Trash to treasure: Gamification and informed recycling behavior

Enhancing sustainability entails promoting recycling in consumer education. Interactive digital platforms, websites, and apps that offer insights and incorporate gamification to interest and incentivize users represent an emerging trend. These include interactive edutainment and recycling games, tailored recycling schemes, and virtual and tangible incentives for specific behaviors. This study is based on 26 interviews and an app usage experiment with 18 participants to evaluate the effects of different information provision (paper-based vs. app and gamified app) modes to engage participants in waste management. The study considers behavior modification by examining the potential effect of gamification on informed recycling. By adopting determinants from behavioral psychology (e.g., social norms, peer influence, and positive reinforcement), this paper focuses on sustainable recycling behavior. It contributes novel perspectives by identifying recycling-oriented games, refining existing theoretical recycling models, and suggesting effective approaches for policymakers and businesses.