IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp18124.html

Citizen Training and the Urban Waste Footprint

Author

Listed:
  • Dhingra, Swati

    (London School of Economics)

  • Kondirolli, Fjolla
  • Machin, Stephen

    (London School of Economics)

Abstract

Diverting waste away from and zero waste to landfills are key sustainability policy aims of local and national governments around the world, particularly in countries with large waste footprints from rapid consumption growth and urbanisation. Segregation at the source of waste generation can offer a low-cost solution to urban waste footprints, yet segregation rates are low in many places, especially in the cities of developing economies. This paper studies a staggered randomised intervention offering training and education to citizens about waste segregation. Citizens in the city of Patna in India were given training on waste segregation at source, recycling and its environmental benefits in a large experimental intervention undertaken in collaboration with the city administration. Segregation-at-source increased substantially among households that received the intervention, and additional boosts to segregation arose from spatial spillovers, as the programme delivered at least a double-digit benefit-cost ratio. Citizen training, when effectively designed and implemented, does deliver a low-cost solution for the cities of developing countries to both reduce their waste footprint and enhance local environmental sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Dhingra, Swati & Kondirolli, Fjolla & Machin, Stephen, 2025. "Citizen Training and the Urban Waste Footprint," IZA Discussion Papers 18124, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18124
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp18124.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Turner, David A. & Williams, Ian D. & Kemp, Simon, 2015. "Greenhouse gas emission factors for recycling of source-segregated waste materials," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 105(PA), pages 186-197.
    2. Shinsuke Tanaka & Kensuke Teshima & Eric Verhoogen, 2022. "North-South Displacement Effects of Environmental Regulation: The Case of Battery Recycling," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 4(3), pages 271-288, September.
    3. Don Fullerton & Thomas C. Kinnaman, 2024. "The Economics of Recycling Heterogeneity," NBER Working Papers 32981, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Shanti Gamper-Rabindran & Christopher Timmins, 2011. "Hazardous Waste Cleanup, Neighborhood Gentrification, and Environmental Justice: Evidence from Restricted Access Census Block Data," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(3), pages 620-624, May.
    5. Arik Levinson, 1999. "State Taxes and Interstate Hazardous Waste Shipments," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(3), pages 666-677, June.
    6. Thomas C. Kinnaman, 2006. "Policy Watch: Examining the Justification for Residential Recycling," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(4), pages 219-232, Fall.
    7. Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt & Stephen J. Redding & Daniel M. Sturm & Nikolaus Wolf, 2015. "The Economics of Density: Evidence From the Berlin Wall," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 83, pages 2127-2189, November.
    8. Brender, J.D. & Maantay, J.A. & Chakraborty, J., 2011. "Residential proximity to environmental hazards and adverse health outcomes," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 101(SUPPL. 1), pages 37-52.
    9. Garg, Teevrat & Hamilton, Stuart E. & Hochard, Jacob P. & Kresch, Evan Plous & Talbot, John, 2018. "(Not so) gently down the stream: River pollution and health in Indonesia," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 35-53.
    10. Don Fullerton & Thomas C. Kinnaman, 2002. "Household Responses to Pricing Garbage by the Bag," Chapters, in: Don Fullerton & Thomas C. Kinnaman (ed.), The Economics of Household Garbage and Recycling Behavior, chapter 4, pages 88-101, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    11. Esteban Rossi-Hansberg & Pierre-Daniel Sarte & Raymond Owens, 2010. "Housing Externalities," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 118(3), pages 485-535, June.
    12. Alberto Chong & Dean Karlan & Jeremy Shapiro & Jonathan Zinman, 2015. "(Ineffective) Messages to Encourage Recycling: Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation in Peru," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 29(1), pages 180-206.
    13. de Chaisemartin, Clément & D’Haultfœuille, Xavier, 2023. "Two-way fixed effects and differences-in-differences estimators with several treatments," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 236(2).
    14. Bueno, Matheus & Valente, Marica, 2019. "The effects of pricing waste generation: A synthetic control approach," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 96, pages 274-285.
    15. Naveen Bharathi & Deepak Malghan & Sumit Mishra & Andaleeb Rahman, 2022. "Residential segregation and public services in urban India," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 59(14), pages 2912-2932, November.
    16. David Hanrahan & Sanjay Srivastava & A. Sita Ramakrishna, 2006. "Improving Management of Municipal Solid Waste in India : Overview and Challenges," World Bank Publications - Reports 19463, The World Bank Group.
