The amount of landfill waste produced on university campuses is a significant problem that can be reduced by composting restroom hand paper towels discarded as trash. Recycling research suggests that environmental manipulation strategies may increase composting behavior. We used a multiple baseline across settings experimental design, in which treatment phases are sequentially applied across three restroom baselines to identify treatment effects. When the waste bins were far from the compost bins (increased response effort), a statistically significant composting proportion of more than 90% occurred, averaging 36% above baseline levels. An average daily landfill diversion of over 100 paper towels can have a sizable reduction of landfill waste across approximately 200 restrooms on a mid-sized university campus. Response effort offers an easy-to-use intervention when barriers and benefits of the pro-environmental behavior are low. Additional research is needed to determine if response effort will address other non-sustainable behaviors and maintain the behavior.
Al MamunA.MaY.Nurul Hassan RezaM.AhmadJ.Wan Mohd Hirwani WanH.LiliZ. (2024). Predicting attitude and intention to reduce food waste using the environmental values-beliefs-norms model and the theory of planned behavior. Food Quality and Preference, 120, 105247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2024.105247
3.
AtkinsonR.SimondsK.Parry-CruwysD.WilsonJ.MacDonaldJ. (2023). An evaluation of environmental arrangement on recycling and contamination rate on a college campus. Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice, 23(1), 24–35. https://doi.org/10.1037/bar0000250
4.
AustinJ.HatfieldD. B.GrindleA. C.BaileyJ. S. (1993). Increasing recycling in office environments: The effects of specific, informative cues. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 26(2), 247–253. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.1993.26-247
5.
BestE.ParnellP.CouturierJ.BarbutF.Le BozecA.ArnoldoL.MadiaA.BrusaferroS.WilcoxM. H. (2018). Environmental contamination by bacteria in hospital washrooms according to hand-drying method: A multi-centre study. The Journal of Hospital Infection, 100(4), 469–475. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2018.07.002
6.
BordenD. S.CohnS. I.GooderhamC. (2018). Transitioning “upward” when “downstream” efforts are insufficient. Social Marketing Quarterly, 24(3), 151–163. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524500418761625
7.
BosnjakM.AjzenI.SchmidtP. (2020). The theory of planned behavior: Selected recent advances and applications. Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 16(3), 352–356. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v16i3.3107
8.
BrintonA.WarnerA.TownsendT. G. (2023). At the moment of disposal: How messaging techniques at university public outdoor waste receptacles can improve the solid waste stream. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 24(5), 1024–38. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-03-2022-0069
9.
BrothersK. J.KrantzP. J.McClannahanL. E. (1994). Office paper recycling: A function of container proximity. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 27(1), 153–160. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.1994.27-153
10.
ChidichimoF.De BiaseM.StrafaceS. (2020). Groundwater pollution assessment in landfill areas: Is it only about the leachate?Waste Management, 102, 655–666. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2019.11.038
CostelloM. S.BagleyR. F.BustamanteL. F. (2022). Quantification of behavioral data with effect sizes and statistical significance tests, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 55, 106801082. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.938
13.
CusworthD. H.DurenR. M.AyasseA. K.JiorleR.HowellK.AubreyA.GreenR. O.EastwoodM. L.ChapmanJ. W.ThorpeA. K.HecklerJ.AsnerG. P.SmithM. L.ThomaE.KrauseM. J.HeinsD.ThorneloeS. (2024). Quantifying methane emissions from United States landfills. Science, 383(6690), 1499–1504. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adi7735
14.
DemssieY. N.BiemansH. J. A.WesselinkR.MulderM. (2023). Fostering students’ systems thinking competence for sustainability by using multiple real-world learning approaches. Environmental Education Research, 29(2), 261–286. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2022.2141692
15.
DesrochersM. N.MosherH. (2017). Experimental evaluation of an informational and behavior change program to increase undergraduate students’ energy conservation. Behavioral Interventions, 32, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1002/bin.1482
16.
DiGiacomoA.WuD. W.-L.LenkicP.FraserB.ZhaoJ.KingstoneA. (2018). Convenience improves composting and recycling rates in high-density residential buildings. Journal of Environmental Planning & Management, 61(2), 309–331. https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2017.1305332
17.
