Dive Summary:

• According to the Journal of Consumer Research, the shape and appearance of recyclables determine if the item will be recycled.
• The study found that when a container was dented or paper was crumbled, subjects would perceive it as trash, not considering it recyclable.
• The data collected from the studies may serve as a key to understanding recycling habits and could serve as a catalyst to change packaging designs in order to fit with the psychology of consumers, leading to a greater volume of recycling.

From the article:

People with whole sheets of paper tended to recycle them; those with paper bits were more likely to trash them.

One hypothesis is that when the shape of a consumer good is distorted and made smaller, our brains assign it to a category quite different from its original function. The damaged or altered object ceased to be a can, a bottle, or a piece of paper, which are all objects of value.

…[Americans] only recycled 8 percent of plastics. That's led the researchers to wonder if the process of ripping open plastic packages, like those enshrouding food products, psychologically renders the material worthless.