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Observational Study
. 2016 Jan 5;11(1):e0145737.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0145737. eCollection 2016.

Being in a "Green" Building Elicits "Greener" Recycling, but Not Necessarily "Better" Recycling

David W-L Wu  1 , Alessandra DiGiacomo  1 , Peter J Lenkic  1 , Vanessa K Wong  1 , Alan Kingstone  1
Affiliations
Observational Study

Being in a "Green" Building Elicits "Greener" Recycling, but Not Necessarily "Better" Recycling

David W-L Wu et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Previous observational work revealed that transient populations in a sustainable building disposed of waste more accurately when compared to patrons in a non-sustainable building. The current study uses an experimental design to replicate this observed effect and to investigate whether or not the built environment influences motivational factors to impact behavior. We find support that a building designed and built to communicate an atmosphere of sustainability can influence waste disposal behavior. Participants in the sustainable building used the garbage receptacle significantly less and compensated by tending to select the containers and organics receptacle more, which actually resulted in more errors overall. Our findings suggest that building atmospherics can motivate people to recycle more. However, atmospherics alone do not appear to be sufficient to elicit the desired performance outcome.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. The room that participants were instructed to tidy up.
Fig 2
Fig 2. The three categories of receptacles made available to the participants.
From left to right: containers, organics, and garbage.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Examples of how the CIRS building conveys an atmosphere of sustainability to users.
From top left to bottom right: water collection and purification system, signage in washroom about the water collection and purification system, 3D signage at waste receptacles in the café, extensive use of wood in the building’s construction, messaging on paper napkin holders in the café, LEED platinum certification display in the lobby, signage by the elevators to increase the use of stairs.
Fig 4
Fig 4. The number of times containers, organics, and garbage receptacles were selected in a sustainable building versus a non-sustainable building.
Participants in the sustainable building condition used the garbage receptacle less than those in the non-sustainable building. As noted by the asterisk this difference was significant between the buildings.
Fig 5
Fig 5. Average percentage of correct uses of waste receptacles across receptacle type and building type.
A greater percentage of items were accurately placed in the garbage receptacle in the non-sustainable building.
Fig 6
Fig 6. The duration of time spent at the receptacles in the current experimental study and in our observational study [26].
Participants spent significantly more time at receptacles in the current study compared to patrons in Wu et al. [28].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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