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 user research
CLIENT
Self-led
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 problem
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 goal
Almost everyone wants to recycle and reuse, yet people experience blockers that can negatively influence their motivation and engagement with sustainable behaviors. The result is a cycle of effort without confidence and good intentions undermined by confusing or unclear systems. These insights point toward a need for clearer guidance on recycling and reuse, increased visibility into the process, and user-friendly systems that make sustainable choices the easy ones.
The outcome
My process
RESEARCH
Gathering data through an online survey
My preference is for qualitative research, because I love the rich insights you get through having a conversation with someone. But for this project, I wanted to gather meaningful data quickly. So I decided the best, most efficient way to do this was with an online survey. I created a set of questions using Google Forms and distributed the survey to a small group of intentionally selected participants from different countries and age groups.
The survey questions explored individual recycling and reuse habits, mental models around waste and impact, and perceptions about how personal action affects climate change. I used a combination of multiple choice, rating scales, and open-ended questions to diversity the types of data I received.
I had 13 total responses, with participants between the ages of 18-60 located in Australia, the US, and Europe. Even with an intentionally small sample size, the responses revealed surprisingly rich patterns in behavior, perception, and emotional connection to the larger narrative of climate change.
INSIGHTS
Data analysis reveals emerging patterns
As I began to sort through the survey data, I was not surprised to find that 92% of respondents said that they make an effort to recycle. Recycling is, at a basic level, a normalized part of our society.
But I noticed a pattern emerging as I dug further into the data. When sustainable actions start to require more effort from people, their motivation starts to drop.
And there’s even more to the story. When participants were asked, with an open-ended question, to describe what recycling means to them, many participants’ responses were vague, “textbook answers” lacking depth. Similarly, when asked to describe their attitude toward climate change, responses were again vague, showing either a lack of understanding about the topic, or a desire to avoid thinking too deeply about it. These responses suggest a general lack of engagement with environmental issues and the climate narrative as a whole.
Informed by this data, I identified four primary factors that influence a person’s motivation to engage in sustainable behaviors, both negatively and positively:
FACTOR #1
People have low confidence in how their recycling is processed
Participants were asked if they know what happens to their recycling after collection. The data shows the overwhelming majority are skeptical about what happens after collection. We’re taught how recycling should work, but confidence is low that this actually happens. Negative media reports of stockpiled plastic and rumors that most recycling ends up in landfill anyway contribute to this lack of confidence in the system.
FACTOR #2
Blockers prevent people from engaging in recycling and reuse
Participants experience several blockers that hinder their motivation and engagement with recycling and reuse. Participants stated they were more likely to just throw something away if recycling or reusing an item requires too much effort or thought.
I discovered these five primary blockers that influence sustainable behavior:
✖︎ Too much effort required
When the recycling or reuse requires extra time, extra research, sorting items into multiple bins, or traveling to a collection site
✖︎ Lack of trust
When people question if their recycling is handled properly, they start to question why they should even do it
✖︎ Confusing, unclear information
Packaging labels are confusing and unclear; finding information about how to recycle or reuse specific items is challenging
✖︎ Space limits
Many small homes or apartments don’t have enough space to store items for reuse and recycling
✖︎ Inconsistent systems
Collection services and guidelines about what you can recycle differ by location
The data revealed that people don’t fully understand climate change, and struggle to grasp how their actions impact the bigger picture. The survey didn’t probe deeper into why this might be, so I can only make a guess based on the other data and external information I have. My hypothesis is that, even with the wealth of resources available about how to fight climate change, this information isn’t communicated in a way that engages people. I also believe some people may be less inclined to make an effort to better understand climate change. Based on the responses to the open-ended questions about climate change, I think people are overwhelmed, a bit fearful, and possibly want to avoid thinking too deeply about the topic.
FACTOR #3
People feel disconnected from the larger climate narrative
FACTOR #4
We can better enable to people to make sustainable choices more consistently
Yes, the three previous factors influence a person negatively and lead to decreased motivation and engagement. But we can enable more sustainable behaviors and increase engagement if we provide people with:
❤︎ Clarity
Clear package labels user-friendly instructions for recycling and reuse
❤︎ Incentives
Rewards and feedback that encourage people to participate in reuse programs
❤︎ Convenience
Accessible, easy-to-use services that integrate into busy, everyday lives
❤︎ Connection
Stories that show the impact of personal actions and connect people back to nature
❤︎ Trust
Visibility into what happens after collection and during the recycling process
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 can falter.
