Taking Off the Blindfold: How Making Waste Visible Changes Behaviour

We often assume we understand our own environmental impact, but recent research suggests we may be viewing waste through a kind of blindfold. This talk explores how that blindfold forms, what happens when it is lifted, and how clearer messages can support more sustainable choices. The first study shows that many people are unaware of the true scale and type of plastic they use. When participants counted their actual waste, the blindfold slipped: they saw their impact more clearly and became more concerned and more willing to engage in action. The second study looks at how decades of advertising have normalised disposable living, reinforcing this blindness by presenting convenience as the default and obscuring the waste it creates. The third study demonstrates that targeted messages can remove the blindfold in everyday decisions, such as choosing a cup for a takeaway drink. When cafés ina field study highlighted the personal benefit of bringing a reusable cup, such as saving money, customers were more likely to avoid disposables. Together, these studies suggest that people are not uncaring about waste, but often lack clear cues and feedback. When visibility improves and messages emphasise practical personal benefits, more sustainable behaviour becomes much more achievable.

Kate Whitman, Ph.D., is a Research Fellow at the University of Portsmouth (UK). A behavioural economist with a background in the creative industries, she explores the psychological mechanisms and cultural factors involved in decision-making and designs interventions to encourage positive behavioural outcomes. Through experimental research, she seeks to deepen understanding of human behaviour in ways that improve business practices and inform public policy. Her work spans behavioural and experimental economics, behavioural interventions, the creative, games and sports industries, deviant behaviour, corporate social responsibility, environmental psychology, gender biases, moral reasoning, and social decision-making. She is currently applying these interests to develop interventions that promote more sustainable behaviours and address social issues such as social disconnectedness and gender pay gaps.

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