Bottled Water: Do Behavioral Interventions and Environmental Awareness Affect Students' Choices for Reusable Water Bottles

Abstract

Single-Use-Plastic Water Bottles (SUPWBs) are disastrous for the environment so gathering evidence of what might trigger people to change their habits from single-use plastic to reusable alternatives is imperative. The education sector is recognized as crucial in empowering students to combat plastic pollution. Previous research shows that behavioral interventions are low-cost ways to promote pro-environmental behavior. This study attempts to experimentally test behavioral interventions rooted in social norms and environmental awareness to change university students' choices toward reusable water bottles. The study is undertaken in three phases. In the first phase, a pre-intervention survey is conducted to gauge students’ knowledge and awareness regarding plastic waste and their behavior toward plastic vs. reusable water bottles. In the second phase, informational and social norm nudges in the form of weekly messages via WhatsApp were used to alter students’ attitudes in the context of environmental sustainability. After the intervention, a post-survey was conducted to examine if there is a change in the behavior of students. Based on the results of this research, we concluded that this low- cost nudge intervention, which utilized informational, social, and reminder nudges (in the form of graphics) delivered via WhatsApp messages directly to students' contact numbers for 6 weeks in the treatment group, had a positive impact on their behavior. In comparison to the control group, more students in the treatment group shifted to reusable water bottles, made fewer SUPWB purchases, and used fewer plastic bags weekly (Spill-over effect).