For circular systems to succeed, we need the everyday contributions of the average person. The systems have to be designed in a way that makes it easy for the average person to contribute. We have to design circular systems with humans at the center.
I began to ponder this question:
How might we design systems that align with human behavior, making sustainable choices easier and more integrated with everyday life?
RECOMMENDATIONS
Translating research insights into action
When I first began my UX career, one of the most foundational books I read was called Don’t Make Me Think, by Steve Krug. The book lays out a set of principles on how to design digital interfaces and experiences that are easy, friendly, and intuitive for people to use.
As I pondered the results of this research and how we might approach designing more user-friendly circular systems, the titular phrase from this book repeatedly popped into my head: don’t make people think.
How might we apply these basic usability principles to circular design?
Using what I learned from my research, and applying a usability mindset to circular design, here are my recommendations for how we might design user-friendly circular systems:
➡️ Make it simple
Recycling should feel effortless, with no extra thinking required.
HOW? Simplify the process with fewer bins and clearer steps, so people don’t have to guess where things go.
➡️ Make it clear
Use plain, user-friendly language and guidance that anyone can follow.
HOW? Standardize product recycling labels and guidelines by removing confusing icons and language.
➡️ Make it human
Design systems that fit into people’s lives and routines — not just technical requirements.
HOW? A convenient “one-stop shop” for recycling and reuse that’s built into people’s routines, with simple rewards for taking part.
COMMUNICATING RESEARCH
Creating tools to vizualize data
As part of this project I wanted to create a visual to communicate the data in an engaging and creative way. I believe it’s important to use tools that distill large amounts of data and have the ability to communicate complex ideas in a simple, clear format that can resonate with audiences or stakeholder groups of any kind.
I iterated on two different formats to communicate the findings, each created with a specific purpose. I like both options, and I do think they could be refined even further for clarity. As this is a self-led project that I intended to complete within a set amount of time, I decided to move on before I spent too much time on this activity.
I don’t consider either of these visuals to be “final” artifacts, but they highlight my thought process and show how I ideated on various storytelling approaches:
A journey map reveals where blockers, skepticism, and disconnect occur in people’s everyday routines. It serves as one lens for identifying friction points and showing the relationships between all the layers.
An iceberg model contextualizes visible human behaviors within underlying beliefs and systemic factors that influence motivation. This is a slightly simpler format that really highlights the primary blockers and emotions I uncovered in research.
Journey map, my first attempt at communicating the relationship between humans and systems
(click on image to enlarge)
Iceberg diagram, a simpler way to highlight the primary blockers that influence a person’s sustainable actions (click on image to enlarge)
NEXT STEPS
Design opportunities & further ideation
I intentionally created this project to explore climate-related problems through high-level research. I wanted to focus on forming insights and recommendations from the data, rather than creating or refining possible solutions, to keep this project from becoming too big. That being said, I’d love to take a deeper dive into the patterns I discovered through this research. If I were doing this as an “official” client project, or if I had more time or resources, I’d be keen to explore these opportunities for further exploration:
Conduct interviews and diary studies to understand lived everyday experiences across different contexts and locations (urban renters, families, students)
Apply a service design lens to sustainable behavior by mapping all the touchpoints a person has with circular systems at various stages of the cycle
Prototype intuitive circular solutions with users, including clearer packaging labels, accessible reuse programs, or city initiatives like a “one stop shop” for recycling and reuse
Perform user experience audits of online reuse programs and government recycling websites applying usability principles to evaluate how these services could be improved
REFLECTIONS
What I learned about designing for sustainability
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.
This kind of nuance keeps showing up in sustainability work. Embracing the nuance is part of what makes design so valuable
in this space.
Because recycling more isn’t the ultimate perfect solution, and shifting all the responsibility to individuals isn’t either. Human-centered sustainability design means building systems designed responsibly at the top, while making them usable and meaningful in people’s everyday lives. It’s about understanding what really drives behavior, and designing with that reality in mind. That’s where the real design challenge lives.
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.
While I spent more time on this self-led project than I initially intended, it really gave me the opportunity to explore ideas and solutions on my own terms. Doing that, in turn, has helped me refine and really hone in on what kind of work I want to do in the sustainability and climate space.
And honestly, this is the most motivated and excited I’ve felt about the work I’m doing for many years. After over a decade in tech and product, I was starting to feel uninspired, burnt out, and unmotivated.
As this project has evolved, I’ve become more curious and more excited at the possibilities of what could be done in this space. I can’t wait to see what’s next.
🩵 If something in this project sparks a thought, I’d love to connect! Feel free to reach out via email or LinkedIn.
