How children’s drawings can reduce illegal waste dumping

What unsustainable behavior needs to change:

The annual waste report for the Dutch municipality of Dordrecht sheds light on a specific behavioural issue: the frequent illegal dumping of bulky waste near underground containers in the Prinsessenbuurt neighbourhood of Nieuw-Krispijn. This behaviour has had significant consequences for the neighbourhood’s liveability and the efficiency of the waste removal process.

 

The Green Nudge:

In collaboration with Rijkswaterstaat and the municipality of Dordrecht, Shift Gedrag developed an effective solution to reduce this undesirable behaviour and promote a more sustainable approach to waste management.

 

The strategy, which they’ve positioned as „The Green Nudge,“ included multiple interventions:

  • Container Wraps with Children’s Drawings: A design competition for children from Prinses Julianaschool, using the winning drawings to decorate the underground containers. This resulted in increased ownership and reduced anonymity.
  • Thank You Sign: Informational signs with the message, „Thank you for keeping the container areas clean!“ This sign served as a reminder of the respective behaviour desired and made people aware of their civic responsibility.
  • Sidewalk Instructions: This strategy used text and images on the sidewalk near the containers, including contact information for scheduling pickup appointments – to ensure people had quick access to information about bulky waste.
  • Flyers: Clean neighbourhood coaches distributed flyers to inform residents about the intervention and waste disposal options; including translations in various languages to enhance accessibility.
  • WhatsApp Trial: As part of the pilot, residents could have bulky waste picked up by simply sending a WhatsApp message to HVC. This lowered the threshold for scheduling a pickup appointment.

 

The results: 

  1. Bulky Waste: After the implementation of the intervention, incidents of illegal dumping of bulky waste near the underground containers decreased by a remarkable 85%. Conclusively representing a significant behavioural change.
  2. Residual Waste: Incidents of illegally dumped bags of residual waste also decreased by 54%, indicating a positive trend toward more sustainable waste management.
  3. Plastic Waste: While the results for illegally dumped bags of plastic waste were not yet significant, there was a promising decrease in the intervention area. No comparable improvement was observed at the control site.

 

Are you aware of any other nudges that that reduce littering? Feel free to get in touch: hello@green-nudges.com

From psychologist Roos Alink who is a director at Dutch Shift Gedrag. Shift Gedrag helps governmental organisations to make the Netherlands more sustainable and safe with behavioural insights.  

Introducing Parkhuisje 3: A Green Nudge for Cleaner Parks

What unsustainable behavior needs to change:

Parks are a crucial and much-needed escape from the hustle and bustle of city life. They offer a space to relax, people can indulge in recreational activities, and city folk can appreciate the lush greenery that contrasts the concrete jungle. Unfortunately, unsustainable behaviour by some park-goers often results in a decline in park conditions, including littering and other detrimental effects.

Waste behaviour: It’s a well-known image for a Dutchman: a park buried under litter after a sunny day. Despite municipalities enforcing and communicating numerous rules for clean and respectful behaviour in public spaces, visitors often struggle to comply. This begs the question: are municipalities using the most effective behavioural approach? Visitors come to parks for relaxation, yet they often feel constrained by rules that limit their freedoms.

Takeaway delivery behaviour: Meal delivery has grown increasingly popular in the Netherlands. Dutchies particularly enjoy having meals delivered not only to their homes but also to public spaces like parks. However, delivering meals to parks presents challenges, as there is no official delivery address. Some rely on nearby houses with numbered addresses to receive food deliveries, resulting in lost drivers, frustrated residents, and a disruption of park visitors‘ relaxation.

 

The Green Nudge:

Fama Volat has implemented a behavioural intervention to the challenge of meal deliveries in parks. They have installed small, easily identifiable houses with a dual purpose in several parks. Introducing Parkhuisje 3 (Parkhouse 3): on one side, an official address to serve as a collection point for delivery meals, and on the other side, a disposal point for litter in the park.

Parkhuisje 3 is a Green Nudge that replaces traditional communication and rules in parks towards cleaner behaviour, making smart use of the law of reciprocity: a ‘give’ and a ‘take’. By having a designated meeting point for meal deliveries, people receive their meal warm and on time (the ‘take’) thus encouraging  people to clean up after eating ( the ‘give’). In exchange, a clean park for easy ordering and delivery.

The result: Not only were there happier faces in the park where Parkhuisje 3 was stationed, but waste processors found less litter and fewer nuisance reports. The success of Parkhuisje 3 garnered regional and national media attention. And as a result, more of these houses will be installed in Dutch parks in the summer of 2023.

 

From Fama Volat which is a Dutch creative agency that focuses on using creativity to drive behavioural change and make an impact on social issues. They are known for their innovative approach and solutions to urban problems, and have a strong reputation for their work in promoting cleaner behaviour and sustainability.