Hi all, What are the best strategies to keep compostables out of residential trash bins? In 2016, StopWaste, the City of Fremont in California, and Action Research partnered on a pilot project to determine which outreach strategies would improve participation rates in curbside organics collection. An initial mail survey discovered why residents were not placing all compostables in the green bin.
You can see from the image above that the biggest barriers were a lack of knowledge about proper sorting and the “ick” factor (attracting bugs and smelling bad). The survey results were then used to form three outreach strategies that would aim to change behavior. The three strategies were as follows: - Waste reports that showed recycling rates in their neighborhood compared to others - Hangtags left on trash bins along with instructional information- Kitchen compost pails along with educational materials
All three strategies were successful at reducing contamination. The waste reports showed a 28% reduction in contamination and the kitchen compost pails showed a 24% reduction. The hangtags on the bins were more successful than the other two strategies, with a 42% reduction. I’d like to speculate as to why. Here are a few possible reasons:
- Education: The hangtags also came with instructional information about how to sort properly, which directly addressed the barrier of “lack of knowledge” - Humour: The hangtags used humor to capture attention, and attention is the first element of persuasion - Prompts: The hangtags on the trash bins served as a prompt to sort properly. That prompt was close in space and time to the behavior, which could have helped remind residents to make an effort to reduce contamination in the bins
Aside from the above speculation, one of the key takeaways of this pilot project was that there are multiple avenues to success in behavior change programs. Of course, each strategy involves a different set of costs. Program managers should consider their available resources to decide which strategy is optimal.
To learn more about this pilot project, click here.
You can see from the image above that the biggest barriers were a lack of knowledge about proper sorting and the “ick” factor (attracting bugs and smelling bad). The survey results were then used to form three outreach strategies that would aim to change behavior. The three strategies were as follows: - Waste reports that showed recycling rates in their neighborhood compared to others - Hangtags left on trash bins along with instructional information- Kitchen compost pails along with educational materials
All three strategies were successful at reducing contamination. The waste reports showed a 28% reduction in contamination and the kitchen compost pails showed a 24% reduction. The hangtags on the bins were more successful than the other two strategies, with a 42% reduction. I’d like to speculate as to why. Here are a few possible reasons:
- Education: The hangtags also came with instructional information about how to sort properly, which directly addressed the barrier of “lack of knowledge” - Humour: The hangtags used humor to capture attention, and attention is the first element of persuasion - Prompts: The hangtags on the trash bins served as a prompt to sort properly. That prompt was close in space and time to the behavior, which could have helped remind residents to make an effort to reduce contamination in the bins
Aside from the above speculation, one of the key takeaways of this pilot project was that there are multiple avenues to success in behavior change programs. Of course, each strategy involves a different set of costs. Program managers should consider their available resources to decide which strategy is optimal.
To learn more about this pilot project, click here.
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