A1 Journal article (refereed)
Encouraging Sustainable Choices Through Socially Engaged Persuasive Recycling Initiatives : A Participatory Action Design Research Study (2025)


da Silva Emilly, M., Schneider, D., Miceli, C., & Correia, A. (2025). Encouraging Sustainable Choices Through Socially Engaged Persuasive Recycling Initiatives : A Participatory Action Design Research Study. Informatics, 12(1), Article 5. https://doi.org/10.3390/informatics12010005


JYU authors or editors


Publication details

All authors or editorsda Silva Emilly, Marques; Schneider, Daniel; Miceli, Claudio; Correia, António

Journal or seriesInformatics

eISSN2227-9709

Publication year2025

Publication date08/01/2025

Volume12

Issue number1

Article number5

PublisherMDPI AG

Publication countrySwitzerland

Publication languageEnglish

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.3390/informatics12010005

Publication open accessOpenly available

Publication channel open accessOpen Access channel

Publication is parallel published (JYX)https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/99409


Abstract

Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research has illuminated how technology can influence users’ awareness of their environmental impact and the potential for mitigating these impacts. From hot water saving to food waste reduction, researchers have systematically and widely tried to find pathways to speed up achieving sustainable development goals through persuasive technology interventions. However, motivating users to adopt sustainable behaviors through interactive technologies presents significant psychological, cultural, and technical challenges in creating engaging and long-lasting experiences. Aligned with this perspective, there is a dearth of research and design solutions addressing the use of persuasive technology to promote sustainable recycling behavior. Guided by a participatory design approach, this investigation focuses on the design opportunities for leveraging persuasive and human-centered Internet of Things (IoT) applications to enhance user engagement in recycling activities. The assumption is that one pathway to achieve this goal is to adopt persuasive strategies that may be incorporated into the design of sustainable applications. The insights gained from this process can then be applied to various sustainable HCI scenarios and therefore contribute to HCI’s limited understanding in this area by providing a series of design-oriented research recommendations for informing the development of persuasive and socially engaged recycling platforms. In particular, we advocate for the inclusion of educational content, real-time interactive feedback, and intuitive interfaces to actively engage users in recycling activities. Moreover, recognizing the cultural context in which the technology is socially situated becomes imperative for the effective implementation of smart devices to foster sustainable recycling practices. To this end, we present a case study that seeks to involve children and adolescents in pro-recycling activities within the school environment.


KeywordsInternet of thingsrecyclingsustainable developmentenvironmental effectstechnology

Free keywordscommunity engagement; Internet of Things (IoT); participatory action design research; persuasive technology; recycling; smart bins; sustainable behavioral interventions


Contributing organizations


Ministry reportingYes

VIRTA submission year2025

Preliminary JUFO rating1


Last updated on 2025-25-01 at 20:05