The disconnect dilemma
Most of us say we want to recycle. But what happens when even the best intentions meet confusing systems?
ROLE
independent researcher
TIMELINE
4 weeks
PROJECT TYPE
quantitative desktop research
CLIENT
self-led project
The problem
When it comes to everyday actions like recycling or reuse, good intentions often meet a mix of confusing systems, inconsistent product packaging, and human limitations: tuning out, taking shortcuts, or getting discouraged when the effort outweighs the perceived impact. I became curious about the disconnect between what people want to do, and what they actually do. What causes sustainable habits to break down? And what role do reuse systems play in reinforcing or discouraging sustainable behavior?
The goal
I set out to explore this disconnect at a small, human scale. Through an online survey, my goal was to gather data that allowed me to identify patterns showing how sustainable behavior is shaped by a mix of emotional, informational, and infrastructural influences.
The outcome
What I found confirmed my early hypothesis: almost everyone wants to recycle, yet many described the process in vague or uncertain terms. The result is a cycle of effort without confidence, good intentions undermined by confusing systems. These insights point toward a need for clearer guidance, stronger feedback loops, and systems that make sustainable choices the easy ones.
RESEARCH
Gathering data
I wanted to surface quick, directional patterns, so I decided the best way to do this was through an online survey using Google Forms. The survey questions explored individual recycling and reuse habits, mental models around waste and impact, and perceptions around how personal action affects climate change.
I received 13 responses from the survey, with participants located in Australia, the US, and Europe, between the ages of 18-60. I know the attitudes and policies toward recycling vary by country, so I wanted to get responses informed by these regional nuances.
While the sample was small by design, the responses revealed surprisingly rich patterns in behavior, perception, and emotional connection to sustainability.
INSIGHTS
What I learned
I gathered all the responses from the survey and organized the data into groups as common patterns started to appear. Through this process, a disconnect became clear. People generally care about doing the right thing when it comes to recycling and most participants stated they actively recycle. People understand the concept of recycling and what to do at a basic level — but when it starts to require more effort, more knowledge, or more resources, people begin to struggle and motivation drops.
I expected to receive more detailed or emotional answers in the open-ended questions about perceptions around climate change and individual action. I was surprised that many of the responses I received were vague. This suggests there’s a deeper lack of engagement or understanding of the bigger picture.
Impactful data: how individuals view their actions in relation to climate change
Key insights
🔎 Recycling is normalized, but not deeply understood
Nearly everyone in the survey described recycling as a routine part of life. Yet when asked about specifics, responses were often vague or uncertain. Recycling felt more like a surface-level habit than a confident, informed choice.
🔎 Trust and transparency matter
Some participants questioned whether recycling “really works” or what happens after collection. Without visible feedback loops or transparency, motivation weakened — even for those committed to sustainability.
🔎 Small barriers create big drop-offs in engagement
Confusion about what belongs in which bin, or the extra effort of cleaning or sorting, quickly eroded motivation. People wanted to “do the right thing,” but small frictions often tipped the balance toward inaction.
🔎 Responsibility for making sustainable choices feels unclear
Respondents often felt the system puts too much burden on individuals. They believed clearer guidance from municipalities and more sustainable packaging from companies would make sustainable choices far easier.
The disconnect revealed: the gap between individual action and system impact
We’ve been told why recycling and reuse matter, at least at a surface level. But over time, this message has become diluted, easier to tune out, and sometimes, more negative. People know something happens when they recycle… but what, exactly? And when it comes to saving the planet, does it actually help?
Even when individuals care, the system doesn’t always follow through. Systems are often designed with good intent, but lack nuanced behavioral design. There’s too much cognitive burden on individuals to engage with some programs on a deeper level. Inconsistent infrastructure, overflowing landfills, and unclear policies chip away at motivation and trust.
Whose role is it to close this gap, to reconnect individuals with the bigger picture? Governments? NGOs? Ourselves? Maybe it’s all of the above. What’s clear is that without feedback, trust, or a sense of shared responsibility, even small frictions can turn good intentions into inaction.
This raised a question for me: where exactly does this disconnect show up in people’s everyday lives?
DEFINITION
Telling a visual story
I started out by building a detailed behavioral journey map. I wanted to capture the messy emotional landscape behind everyday decisions: the moments of good intention, the small points of friction, and the bigger systemic influences people can’t always see. The map focused on plastic — specifically small, hard-to-recycle items like toothpaste tubes or snack wrappers — because these are everyday objects that highlight how quickly motivation drops off when recycling becomes inconvenient or unclear.
Journey map, my first attempt at visualizing the data and communicating the relationship between human and system
While the journey map helped me surface valuable insights, it also felt a little too detailed for what I wanted to show. After iterating on it several times, I realized what I was really trying to capture was the fragile balance between intention and action — and the hidden forces that quietly undermine people’s motivation.
