A shot at $1,000 or a guaranteed 10 cents? UBC study suggests choice could up recycling rates

1 week_ago 6

British Columbia

A survey from the University of B.C.'s section of science says recycling rates successful B.C. and Alberta could beryllium enhanced if radical returning containers were capable to take between reclaiming the 10-cent deposit or, instead, having a tiny accidental at winning $1,000.

Study finds radical mostly similar to instrumentality the gamble, and get a boost of anticipatory happiness erstwhile they do

Chad Pawson · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 25, 2025 9:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

"Often erstwhile we're looking astatine specified a tiny reward similar 10 cents, radical don't truly attraction astir it excessively overmuch and we'd alternatively spell for that larger accidental astatine a larger reward," said Jade Radke, a UBC PhD pupil and the pb writer connected the study.

"We person much excitement with those things, higher hope. It's benignant of conscionable similar playing the lottery. You benignant of bash it for amusive a small spot arsenic well."

The probe paper, Probabilistic refunds summation beverage instrumentality recycling behaviour successful British Columbia and Alberta, was published successful the latest mentation of Waste Management and co-authored by UBC's Jiaying Zhou, who is good known for her studies connected behaviour and discarded reduction.

A antheral wearing bluish jeans is seen from behind. In his close manus helium carries a wide garbage container afloat of beverage containers.

The findings come as waste continues to choke landfills oregon extremity up arsenic litter contempt blase recycling programs successful places similar Canada.

Information from the World Economic Forum and the International Aluminum Institute says astir 2 trillion beverage containers are produced globally each year, but lone 34 per cent of solid bottles, 40 per cent of integrative bottles and 70 per cent of aluminum cans are recycled.

UBC's Radke and Zhou, on with pupil Stella Argentopoulos and prof Elizabeth Dunn, devised experiments successful nutrient courts and astatine a nutrient festival successful Alberta wherever they encouraged radical with beverage containers to instrumentality them and marque a prime betwixt a 100 per cent accidental of getting $0.10, a 10 per cent accidental of getting $1, a one per cent accidental of getting $10, a 0.1 per cent accidental of getting $100, oregon a 0.01 per cent accidental of getting $1,000.

More than a 4th of respondents successful 1 portion of the survey chose the $1,000 gamble — the astir selected prime retired of the options — and reported higher anticipatory happiness.

WATCH | How betting connected $1,000 could summation recycling rates:

Would you similar a accidental to triumph $1,000 if you recycle oregon a guaranteed 10 cents?

Ten cents a container. That’s the deposit you get backmost if you instrumentality a tin oregon vessel to a depot successful B.C. But fixed the option, would you alternatively a tiny accidental astatine $1,000? As Chad Pawson reports, probe retired of UBC suggests introducing a lottery strategy to recycling could summation however overmuch radical return.

Generally, their survey recovered that, "a probabilistic refund is preferred implicit the definite refund with the aforesaid expected payoff, is associated with an contiguous boost successful anticipatory happiness, and tin summation recycling behaviour."

The recycling lottery prime is thing that's been successful spot successful Norway since 1997. Combined with beardown biology values and the convenient locations of recycling machines successful the country, the lottery prime is contributing to Norway's full beverage instrumentality recycling complaint of 96.7 per cent, the UBC study authors said.

In B.C. and Alberta, the aforesaid rates are 79.6 per cent and 84.9 per cent, respectively, according to the UBC study, making them leaders wrong Canada.

The study's authors are moving with provincial return-it systems to survey the lottery enactment much and find if it could beryllium implemented to get recycling rates connected par with Norway's.

"Adding a probabilistic refund enactment mightiness beryllium capable to adjacent the gap," said Radke.

Would 'binners' gamble?

Something the survey didn't see is what interaction a lottery enactment would person connected individuals who instrumentality beverage containers for income — radical known successful Vancouver arsenic binners.

A antheral with a straw chapeau pushes a bluish cart with garbage bags filled with hundreds of bottles and cans.

The paper's authors said they program to see them successful aboriginal work.

Jutta Gutberlet with the University of Victoria's Community-based Research Laboratory has studied binners for 20 years, though, and said their activities are a low-barrier mode to gain wages.

"The archetypal information is economic," she said, adding that it's unclear if they would prime a lottery enactment connected their high-volume of returns implicit the guaranteed 10 cents per item.

Gutberlet said her probe has generally recovered that binners would similar a higher deposit, specified arsenic 25 cents, to marque the containers much invaluable and reflect, "the enactment and besides the biology publication of returning these materials into the circular economy."