Will they recycle? Design and implementation of eco-feedback technology to promote on-the-go recycling in a university environment

•A low-energy, low-cost interactive recycle bin was designed with eco-feedback.•The bin was tested in experiments with various timeframes and social environments.•Mixed methods, both quantitative and qualitative were used to evaluate the use of the bin.•Recycling activity was significantly increased in different social environments.•This type of eco-feedback technology could be an important tool to promote recycling outside the home.

Recycling rates have plateaued and recycling in public spaces has been targeted as a component that can help increase overall recycling rates. Eco-feedback technology and environmental psychology were combined to study recycling in a semi-public space in multiple social environments. A low-cost, low-energy electronic recycling bin design (WeRecycle bin) uses human-computer interaction and social principles to provide behavior-changing eco-feedback. Using mixed-methods research, we tested the WeRecycle bin in three different experiments by varying social settings and time of exposure, documenting impacts for public recycling. Results show that simple low-energy, low-cost eco-feedback technology resulted in statistically significant increases in recycling activity and can be an important tool in the promotion of recycling activity outside the home.