    17. Edward Miguel & Michael Kremer, 2004. "Worms: Identifying Impacts on Education and Health in the Presence of Treatment Externalities," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 72(1), pages 159-217, January.
    18. Huebner, Gesche M. & Hamilton, Ian & Chalabi, Zaid & Shipworth, David & Oreszczyn, Tadj, 2015. "Explaining domestic energy consumption – The comparative contribution of building factors, socio-demographics, behaviours and attitudes," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 589-600.
    19. ., 2024. "Waste and the circular economy," Chapters, in: Industry 4.0 and the Future of Work, chapter 5, pages 138-165, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    20. Donald R. Davis & Matthew Easton & Stephan Thies, 2025. "Segregation, spillovers and the locus of racial change," CEP Discussion Papers dp2125, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    21. Brian Chi-ang Lin & Siqi Zheng & Marie Briguglio, 2016. "Household Cooperation In Waste Management: Initial Conditions And Intervention," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(3), pages 497-525, July.
    22. Vernon L. Smith, 1972. "Dynamics of Waste Accumulation: Disposal versus Recycling," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 86(4), pages 600-616.
    23. Daniel Hoornweg & Perinaz Bhada-Tata & Chris Kennedy, 2013. "Environment: Waste production must peak this century," Nature, Nature, vol. 502(7473), pages 615-617, October.
    24. Fredrik Carlsson & Christina Gravert & Olof Johansson-Stenman & Verena Kurz, 2021. "The Use of Green Nudges as an Environmental Policy Instrument," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(2), pages 216-237.
    25. Fuhrmann-Riebel, Hanna & D’Exelle, Ben & López Vargas, Kristian & Tonke, Sebastian & Verschoor, Arjan, 2024. "Correcting misperceptions about trends and norms to address weak collective action — Experimental evidence from a recycling program," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    26. Robert W. Hahn & Nathaniel Hendren & Robert D. Metcalfe & Ben Sprung-Keyser, 2024. "A Welfare Analysis of Policies Impacting Climate Change," NBER Working Papers 32728, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    27. Janet Currie & Michael Greenstone & Enrico Moretti, 2011. "Superfund Cleanups and Infant Health," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(3), pages 435-441, May.
    28. Laurent Lebreton & Anthony Andrady, 2019. "Future scenarios of global plastic waste generation and disposal," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(1), pages 1-11, December.
    29. Oecd, 2024. "Circular economy policies for steel decarbonisation," OECD Science, Technology and Industry Policy Papers 169, OECD Publishing.
    30. Coady Wing & Seth M. Freedman & Alex Hollingsworth, 2024. "Stacked Difference-in-Differences," NBER Working Papers 32054, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    31. Don Fullerton, 2024. "The Circular Economy," CESifo Working Paper Series 11109, CESifo.
    32. Mani Nepal & Apsara Karki Nepal & Madan S. Khadayat & Rajesh K. Rai & Priya Shyamsundar & E. Somanathan, 2023. "Low-Cost Strategies to Improve Municipal Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries: Experimental Evidence from Nepal," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 84(3), pages 729-752, March.
    33. Stefano DellaVigna & Elizabeth Linos, 2022. "RCTs to Scale: Comprehensive Evidence From Two Nudge Units," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 90(1), pages 81-116, January.
    34. Janet Currie & Lucas Davis & Michael Greenstone & Reed Walker, 2015. "Environmental Health Risks and Housing Values: Evidence from 1,600 Toxic Plant Openings and Closings," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(2), pages 678-709, February.
    35. Nathaniel Hendren & Ben Sprung-Keyser, 2020. "A Unified Welfare Analysis of Government Policies," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 135(3), pages 1209-1318.
    36. Ms. Thornton Matheson, 2019. "Disposal is Not Free: Fiscal Instruments to Internalize the Environmental Costs of Solid Waste," IMF Working Papers 2019/283, International Monetary Fund.
    37. P. U. Asnani & Da Zhu & Chris Zurbrügg & Shyamala Mani & Sebastian Anapolsky, 2008. "Improving Municipal Solid Waste Management in India : A Sourcebook for Policy Makers and Practitioners," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6916, April.
    38. W. Kip Viscusi & Joel Huber & Jason Bell, 2011. "Promoting Recycling: Private Values, Social Norms, and Economic Incentives," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(3), pages 65-70, May.
    39. Donald R. Davis & Matthew Easton & Stephan Thies, 2025. "Segregation, Spillovers, and the Locus of Racial Change," NBER Working Papers 34246, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    40. Mohammad Arzaghi & J. Vernon Henderson, 2008. "Networking off Madison Avenue," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 75(4), pages 1011-1038.
    41. Navarro Ferronato & Vincenzo Torretta, 2019. "Waste Mismanagement in Developing Countries: A Review of Global Issues," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-28, March.
