As a member of Recycle Florida Today, Inc., please see the information share from Dr. Juyeong Choi, an Associate Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. Dr. Choi is seeking interest from communities or counties interested in participating as case studies. They hope to work with selected participants to better understand behavioral patterns and collaboratively develop policy and educational recommendations using their LLM-based model.See the message below from Dr. Choi for more information.
Thank you for being a valued member of the Recycle Florida Today network.
Begin message.
Dear RFT members,
My name is Juyeong Choi, and I am an Associate Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. In collaboration with Recycling Florida Today, my research team at FSU is preparing a proposal for the Hinkley Center for Solid and Hazardous Waste Management. Our goal is to develop a large language model (LLM)-based planning support system to assist with recycling policy and education initiatives.
This proposal builds on our recent study that examined the factors influencing individuals’ decisions to recycle. We found that community members often face distinct barriers and have different information needs when it comes to recycling.
With advancements in artificial intelligence, we aim to analyze individual waste disposal behaviors and create a system that helps local agencies design more tailored and effective recycling programs based on their community’s specific needs. A summary of the proposed project is included below for your reference.
To move this project forward, we are seeking communities or counties interested in participating as case studies. We hope to work closely with selected participants to better understand behavioral patterns and collaboratively develop policy and educational recommendations using our LLM-based model.
If your community is interested in participating, please complete the form at the link below by March 23:
https://forms.office.com/r/LYNQgfp112
Thank you for considering this opportunity to support innovative, data-driven approaches to improving recycling across Florida. We look forward to working together to make our state greener and more sustainable.
Please feel free to contact me by email at jchoi@eng.famu.fsu.edu if you have any questions.
Project summary
Effective recycling is vital to Florida’s environmental sustainability, yet statewide success depends on residents’ individual waste-management decisions. Despite a 75% recycling goal set for 2020, participation has stagnated, and contamination remains a persistent challenge. Improving these outcomes requires data-driven policymaking that accounts for complex economic, psychological, and social factors influencing recycling behavior. Traditional planning tools fall short in capturing this complexity, often oversimplifying human variability through demographic generalizations. This proposal addresses these limitations by developing a Large Language Model (LLM)–powered, persona-based planning support system capable of simulating diverse communities’ response to potential recycling interventions and strategies. The project begins with a Florida-specific Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) survey to establish baseline behavioral data. Building on survey insights and input from statewide recycling stakeholders, LLM-powered agents will be developed to represent distinct community personas. These agents can be used to evaluate and refine existing recycling strategies and identify incentive programs aligned with unique community needs. A user-friendly dashboard will integrate these capabilities, enabling practitioners to test scenarios, compare predicted impacts on participation and contamination, and make informed decisions tailored to their service areas. Aligned with the Hinkley Center’s Research Agenda (Topics #17 and #20), this project provides a scalable decision-support tool that empowers Florida communities to design targeted, effective recycling interventions.
Best regards,
Juyeong
Juyeong Choi, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
2035 E Paul Dirac Dr 2nd Floor, Room 277
Tallahassee FL 32310
(850) 410-6190
Email: jchoi@eng.famu.fsu.edu
