A recent study conducted by Chiel Verstappen, a student of Creative Technology at UT, has demonstrated the effectiveness of a nudging intervention in reducing toilet water waste within UT's community. The findings offer practical insights into promoting sustainable flushing behaviour, as well as achieving significant water savings on campus.
challenge
The UT campus features toilets equipped with dual buttons, providing users with the option to select a three or six-liter water flush. The high volume of toilet usage, with an average of 53 flushes per day in the Zilverling alone, indicates a considerable potential for water conservation if users consistently choose the appropriate flush option. However, a survey revealed that approximately half of the UT community could improve their flushing behaviour. To address this issue, Chiel implemented a nudging intervention: a well-established method for behavioural change.
the Intervention
Using an intervention based on nudging was instrumental in the research. Literature research disclosed that norm setting nudges, amongst others, generate promising results when designed for water conservation. Norm setting acts as a reminder, and communicates to the toilet user how they should use the toilet buttons. With this knowledge, and the addition of a healthy dose of humor, ten different nudge prompts were designed to convey the message.
The intervention, which Chiel called The Button Nudger, had to be interactive for the toilet user as well as grab their attention. The Button Nudger welcomed the user when they entered the toilet, after which the display changed to show the nudge prompt. When the user flushed the toilet, The Button Nudger thanked the user for flushing and interacting with it. The flush, either big or small, was stored for analysis.
The Zilverling was chosen as a pilot location to test The Button Nudger for nearly three weeks. Four toilet cubicles, two ladies and two gentlemen, were instrumented to measure behavioural influence. Earlier, flushing behaviour without the presence of The Button Nudger was measured for an identical timeframe. This was to establish baseline flushing behaviour for comparative analysis.
impact on water consumption
The impact of The Button Nudger on flushing behavior was evident, with varying degrees of effectiveness observed across different toilets. The maximum percentage of water reduction achieved was 10.7%, while the average water reduction amounted to 6.17%. This means that there is significant potential for water conservation. Each toilet could save approximately 3,180 liters per year based on the average water reduction with the Button Nudger. Extrapolated to the number of toilets on campus, the annual savings could equate to several Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Although there is room for further improvement of The Button Nudger, Chiel remains optimistic about the concept. He believes in expanding the use of behavioral nudging techniques to encourage water conservation in various areas across the university campus.
SUSTAINABILITY AT UT
Sustainability is an important priority area of Shaping2030, the University of Twente’s strategic plan. In addition to finding sustainable solutions for societal issues, the UT wants to set a good example of what it means to be a sustainable organisation. To reach this goal, the ambitions of Shaping2030 need to be put into practice. Many members of the UT community are hard at work translating the sustainability objectives into our work on campus – transforming the way we work, teach, learn, travel, build and more.
Want to find out more about sustainability at UT? Please go to utwente.nl/sustainability.
