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Design for Sustainability Transitions: An Intervention Research Study for Zero Waste Residence Halls

Moreland, Jessica A
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1408725627

Abstract Details

2014, Master of Fine Arts, Ohio State University, Design.
Throughout this study, I explored design approaches and strategies that could be used to facilitate sustainability transitions. Specifically, the goal of this study was to help The Ohio State University (Ohio State) manage and initiate their transition to zero waste residence halls. First I used an idealized design approach to outline a long-term plan for transitioning the campus to zero waste. Then I used design for behavior change strategies to develop interventions that tested social theories in the context of a student residence hall. The Sustainability Office of Student Life and the Behavioral Decision Making Initiative funded this research to gain new insight into zero waste transitions and behavioral decision-making. Negative effects of landfill waste on the environment are well known. However, approximately 70 percent of waste at Ohio State is still being sent to the landfill (Materials Management Annual Report, 2013). Ohio State defines zero waste as diverting more than 90 percent of waste from landfills by recycling and composting; they plan to transition their entire campus to zero waste by the year 2030. Complex sustainability transitions like this benefit from plans that incorporate a long-term vision with actionable leverage points. To facilitate this transition, I developed a campus-wide zero waste plan for the year 2030 and tested a variety of behavior change strategies through an intervention research study. The intervention research was the main component of this study and was used to gauge the feasibility of zero waste in residence halls, change students’ waste sorting practices, and identify future intervention opportunities. Interventions that encourage recycling are not new, but these strategies typically address recycling as planned behavior that is guided by a rational decision-making process. Alternatively, interventions in this study were also based on the idea that people often make automatic decisions with regard to recycling. And when people make automatic decisions, the built environment—designed symbols, objects, and interactions—can greatly influence what decisions are made. In this study I explored ways for design to target students’ automatic and reflective systems in order to influence their decisions. This intervention research study used a combination of approaches from design and anthropology. The study was completed in four phases: ethnography, intervention design, intervention experiment, and analysis. The ethnographic research phase was used to better understand students’ sorting practices and to create a theoretical foundation for the intervention design. Four distinct interventions were designed to encourage students to recycle and compost in a university residence hall. The interventions tested multiple behavior change strategies and were designed to incrementally build on top of each other. All four interventions shared a new waste collection infrastructure that was designed to target students’ automatic response. Interventions two, three, and four tested education, behavioral feedback, and social influence as motivational factors that targeted students’ reflective response (their rational decision-making process). The intervention experiment was implemented across eight floors of a student resident hall, affecting over 400 students. Intervention effectiveness was measured and analyzed in three ways: changes in practices, changes in perceptions, and effectiveness of intervention materials. Data were collected through observations, surveys, visual waste assessments, and waste audits. Findings from this study have implications for design, social theory, as well as zero waste transitions.
Susan Melsop (Advisor)
Carolina Gill (Committee Member)
Mark Moritz (Committee Member)
160 p.
Behavioral Sciences; Design; Environmental Studies
sustainability transitions; design for behavior change; transformation design; interventions; zero waste; campus sustainability

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Moreland, J. A. (2014). Design for Sustainability Transitions: An Intervention Research Study for Zero Waste Residence Halls [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1408725627

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Moreland, Jessica. Design for Sustainability Transitions: An Intervention Research Study for Zero Waste Residence Halls. 2014. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1408725627.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Moreland, Jessica. "Design for Sustainability Transitions: An Intervention Research Study for Zero Waste Residence Halls." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1408725627

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1408725627
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© 2014, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.