Journal of Environmental Information Science
Online ISSN : 2188-5796
Print ISSN : 0389-6633
ISSN-L : 0389-6633
original article
Promoting waste separation behavior with nudge labels at a local government office in Fukushima, Japan
Kaori UETAKETeruhisa MIURA
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JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

2025 Volume 2024 Issue 2 Pages 1-9

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Abstract
To promote pro-environmental behavior, there is a growing trend of applying behavioral science approaches in public policy. This study aimed to improve waste separation rates in the offices of the Fukushima prefectural government by developing and testing nudge labels that incorporated simplification, reminder, and question-form message. Four departments in the building were selected for the experiment: two departments (one environmental and one non-environmental) were assigned to the intervention group where nudge labels were displayed, while the other two departments (one environmental and one non-environmental) served as the control group. The rate of plastic contamination in burnable waste was measured and compared between the groups. The results showed that the intervention group reduced the contamination rate by 6 percentage points, or approximately 38%, compared to the control group. Moreover, this reduction effect further increased two weeks after the intervention ended. These findings suggest that intuitive clarification of the rules, reminder and question-form message can enhance compliance with pro-environmental behavior.
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© 2025 Center for Environmental Information Science
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