How to encourage well-being with reminders interventions: A field experiment on food waste separation and composting behaviors

Zhu Mao; Buxin Han; Chuanbin Zhou; Pingping Liu

doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2025.01.002

How to encourage well-being with reminders interventions: A field experiment on food waste separation and composting behaviors

Waste Manag. 2025 Jan 8:194:104-114. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2025.01.002. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Zhu Mao¹, Buxin Han¹, Chuanbin Zhou², Pingping Liu³

Affiliations

¹ CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 16 Lincui Road, Beijing 100101, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China.
² Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
³ CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 16 Lincui Road, Beijing 100101, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address: liupp@psych.ac.cn.

PMID: 39787668
DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2025.01.002

Abstract

Although well-being is a fundamental human goal, few studies have clarified the causal relationship between well-being and waste separation, which strongly affects sustainable development. We propose that, assuming humans' innate affinity for nature (the biophilia theory), waste separation would be conducive to a sense of life meaning and well-being. To test this hypothesis, we systematically investigate how food waste separation and composting behaviors affect subjective well-being and meaning in life in a longitudinal field experiment. 226 valid residents were randomized into intervention (n = 113) or control (n = 113) groups. The participants in the intervention group were provided informational reminders (please separate food waste) for 9 weeks, and were asked to record their food waste separation and composting behaviors. We find that community residents who performed food waste separation and composting behaviors (intervention group) had a higher meaning in life and subjective well-being than those who did not (control group). Meanwhile, food waste separation and composting behaviors can promote subjective well-being through the sequential mediation effects of nature connectedness and meaning in life, validating the biophilia theory. These findings not only provide compelling evidence for how waste separation behaviors can promote well-being but also generate important implications for policy-makers and the understanding of pro-environmental behaviors.

Keywords: Food waste separation behaviors; Meaning in life; Nature connectedness; Subjective well-being; Well-Being.