DonnellyG. E.BlancoC.SpanbauerC.StieneckerS. L. (2023). The effects of item dirtiness on disposal decisions. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 8(3), 339–350. https://doi.org/10.1086/724998
18.
DupréM.MeineriS. (2016). Increasing recycling through displaying feedback and social comparative feedback. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 48, 101–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2016.07.004
19.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (2023). National overview: Facts and figures on materials, wastes and recycling. US EPA.
20.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (2024). Project and landfill data by state. US EPA.
21.
EsfandiarK.DowlingR.PearceJ.GohE. (2021). ‘What a load of rubbish! The efficacy of theory of planned behaviour and norm activation model in predicting visitors’ binning behaviour in national parks.’ Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 46, 304–315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2021.01.001
22.
FilhoW. L.ShielC.PaçoA. (2016). Implementing and operationalising integrative approaches to sustainability in higher education: The role of project-oriented learning. Journal of Cleaner Production, 133, 126–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.05.079
23.
FrimanP. C.PolingA. (1995). Making life easier with effort: Basic findings and applied research on response effort. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 28(4), 583–590. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.1995.28-583
24.
FritzJ. N.DupuisD. L.WuW.-L.NealA. E.RettigL. A.LastrapesR. E. (2017). Evaluating increased effort for item disposal to improve recycling at a university. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 50(4), 825–829. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.405
25.
GallardoA.Edo-AlcónN.CarlosM.RenauM. (2016). The determination of waste generation and composition as an essential tool to improve the waste management plan of a university. Waste Management, 53, 3–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2016.04.013
26.
GelinoB. W.ErathT. G.ReedD. D. (2021). Going green: A systematic review of proenvironmental empirical research in behavior analysis. Behavior and Social Issues, 30(1), 587–611. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42822-020-00043-x
27.
GellerE. S.ChaffeeJ. L.IngramR. E. (1975). Promoting paper recycling on a university campus. Journal of Environmental Systems, 5(1), 39–57. https://doi.org/10.2190/e2lm-jntv-nbj6-etjf
GravetterJ. G.ForzanoL. B.WitnauerJ. (2026). Research methods for the behavioral sciences (7th ed.). Cengage.
30.
HeydariE.SolhiM.JananiL.FarzadkiaM. (2021). Determinants of sustainability in recycling of municipal solid waste: Application of community-based social marketing (CBSM). Challenges in Sustainability, 9(1), 16–27. https://doi.org/10.12924/cis2021.09010016
31.
HuntingtonR. N.BadgettN. M.RosenbergN. E.GreenyK.BravoA.BristolR. M.ByunY. H.ParkM. S. (2022). Social validity in behavioral research: A selective review. Perspectives on Behavior Science, 46(1), 201–215. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40614-022-00364-9
32.
IacovidouE.ZorpasA. A. (2022). Exploratory research on the adoption of composting for the management of biowaste in the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Cleaner and Circular Bioeconomy, 1, 100007. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clcb.2022.100007
33.
JosephT.BaahK.JahanfarA.DubeyB. (2015). A comparative life cycle assessment of conventional hand dryer and roll paper towel as hand drying methods. Science of the Total Environment, 515–516, 109–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.01.112
KazdinA. E. (2021) Single-case experimental designs: Characteristics, changes, and challenges. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 115(1), 56–85. ttps://doi.org/110.1002/jeab.638
36.
KopaeiH. R.NooripoorM.KaramiA.ErtzM (2021). Modeling consumer home composting intentions for sustainable municipal organic waste management in Iran. AIMS Environmental Science, 8(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.3934/environsci.2021001
37.
LeeabaiN.SiripaiboonC.TaweengernK.ButtanooC.SujirapatpongW.YimyamD.TakahashiF.AreeprasertC. (2023). The integrated study of the effects of infographic design on waste separation behavior and the behavioral outcome implementation on waste composting. Waste Management, 169, 276–285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2023.07.019
38.
LudwigT. D.GrayT. W.RowellA. (1998). Increasing recycling in academic buildings: A systematic replication. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 31(4), 683–686. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.1998.31-683
39.
LuoY.ZelenikaI.ZhaoJ. (2019). Providing immediate feedback improves recycling and composting accuracy. Journal of Environmental Management, 232, 445–454. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.11.061
40.
