Plastic pollution is one of our most urgent and far-reaching crises. It threatens natural systems, wildlife, and human health worldwide. Emerging insights from behavioral and social sciences suggest that traditional community-based efforts to reduce plastic pollution, such as sharing information about plastic harms or providing financial incentives for using sustainable alternatives, are insufficient to address a crisis of this magnitude.
Plastic pollution by the numbers
spent globally per year on plastic cleanup and mismanagement
tons of plastic waste are produced annually
tons of greenhouse gases are annually emitted by the plastic lifestyle
Across global communities, there is a tremendous opportunity to apply behavioral insights to address our plastic pollution crisis. Rare’s review of over 200 studies and articles reveals that by combining traditional levers like information, rules and regulations, and incentives with additional levers such as emotional appeals, social influences, and choice architecture, we can strengthen the impact and durability of community-based interventions.
Here are three behavior-based strategies to make community interventions more effective and lasting.
1. Change the way choices are presented wherever people encounter plastic
How our choices are presented to us (“choice architecture“) can significantly impact our decisions without us even realizing it. People do not wake up intending to pollute. However, waste becomes the easiest choice when plastic-heavy options are the default or most visible. Subtle shifts in how choices are presented can help people make better decisions without restricting freedom of choice. This includes what behavioral science calls a “nudge.”
Example: A study by Mundt et al. (2020) demonstrated this with plastic straws in Germany: a set of education centers changed the default from providing visitors cups of lemonade with a straw to not providing a straw (unless requested). By switching the default option, straw use dropped by an impressive 32%.
Behavioral insight: The structure and timing of our decision-making environment matters.
Key takeaway: Through thoughtful design, make sustainable choices the easiest ones: use clear labeling, simple instructions, intentionally-timed prompts, visual aids, and well-placed infrastructure.
2. Use emotional appeals and social influences to motivate sustainable behavior
People may know plastic pollution is a problem, but knowledge doesn’t always lead to action. Emotional appeals, such as pride, guilt, empathy, or hope, can help people connect their actions to outcomes and spark more consistent behavior change. For example, pride can encourage individuals who make a given choice to showcase their achievements or positive actions to others, and hope can inspire them to make a new choice when they believe their desired outcome is attainable.
Our decisions are also heavily influenced by the people around us. The actions, expectations, and beliefs of others play a huge role in shaping our own behaviors and beliefs. One powerful way social influences work is through social norms. Social norms are the unwritten rules that we learn from being part of a community, showing us which behaviors are considered acceptable or desirable. They help guide our decisions by giving us clues about what others expect and what might happen if we follow or ignore those expectations.
Example: In a high-rise office study, images of marine animals trapped in plastic placed above waste bins led to a 17% reduction in plastic waste (Luo et al., 2022). The visual triggered empathy and reminded people of the real-world impact of their choices.
Behavioral insight: Feelings and social pressure can drive decisions.
Key takeaway: Pair reminders, labels, or other nudges with emotional appeals and social norms to make plastic waste’s environmental impact tangible and motivating.
3. Infuse policies and incentives with behavioral insights
For many countries, changing plastic-related behaviors depends on enabling systems — the infrastructure, policies, and access that shape what people can realistically do. People can only recycle, reduce single-use plastics, or choose sustainable options if the systems to support these actions exist and are easy to use.
For instance, choice architecture strategies — like making recycling bins more visible and accessible — only work if bins and waste management infrastructure are in place. We see a similar pattern with reusable water bottles: Studies show that increasing the availability of water refill stations significantly reduces single-use plastic bottle waste.
Integrating behavioral nudges with financial or emotional incentives can also be highly effective. For example, when refusing plastic triggers a charitable donation, single-use bag consumption can drop by half, driven by feelings of reciprocity and social obligation.
Example: In areas where standard refill stations may be unsuitable due to water potability or negative perceptions of tap water, filtered water refill stations can be highly effective. In Saudi Arabia, a college used this approach (Saleem et al., 2019) to reduce plastic bottle waste by up to 90%, whereas students used to rely on bottled water for drinking before the intervention.
Behavioral insight: System design needs behavior at the core, and behavior is most effective when supportive systems exist.
Key takeaway: Systems matter, but they’re not enough. When we design infrastructure and incentives with real human behavior in mind, sustainable actions become easier and more likely to stick.