Mobile app-aided risks, attitudes, norms, abilities and self-regulation (RANAS) approach for recycling behavioral change in Singapore

Abstract

Given the need to conserve energy, natural resources and landfill space, the necessity to recycle has never been more pressing. However, efforts to improve recycling rates and to reduce contamination rates have seen limited success. This study proposes a new mobile app-aided RANAS approach for recycling behavioral change in Singapore with the goal to increase household recycling rates while reducing the proportion of contaminants in recyclables. The recycling program was developed according to the RANAS model which is a behavioral change model that connects behavioral factors with behavioral interventions through designing and evaluating behavioral change strategies that target and change the behavioral factors influencing a specific behavior in a specific population. The program, with the use of a mobile app platform, was based on tracking each user's recyclable contribution by issuing personal QR code stickers. Two experimental campaigns were launched to evaluate the effectiveness of the mobile app-aided RANAS approach for recycling behavioral change. Results show that the mobile app-aided RANAS approach to incorporate sense of ownership greatly encourages recycling rates to above 40% (vs. 20% for the current household recycling rate in Singapore) and significantly reduces contamination rates to below 2% (vs. 40% for the national average contamination rate). Incentives and rewards program can strongly influence mix of recyclables collected. Furthermore, the mobile app-aided RANAS approach is able to achieve intervention of recycling behavioral changes and has the potential to be used as an action-based training tool to educate individuals about the environmental impacts of recycling.