Green Empowerment: Meaningful Decisions Drive Effortful Recycling

To efficiently minimize the environmental harm caused by plastic packaging, many companies are adopting a circular economy model—collecting and reusing packaging materials from individual customers. For such bring-back programs to be successful, individuals must be motivated to voluntarily, and often effortfully, return their used packaging to the company. Three studies (total N = 1,749), utilizing real disposal behavior and consequential choices, demonstrate that meaningful goal attainment is a critical pathway toward empowering effortful recycling. Results revealed that when participants were invited to choose what their recycled packaging would become, they became more likely to effortfully recycle (Study 1). However, some choice options felt unimportant to participants (i.e., choosing which size bottle to re-create with a recycled bottle)—although this choice enhanced participants’ sense of empowerment, it reduced their sense of meaningful goal attainment which, in turn, decreased effortful recycling (Study 2). Making recycling choices feel more meaningful by enhancing their social impact (Study 3) increased participants’ sense of meaningful goal attainment when choosing what their recycled packaging would become, subsequently promoting effortful recycling. Findings demonstrate that choice motivates individuals mainly through a sense of meaningful goal attainment, while ruling out several alternative mechanisms. Results are discussed in the context of empowerment research and applied implications are addressed. We conclude that environmental programs should be carefully tied to individuals’ subjectively meaningful goals to promote desired green behaviors. • Material recovery requires individuals to effortfully return materials to the firm • We test if engaging people in recycling transformation promotes effortful recycling • We examine effortful recycling with real behavior and consequential choice studies • When people can choose what a recycled item becomes, effortful recycling increases • When choice does not feel meaningful, effortful recycling decreases