste a Field Experiment in The Netherlands

Abstract

Households can reduce environmental problems by minimizing their waste. Studies suggest that feedback may promote waste minimization. We propose that the effectiveness of feedback depends on the standard to which the feedback is compared. We tested the effect of feedback on waste minimization compared to a personal goal (goal comparison feedback), the behaviour of others (social comparison feedback), or one’s past behaviour (historical comparison feedback). Furthermore, the underlying process explaining the effect of feedback on behaviour is yet unclear. We tested the influence of feedback on environmental self-identity, self-efficacy, and descriptive social norms to minimize waste. We conducted a field study in the Netherlands. Households received feedback during six months on the number of residual waste bags they produce. The results show that all intervention groups reduced their number of waste bags including the control group that only received information on how to reduce waste. Yet, a comparison neighbourhood did not reduce their actual waste during the same time period. We did not find clear differences between the different feedback comparison standards. Furthermore, the feedback did not influence any of the process variables. We found that environmental self-identity was most consistently related to self-reported waste behaviours.