Who Knew Some Old Dirty Cigarette Butts And Chewed Gum Could Be Used For This
How do you get people to buy into helping solve a large-scale, systematic problem? Make it fun.
The first project of the company's #NeatStreets initiative was commenced by placing boxes with two clear, divided sections around London that prompt citizens to cast votes on a culturally relevant question. The clever catch is, they can only vote using cigarette butts.
The psychological factors behind them are twofold. First, it makes avoiding littering fun and interactive - citizens get to "voice" their opinion on something important to them. And secondly, it's visually empowering. Seeing mounds of cigarette butts already thrown away is incredibly compelling in motivating others to do the same.
“Our public polling discovered that a staggering 86 per cent of people think littering is a disgusting habit yet only 15 per cent of us would actually confront someone and tell them that,†the organization writes on its website.
“This is why from May to October we’re trialling a new approach to tackling littering on Villiers Street, Westminster, using the latest thinking on behaviour change and awareness raising from around the world.â€
Project #NeatStreets is a brilliant initiative and hopefully more non-profit organizations out there will utilize this recipe of playful interactiveness and visual communication for helping raise awareness and generate change around other systemic issues.