Using nudges to reduce waste? The case of Toronto's plastic bag levy

Rivers, Nicholas; Shenstone-Harris, Sarah; Young, Nathan

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.12.009

Cited by 120 publications

(93 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…The consistently positive relationship of higher household income and nudge approval in the United Kingdom and Italy aligns with earlier findings in the nudges literature (Diepeveen et al ). It also parallels marketing research showing that households of higher socioeconomic status are more likely to adopt nudges and are in general more adoptive of innovations (Laukkanen ; Rivers, Shenstone‐Harris, and Young ; Woersdorfer and Kaus ). To explore why the role of income is different in the Danish sample, correlation analysis showed that the lowest Danish income group is particularly strongly and significantly correlated with the youngest age group (below 30 years of age), smaller household sizes, and lower educational attainment, compared to the British and Italian samples.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Which Europeans Like Nudges? Approval and Controversy in Four European Countries

Loibl

Sunstein²,

Rauber

et al. 2018

Journal of Consumer Affairs

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Policy makers show an increasing interest in “nudges”—behaviorally motivated interventions that steer people in certain directions but maintain freedom of consumer choice. Despite this interest, little evidence has surfaced about which population groups support nudges and nudging. We report the results of nationally representative surveys in Denmark, Hungary, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Individual, household, and geographic characteristics served as predictors of nudge approval, and the count of significant predictors as measures of controversy. Less high approval rates of nudges in Denmark and Hungary were reflected in higher controversy about “System 1” nudges, whereas the United Kingdom and Italy were marked by higher controversy about “System 2” nudges, despite high approval rates. High‐controversy nudges tended to be associated with current public policy concerns, for example, meat consumption. The results point to means for effective targeting and increase knowledge about the types of nudges likely to obtain public support.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Which Europeans Like Nudges? Approval and Controversy in Four European Countries

Loibl

Sunstein²,

Rauber

et al. 2018

Journal of Consumer Affairs

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“…When a consumer is presented with an additional cost to participate in an avoidable action, consumption tends to decrease. Even a low fee (e.g., $0.05) acts as a visible economic nudge, which is not meant to substantially increase the cost of an item, but to signify to the consumer that they face an economic choice (Rivers, Shenstone-Harris, and Young, 2017). Fees for single-use plastic and paper bags are popular in the US and other countries (Wagner, 2017).…”

Section: Tax/feementioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Use of Default Choice Modification to Reduce Consumption of Plastic Straws

Wagner

Toews²

2018

Detritus

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There is widespread global interest in eliminating and/or reducing the use of single-use plastics. An increasingly popular target is single-use, plastic drinking straws. Although plastic straws are not a significant component of the wastestream by weight or volume, they are one of the most commonly found items in coastal litter cleanups around the world. In addition, plastic straws are an avoidable product as their use is not essential. This paper examined the impact of an ordinance based on modifying the default choice of straws, which prohibited their distribution unless a customer requested one. Based on a survey of 133 affected businesses, the reported average decrease in straw consumption was 32% (SD=27.5%). For restaurants not using a self-service straw dispenser, the average decrease was 41% (SD=25.2%) The majority of businesses reported no impact to their business, some indicated a small decrease in costs, and others reported some negative feedback from customers. Based on the study's results, the straw-upon-request-only ordinance has been successful in reducing the consumption of plastic straws while minimizing impacts to businesses.

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“…Awareness campaigns in conjunction with infrastructure have been shown to reduce local litter [54]. In addition to awareness campaigns, the use of nudges and education can be adopted to extend the impact water refill stations, which can shift the consumer social norm toward pro-environment alternatives [41,83,84].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Success of Water Refill Stations Reducing Single-Use Plastic Bottle Litter

et al. 2019

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Bottled water is one sector of the beverage industry that has recently experienced substantial growth. The littering of plastic water bottles and the carbon emissions produced from bottled water production results in harmful effects on the environment. To reduce the harm of bottled water production and litter, government and non-government organisations have implemented litter abatement and behavioural change strategies targeting bottled water consumption and subsequent loss of bottles to the environment. Our study evaluated the success of one of these strategies, which is a filtered water refill station, implemented along the Brisbane River in Queensland, Australia. We found plastic bottle litter decreased after a water refill station was put into operation. However, given the location of the refill station, we suggest the behavioural change strategy employed did not reach its full potential. We highlight factors that could be employed to achieve maximum benefits when implementing similar behavioural change strategies.

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Using nudges to reduce waste? The case of Toronto's plastic bag levy

Cited by 120 publications

References 20 publications

Which Europeans Like Nudges? Approval and Controversy in Four European Countries

Which Europeans Like Nudges? Approval and Controversy in Four European Countries

Assessing the Use of Default Choice Modification to Reduce Consumption of Plastic Straws

The Success of Water Refill Stations Reducing Single-Use Plastic Bottle Litter

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