LuybenP. D. (1980). Effects of informational prompts on energy conservation in college classrooms. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 13(4), 611–617. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.1980.13-611
41.
MaC.ShenY. (2024) ‘Understanding food waste sorting behavior in institutional food services: An integrated psychological framework’, Journal of Environmental Management, 360, 121215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.121215
42.
ManuelJ. C.SunseriM. A.OlsonR.ScolariM. (2007). A diagnostic approach to increase reusable dinnerware selection in a cafeteria. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 40(2), 301–310. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.2007.143-05
McKenzie-MohrD.TabanicoJ. (2025). Fostering sustainable behavior: An introduction to community-based social marketing. Wren’s Gate.
46.
MeshesE.KamauL. Z.SummersM.HoppinK. B. (2022). Climate change and Six Americas: What can behavior analysts do?Behavior and Social Issues, 31(1), 497–521. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42822-022-00107-0
47.
MillerN. D.MeindlJ. N.CaradineM. (2016). The effects of bin proximity and visual prompts on recycling in a university building. Behavior and Social Issues, 25(1), 4–10. https://doi.org/10.5210/bsi.v25i0.6141
48.
MowrerO. H.JonesH. M. (1943). Extinction and behavior variability as functions of effortfulness of task. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 33(5), 369–386. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0056182
49.
NicholsR.PackardH.CulumberM.ObergC. (2020). Electric hand dryers serve as a microbial reservoir for contamination. Journal of the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters, 97, 65–77.
50.
NitchA. (2017). MINIMAX Expansion: Sustainability on campus increases with UW’s waste diversion program MiniMax Expansion. UW Facilities Blog. Retrieved January 14, 2025 from https://MiniMax Expansion | UW Facilities Blog.
51.
NurjadinN. (2015, September). To reduce waste, university throws in the (paper) towel. The Wesleyan Argus. The Wesleyan.
52.
O’ConnorR. T.LermanD. C.FritzJ. N.HoddeH. B. (2010). Effects of number and location of bins on plastic recycling at a university. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 43(4), 711–715. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.2010.43-711
53.
OzbayG.JonesM.GaddeM.IsahS.AttarwalaT. (2021). Design and operation of effective landfills with minimal effects on the environment and human health. Journal of Environmental and Public Health, 1, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/6921607
54.
PackardC. D.SchultzP. W. (2024). Moral self-regulation and recycling: Does feeling guilty make us want to recycle more?Motivation Science. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/mot0000355
ParkerR. I.VannestK. J.DavisJ. L.SauberS. B. (2011). Combining nonoverlap and trend for single-case research: Tau-U. Behavior Therapy, 42(2), 284–299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2010.08.006
57.
PickeringG. J.PickeringH. M. G.NorthcotteA.HabermeblC. (2020). Participation in residential organic waste diversion programs: Motivators and optimizing educational messaging. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 158, 104807. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.104807
58.
PorterB. E.LeemingF. C. (1995). Solid waste recovery: A review of behavioral programs to increase recycling. Environment & Behavior, 27(2), 122. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916595272002
59.
PriceA.LiewS. M.KirkpatrickJ.PriceJ.LopretoT.NelkenY. (2017). Mind the gap in clinical trials: A participatory action analysis with citizen collaborators. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 23(1), 178–184. https://doi-org.brockport.idm.oclc.org/10.1111/jep.12678
60.
Rastegari KopaeiH.NooripoorM.KaramiA.Petrescu-MagR. M.PetrescuD. C. (2021). Drivers of residents’ home composting intention: Integrating the theory of planned behavior, the norm activation model, and the moderating role of composting knowledge. Sustainability, 13(12), 6826. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13126826
61.
RosenthalS.LinderN. (2021). Effects of bin proximity and informational prompts on recycling and contamination. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 168, 105430. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.105430
62.
RoyD.BerryE.DempsterM. (2022). “If it is not made easy for me, I will just not bother”. A qualitative exploration of the barriers and facilitators to recycling plastics. PLoS One, 17(5), e0267284. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0267284
63.
SalamiL.PopoolaL. T. (2023). A comprehensive review of atmospheric air pollutants assessment around landfill sites. Air, Soil and Water Research, 16, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/11786221221145379
64.
