Neighborhood competitions reduce informal waste burning in Uganda
Based on Buntaine, M., Komakech, P., & Shen, S. V. (2024). Social Competition Drives Collective Action to Reduce Informal Waste Burning in Uganda. PNAS. 121 (23) e2319712121
Social competitions can be leveraged as a low-cost strategy to change community behavior without the need for material incentives or increased enforcement.
The Policy Problem
Improving urban air quality is a pressing challenge in the Global South. A key source of air pollution is the informal burning of household waste. Governmental bodies often lack resources to enforce pollution regulations and formal systems to dispose of household waste are frequently unavailable or unreliable. This leads residents to informally burn household waste along roadways and alleys in residential areas. Even as formal waste disposal services have expanded, the practice of informal waste burning has persisted. This is likely because transitioning to formal disposal requires residents to pay a fee and bring their waste to collection points. What strategies can communities and leaders employ to reduce air pollution without regulatory enforcement or a monetary incentive? Can social interventions such as comparison, competition, and recognition be used to reduce informal waste burning?
Key Findings and Proposed Solutions
Neighborhood competitions substantially reduced informal waste burning, without material incentives for the winners or increased enforcement by municipal authorities.
Even after the competition ended, the reduction in informal waste burning persisted.
Social competitions can be leveraged as a low-cost strategy to motivate community leaders and the general public to unite around a common goal and adopt new behaviors.