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Bert's Café, located in the University of Michigan's Undergraduate Library

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The majority of students at the University of Michigan are contributors of the waste in our library cafés. Will you be the one to help us change this?

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WHAT STRATEGIES CAN THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN IMPLEMENT TO REDUCE WASTE IN OUR LIBRARY CAFÉS?

We researched ways to go about answering this question, and which social science methods would be most effective and efficient.

Psychology

There are many ways to go about answering this question, and one way is through psychology. How is the individual influenced by their surroundings and impacted by certain methods, and what influences them to act upon our suggestions?

What are some ways that prompt students like us to change our behavior? What catches our attention? Sometimes the smallest hints are the most influential.

Sociology

What is the likelihood that students will cognitively separate garbage into wastes and recyclables as opposed to throwing everything out? Do the costs of reducing our wastes really outweigh the benefits?

Economics

We get it.

But we can help!

After a late night of studying, recycling may be the least of your concerns.

We know it's hard to constantly remember what can be recycled and what can't be, especially when you're distracted in the library. That is why we have come up with suggestions on how to better get our message across in a friendly yet adhering manner.

Especially when the recycling bins aren't always near the garbage ones.

Really, we do.

We are proposing a lot of ideas to help, because like you, we have the same concerns.