SallakuR.BarattaR.BonfantiA.VigoloV. (2019). Recycling behaviour in higher education institutions: A systematic literature review. Sinergie Italian Journal of Management, 37(3), 127–148.
65.
SchultzP. W. (2014). Strategies for promoting proenvironmental behavior: Lots of tools but few instructions. European Psychologist, 19(2), 107–117. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040/a000163
SkinnerB. F. (1938). The behavior of organisms: An experimental analysis. Appleton-Century.
68.
SnodgrassM. R.ChungM. Y.KretzerJ. M.BiggsE. E. (2022). Rigorous assessment of social validity: A scoping review of a 40-year conversation. Remedial and Special Education, 43(2), 114–130. https://doi.org/10.1177/07419325211017295
69.
SoonD. W. X. (2024). Promoting recycling behaviours through convenience: Focus on the relatives, not the absolute. Cleaner Waste Systems, 7, 100135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clwas.2024.100135
SunQ.YaoH.WangC.XiangY.MaJ. (2024). Why residents don’t do what they say: Exploring the intention–behavior gap in e-waste online recycling participating. Sustainability, 16(19), Article 19. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16198292
72.
SussmanR.GiffordR. (2013). Be the change you want to see: Modeling food composting in public places. Environment and Behavior, 45(3), 323–343. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916511431274
73.
SzczucinskiD.GelinoB. W.CintronC. J.BecirevicA.ReedD. D. (2020). Increasing appropriate composting in high-traffic university settings. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 13(1), 22–28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-019-00358-1
74.
The Environmental Research & Education Foundation (2024). State of the Practice of Results from a National Operations Survey. https://www.erefdn.or
75.
Thomas-WaltersL.McCallumJ.MontgomeryR.PetrosC.WanA. K. Y.VeríssimoD. (2022). Systematic review of conservation interventions to promote voluntary behavior change. Conservation Biology, 37(1), e14000. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.14000
76.
Van HoutenR.NauP. A.MerriganM. (1981). Reducing elevator energy use: A comparison of posted feedback and reduced elevator convenience. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 14(4), 377–387. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.1981.14-377
77.
VannestK. J.ParkerR. I.GonenO.AdiguzelT. (2016). Single case research: Web based calculators for SCR analysis (Version 2.0) [web-based application]. Texas A&M University. http://www.singlecaseresearch.org/calculators/tau-u
VrijheidM. (2000). Health effects of residence near hazardous waste landfill sites: A review of epidemiologic literature. Environmental Health Perspectives, 108(Suppl. 1), 101–112. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.00108s1101
WernerC. M.StollR.BirchP.WhiteP. H. (2002). Clinical validation and cognitive elaboration: Signs that encourage sustained recycling. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 24(3), 185–203.
82.
WilderD. A.ErtelH. M.CymbalD. J. (2021). A review of recent research on the manipulation of response effort in applied behavior analysis. Behavior Modification, 45(5), 740–768. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145445520908509
83.
WolfM. M. (1978). Social validity: The case for subjective measurement or how applied behavior analysis is finding its heart. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 11(2), 203–214. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.1978.11-203
84.
Wong-ParodiG.Berlin RubinN. (2022). Exploring how climate change subjective attribution, personal experience with extremes, concern, and subjective knowledge relate to pro-environmental attitudes and behavioral intentions in the United States. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 79, 101728. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2021.101728
85.
WuL.ZhuY.ZhaiJ. (2022). Understanding waste management behavior among university students in China: Environmental knowledge, personal norms, and the theory of planned behavior. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 771723. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.771723
86.
YurievA.DahmenM.PailléP.BoiralO.GuillaumieL. (2020). Pro-environmental behaviors through the lens of the theory of planned behavior: A scoping review. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 155, 104660. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.104660
87.
ZhangL.SunX. (2018). Influence of sugar beet pulp and paper waste as bulking agents on physical, chemical, and microbial properties during green waste composting. Bioresource BERRTechnology, 267, 182–191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2018.07.040
88.
ZhaoJ.RadkeJ.ChenF. S.SachdevaS.GershmanS. J.LuoY. (2024). How do we reinforce climate action?Sustainability Science, 19(4), 1503–1517. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-024-01486-6
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