That’s what led me to create the iceberg diagram. It simplified the story: the visible part represents everyday actions and positive intentions, while beneath the surface are the systemic issues — inconsistent information, lack of trust, inconvenient programs — that erode those good intentions. At the “waterline,” motivation breaks down, and the result is more plastic in landfills, waterways, and eventually the microplastic cycle.
This shift from the journey map to the iceberg gave me a cleaner way to communicate the disconnect I was exploring, without losing the nuance of how human behavior and systems interact.
Iceberg diagram, my second visualization showing how everyday actions are impacted by systemic barriers that quietly chip away at human motivation, leading to real environmental consequences
Taken together, these insights reveal a tension: people want to recycle, but the systems around them often make it harder than it should be. Combined with the challenges and busyness of everyday life, even good intentions falter.
I began to ponder this question:
How might we design systems that align with human behavior — making sustainable choices easier, clearer, and more emotionally rewarding?
RECOMMENDATIONS
Translating research into influence
The goal of this work isn’t just to generate insights; it’s to make recommendations that help stakeholders design better systems, services, and narratives. This “how might we” question framed my thought process as I brainstormed recommendations and possible solutions for solving this problem.
In practice, I’d tailor these recommendations for different stakeholder groups (e.g., local government or NGO or product manufacturer), but the themes remain consistent across contexts. These recommendations are also very high-level ideas that would require buy-in and collaboration from many stakeholders.
➡️ Make recycling rules clear, consistent, and accessible
Provide simple, accessible resources to reduce uncertainty about how to dispose or reuse specific household items. Some of these resources do exist, but the availability and consistency varies by region, and many government sites are confusing to navigate. Regularly seek consumer feedback about how well local programs work.
➡️ Design systems that everyday people can use
Identify weak points or bottlenecks in local recycling/reuse journeys. Systems that minimize extra steps — for example, simplifying sorting or making drop-off points more convenient — keep participation higher and reduce blockers that keep people from living sustainably. Create reuse programs that reduce the burden on individuals.
➡️ Provide transparency about waste
People want to know their actions matter and that they can trust local government initiatives. Be transparent about what happens to recycled waste, how much waste has been diverted, or how recycled materials are reused, to strengthen motivation and trust. Use storytelling and interactive campaigns to engage consumers.
➡️ Connect everyday humans to their role in the circular economy
For a true circular economy to function as we need it to, we have to think about how people will engage. Everyday humans, consumers of the products we need to recycle and reuse, need to be at the center of design strategies for packaging and systems that facilitate waste. Explore ways to reduce packaging complexity that make recycling or reuse easier and more intuitive. Consider communicating the importance of the circular economy with user-friendly language, showing that each of us has a connection to the bigger picture.
NEXT STEPS
Design opportunities & further solution ideation
The purpose of this project was to explore these ideas with high-level research, rather than ideate possible solutions. I’d love to take a deeper dive into the themes and patterns I discovered through further research, testing, and ideation. Here are some design opportunities I’m keen to explore:
Conduct interviews and diary studies to understand real everyday experiences across different contexts and locations (urban renters, families, students)
Prototype more intuitive circular solutions with end-consumers, including clearer packaging labels, accessible reuse programs, or city initiatives like “one stop” recycling
Apply a service design lens to reuse behavior by mapping the relationship between various actions, locations, and systems
Perform UX audits of online reuse programs and government recycling services using best user experience practices to evaluate how these services could be improved
REFLECTIONS
One of the biggest lessons I’m taking from this project is how much nuance exists in climate behavior.
When I started, I thought the problem was mostly a systems one; that if reuse or circular programs weren’t catching on, it was likely because organizations hadn’t cracked how to get people involved. I expected to find apathy, confusion, or lack of awareness among the people I surveyed. And I did — but it wasn’t the full story.
The more I dug in, the more I saw that people’s behaviors are shaped by a complex tangle of infrastructure, habit, social norms, emotional connection, and personal capacity. Even well-intentioned people tune out when they feel uncertain, unsupported, or just plain caught up in the challenges of everyday life. Even good systems fail when they don’t align with how people actually live.
What I learned
This kind of nuance keeps showing up in sustainability work. Embracing the nuance is part of what makes design so valuable in this space.
It’s not just about fixing broken systems or educating individuals. Human-centered sustainability design also means designing for real life. It’s about understanding what really drives behavior, and designing with that reality in mind.
This project reminded me that sustainable behavior is messy, emotional, and deeply human. And if we want to protect the wild spaces we love, we have to stay open, curious, and keep human nuance at the center.
Individuals can’t carry the load alone. Companies, municipalities, and policymakers all have a role in designing packaging, infrastructure, and services that make sustainable choices the easy default.
I hope this small slice of research helps spark deeper conversations about how we design not just for what people do, but for why they do it, and how we can help them do it better.
