Waste prevention is at the top of the five-step waste hierarchy; however, despite numerous efforts to strengthen waste prevention, waste generation remains at a high level. Together with the Institut für Sozialinnovation e.V. and Ökopol GmbH, INTECUS worked on the research project “Identification of sociological determinants of waste prevention and design of a target group-specific communication” in the period 11/2017 to 02/2020. The project used quantitative and qualitative social research methods to investigate the everyday practices of using and consuming various everyday objects with a view to the potential for waste prevention. For this purpose, a nationwide online survey with 1,310 participants and guided interviews with consumers were conducted. INTECUS investigated the separation behavior of more than 50 Berlin households. Different challenges and potentials for different social groups were identified with a milieu analysis based on the concept of social milieus from sociodimensions. In addition, the perspective of multipliers and communicators was considered and a handout for target group-specific communication on waste prevention was developed.
