Behavior Design for Beverage Bottle Recycling in University Campus Towards Circular Economy

Nowadays, circular economy has profoundly affected China's future economic development. In the process of promoting circular economy in the whole society, the implementation of waste classification is critical. With the development of education and the increase of the university campus population, the production of garbage in university campus in China is increasing. At present, the recycling of garbage in university campus is a research hotspot, and lack of applications to address problems, especially the recycling of beverage bottles. Hence, this research aims to explore the behavior of university students on resource waste on campus and propose a solution for the recycling of the beverage bottles through behavior design. This research investigates the current unsustainable behaviors of university students existing on campus through literature review, user observation, and user interviews, selects the issue of beverage bottle recycling, analyzes the pain points of users in recycling behavior, and finally proposes a Smart Vending Recycling Machine based on behavioral design theory. The results show that the Smart Vending Recycling Machine encourages university students to develop good recycling habits unconsciously, improves the participation rate of students in garbage recycling significantly, motivates students to consume beverages, and contributes to the realization of the goal of circular economy.