Clever Dutch intervention leverages the familiar scent of lemon, renowned for its association with cleanliness, to reduce waste near underground containers.
What unsustainable behavior needs to change:
Many Dutch municipalities face challenges in encouraging residents to dispose of their waste properly. Regrettably, bags filled with garbage and other debris often end up beside underground waste containers rather than inside of them. Typically, a polluted environment tends to attract more litter and antisocial behaviour, whereas a clean and orderly environment tends to stay cleaner (the Broken Windows Theory).
Concurrently, traditional communication methods like posters, often fail to produce effective results, particularly in diverse neighbourhoods with various ethnic backgrounds. This prompted a search for a more universal approach. The team at Fama Volat sought to explore whether scent could serve as a potent, universal language to address this issue.
The Green Nudge:
The creative agency came up with the idea to use sensory priming to encourage proper waste disposal. By dispersing a fresh scent reminiscent of cleaning products, they activate the brain’s association with cleanliness, subtly encouraging individuals to maintain cleaner environments.
To implement this, „birdhouses“ designed to release lime-scented pellets were installed around problematic waste container sites. The birdhouses, closed off to birds but filled with scent pellets, allowed the wind to spread the lime scent, which significantly helped to reduce the misplacement of waste and thereby promote cleaner behaviour amongst users.
The result: A study of 38 underground waste containers—18 with scented birdhouses (study group) and 20 without (control group)—revealed a 13% decrease in incorrectly placed waste in the study group. Whereas, the control group saw a 214% increase. On top of that, there was a 24% reduction in litter in the neighbourhoods surrounding the problem locations.
Are you aware of any other nudges that help to prevent littering? Feel free to get in touch: hello@green-nudges.com
From Chaim Becker, who is a creative strategist at Fama Volat. Based in the Netherlands, Fama Volat is a creative agency dedicated to leveraging creativity to influence behaviour and address social issues. They are known for their innovative approach and solutions to urban problems as well as their work in promoting sustainability and cleaner behaviour.
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