For our latest blog, Behavioural Scientist, Isobel Madle explains how DG Cities has been working with the Royal Borough of Greenwich to trial new ways of tackling fly-tipping on a local housing estate. By combining behavioural interventions with new technologies, the team is exploring low-cost and innovative approaches that can cut waste and improve the area for local residents.

Fly-tipping is a prolific problem across the UK. In 2020, almost half a million (485,000) incidents reached prosecution, and cost local authorities over £11.5 million pounds a year to clean up. However, this is considered to be the tip of the iceberg, when unreported incidents are included. For local authorities with already tight budgets, this is an issue they could do without.

Reducing fly-tipping is easier said than done; it’s a complex issue, with many barriers that need to be overcome. That is why the Royal Borough of Greenwich commissioned the team at DG Cities to investigate the problem, and develop an innovative approach to pilot, and eventually roll out across the borough. Our solution was to combine technology and behaviour change to reduce fly-tipping on one estate in the borough, the Barnfield Estate, where it had been identified as a particular issue. Fly-tipping is particularly bad at Barnfield due to its location behind two high streets, with easy access for local businesses. It also has multiple entry points, meaning criminal fly-tippers can easily drive on to the estate, dump waste and drive off. Some residents have also been seen fly-tipping.

During phase one of our project, we installed four Internet of Things (IoT) cameras at key locations. The cameras use motion sensor technology to enable quick identification of culprits in real time. We also designed a new process to make it easier for residents to remove their bulky waste, using QR codes. We used techniques such as systems thinking to define and visualise the fly-tipping problem for our partners at the council to help the team understand the problems on Barnfield in more detail. During the project, we have also encountered our fair share of set-backs, from competing local priorities to the theft of two cameras, which highlighted the lengths to which people will go to fly-tip.

Mapping the problem: understanding motivations and drivers

When it comes to enabling behaviour change, it’s important to assess the motivations and barriers of each group, which could explain why they come to fly-tip. From this we, as intervention designers, can understand how we can reduce it. There is no single set of circumstances. Criminals and local residents have very different motivations to fly-tip, therefore require different interventions to create sustained behaviour change. To understand these motivations, we conducted interviews with both residents, businesses and council staff. We even shadowed the caretaker of the estate to see how he collects and processes fly-tips each day. These findings were presented in a systems map to show the scale of the problem and opportunities for our interventions.

Phase one: cameras and communications

This brings us to phase one. We found that residents often fly tip because:

• They lack the space to store bulky items in their home.

• They were unaware of a bulky waste storage space on their estate.

• They were unaware that bulky waste collections were free.

• The bulky waste collection service required them to call the Greenwich council phone number and wait on hold to be directed to the right person.

To reduce these barriers, we produced a simple and quick new process for bulky waste collection. We developed a QR code that went to a short form where residents could complete their collection request. This information is emailed directly to the Barnfield caretaking team. Each resident received a colourful leaflet with the new QR code that set out the process. Already, the system is working – in one month, there has been a 300% increase in bulky waste collection requests.

For criminal fly-tippers, we have taken an enforcement-based approach. Criminal fly-tippers generally dump large amounts of commercial waste, which can include entire kitchens, construction waste and cooking oil. This has physical and psychological health impacts on residents, as well as being detrimental to the local environment.

We partnered with iDefigo and Vodafone to install IoT cameras in fly-tipping hotspots on the estate. The benefit of these cameras is that they have motion detection, meaning they only switch on when they detect movement in an area. The cameras then notify enforcement team members via an app, so that they can watch the fly-tip in real time and save the evidence. This saves a huge amount of time and resources, as the enforcement team no longer need to look through reams of CCTV. They are also better for data privacy: a short retention period protects the identities and privacy of local residents, whilst still catching criminals in the act. In fact, they have clearly rattled the fly-tippers, as two of the cameras were stolen within weeks of installation. This was also caught on tape and has been shared with the appropriate authorities.

Phase two: outreach and physical nudges

In the coming months, we will be installing phase two of the intervention, which includes a social media campaign and physical intervention. The aim is to see which behaviour change approaches generate the most impact and are preferred by local residents. We can then discuss the potential applicability of the approach for other areas where fly-tipping is an issue.

DG Cities has a dedicated behavioural science team, who work with local authorities to explore how behavioural change interventions can help to improve the lives of residents, reduce energy and save councils money. We are working across a range of projects, from improving how people recycle waste or consume energy at home, to supporting active travel and new approaches to electric vehicle infrastructure. Our team includes experts in research, behavioural science, behavioural economics and specialists in project management and the latest technological solutions. Follow us on Twitter to find out about the next phase of our Greenwich project, or get in touch if you are a local authority looking to find a new way to meet your net-zero targets or tackle a challenge in your area.