    42. Stephen J. Redding, 2023. "Quantitative Urban Models: From Theory to Data," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 37(2), pages 75-98, Spring.
    43. Hsuan-Yu & Pan, 2024. "Aluminum Circular Economy in the Bicycle Industry," Advances in Management and Applied Economics, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 14(6), pages 1-21.
    44. Akbulut-Yuksel, Mevlude & Boulatoff, Catherine, 2021. "The effects of a green nudge on municipal solid waste: Evidence from a clear bag policy," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    45. Callaway, Brantly & Sant’Anna, Pedro H.C., 2021. "Difference-in-Differences with multiple time periods," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 200-230.
    46. Card, David & Krueger, Alan B, 1994. "Minimum Wages and Employment: A Case Study of the Fast-Food Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(4), pages 772-793, September.
    47. Michael Greenstone & Justin Gallagher, 2008. "Does Hazardous Waste Matter? Evidence from the Housing Market and the Superfund Program," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 123(3), pages 951-1003.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tobias Erhardt, 2019. "Garbage In and Garbage Out? On Waste Havens in Switzerland," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 73(1), pages 251-282, May.
    2. Ahlfeldt, Gabriel M. & Nitsch, Volker & Wendland, Nicolai, 2019. "Ease vs. noise: Long-run changes in the value of transport (dis)amenities," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    3. Valente, Marica, 2023. "Policy evaluation of waste pricing programs using heterogeneous causal effect estimation," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    4. Tommaso Colussi & Matteo Romagnoli & Elena Villar, 2022. "The Intended and Unintended Consequences of Taxing Waste," CESifo Working Paper Series 9946, CESifo.
    5. Yokoo, Hide-Fumi & Kawai, Kosuke & Higuchi, Yuki, 2018. "Informal recycling and social preferences: Evidence from household survey data in Vietnam," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 109-124.
    6. Tommaso Colussi & Matteo Romagnoli & Elena Villar, 2022. "The Intended and Unintended Consequences of Taxing Waste," DISCE - Working Papers del Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza def118, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    7. Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt & Volker Nitsch & Nicolai Wendland, 2019. "Ease versus noise: long-run changes in the value of transport (dis)amenities," CEP Discussion Papers dp1631, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    8. Ek, Claes & Söderberg, Magnus, 2024. "Norm-based feedback on household waste: Large-scale field experiments in two Swedish municipalities," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 238(C).
    9. Stephen J. Redding & Esteban Rossi-Hansberg, 2017. "Quantitative Spatial Economics," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 9(1), pages 21-58, September.
    10. repec:ags:aaea22:343550 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Jordi Jofre‐Monseny & Pilar Sorribas‐Navarro, 2024. "Landfill tax and recycling," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(4), pages 483-500, December.
    12. Viscusi, W. Kip & Huber, Joel & Bell, Jason, 2023. "Changes in household recycling behavior: Evidence from panel data," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    13. Briguglio, Marie & Delaney, Liam & Wood, Alex, 2018. "Partisanship, priming and participation in public-good schemes," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 136-150.
    14. Vollaard, Ben & van Soest, Daan, 2024. "Punishment to promote prosocial behavior: a field experiment," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    15. Leonzio Rizzo & Riccardo Secomandi, 2020. "Pay as you throw: evidence on the incentive to recycle," Working papers 88, Società Italiana di Economia Pubblica.
    16. Pfister, Naomi & Mathys, Nicole A., 2022. "Waste taxes at work: Evidence from the canton of Vaud in Switzerland," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    17. Giulia Faggio & Teresa Schlüter & Philipp vom Berge, 2018. "Interaction of Public and Private Employment: Evidence from a German Government Move," SERC Discussion Papers 0229, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    18. Combes, Pierre-Philippe & Gobillon, Laurent, 2015. "The Empirics of Agglomeration Economies," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 247-348, Elsevier.
    19. Roth, Jonathan & Sant’Anna, Pedro H.C. & Bilinski, Alyssa & Poe, John, 2023. "What’s trending in difference-in-differences? A synthesis of the recent econometrics literature," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 235(2), pages 2218-2244.
    20. Faggio, Giulia & Schlüter, Teresa & Berge, Philipp vom, 2025. "Interaction of public and private employment: Evidence from a German government move," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    21. Bisztray, Márta & Koren, Miklós & Szeidl, Adam, 2018. "Learning to import from your peers," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 242-258.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18124. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.