Separate waste collection and littering in pedestrian areas: Results from a large field-experiment

Project Lead: Katharina Gangl
Team: Florian Spitzer, Anna Walter
Duration: October 2021 – February 2022
Funding: ARA - Altstoff Recycling Austria AG


The IHS, in cooperation with the ARA, conducted a field-experiment during the summer 2021 to promote separate waste collection in the public sphere. The field-experiment tested different collection bins in comparison to a control-group without a collection bin in 90 locations in Leoben, Steyr and Krems. A pre-post design was applied in which the collected waste and the littering next to the collection bins were assessed. Results indicate that collection bins can improve waste separation in the public sphere. Results also suggest that collection bins which were designed with an image of an untouched nature collect more waste than collection bins with a standard design. The assumption is, that the nature picture attracts more attention and thus, is used more frequently. A Video with a German summary of the project is available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PjWzieMDIo