Sutton has introduced a mix of novel ways to encourage High Street visitors who litter to change their behaviour.
They are part of Sutton Council’s Clean Streets Sutton campaign which launched last week with a business pledge in which traders signed up to commitments to reduce waste, keep their businesses tidy and work with the council to improve the cleanliness of the local area.
They are part of Sutton Council’s Clean Streets Sutton campaign which launched last week with a business pledge in which traders signed up to commitments to reduce waste, keep their businesses tidy and work with the council to improve the cleanliness of the local area.
This week, Sutton Council and its partner Hubbub, Britain’s leading behaviour change charity, will set up fun-filled and thought-provoking activities involving residents and borough schools to increase community awareness of the problem.
The campaign is being funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Sutton Council collects more than eight tonnes of litter every day and over 3,000 tonnes every year. It is hoped the campaign will help to reduce litter and save the taxpayer some of the £3m a year that is spent clearing up waste.
Small changes in behaviour can make a big difference. For example, the Local Government Association says the average price of clearing up each piece of gum off pavement is £1.50 – 50 times as much as the gum costs to buy.
The Clean Streets Sutton activities, which will run over six weeks, include:
Cigarette ballot bins outside pubs where smokers can vote on topical issues including as who is the best superhero, Batman or Superman; who would make a better James Bond and will Leicester City win the Premier League.
Covering the hoardings in front of Times Square Shopping Centre with an image gallery of business people and residents holding signs supporting the campaign.
Installing brightly-coloured bins in the High Street to see if they entice more people to use them over traditional bins.
Outlining each piece of trodden-in chewing gum with brightly-coloured chalk to create a visual display that will highlight the scale of gum litter on our streets.
Trail the use of ‘Gum Drop’ bins, where used chewing gum is collected and recycled into useful items such as rulers and gumboots.
The campaign also includes a schools programme in which more than 1,000 young people in Sutton Grammar, Greenshaw High School, Glenthorne High School and Wilson’s will watch anti-litter assemblies to educate and inform them.
Greenshaw High School is also to be a pilot school to promote the campaign through lunchtime activities on Tuesday 22 March including:
Trash converters, where actors dressed as refuse collectors exchange litter in the playground for prizes such as recycled material stationery
Gum-chalking activity, where chalk used to highlight chewing gum litter
Litter basketball
Voting bins, where students put litter in particular bins to choose their answer to a question.
Cllr Jill Whitehead, Chair of the Environment and Neighbourhoods Committee at Sutton Council, said:
“Clean Streets Sutton is about using the latest thinking about behaviour change to try to alter the habits of people who litter, and help educate others as to the benefits of a cleaner, safer and more inviting environment.
“It will also help to save the taxpayer money as the everyday costs of cleaning up chewing gum, cigarette butts, fly-tipping and litter really add up. At a time when our budgets are being severely cut, any savings can make a big difference.
“Clean Streets Sutton will help us work towards our ambitious One Planet Sutton goals to reduce waste and pollution, and create a more sustainable borough.”
The approach builds on Hubbub’s successful Neat Streets campaign last year that cut littering in Villiers Street, Westminster by 26 per cent. Hubbub is bringing that latest thinking, combined with observational research about the habits of people who drop litter in Sutton, to reduce the amount of litter dropped, which in turn will mean the council will save some of the money it costs to keep the streets clean.
Trewin Restorick, CEO/Founder of Hubbub, said:
“The voting bin is a simple solution that has provoked an incredibly positive response. We’ve had requests from around the world for the bin with many countries wondering how they can change the questions to reflect their country’s culture and interests. So we have taken the plunge and are now scaling up production so that we can sell the bins to tackle the issue of litter in a fun and engaging way.”
The campaign is being funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Sutton Council collects more than eight tonnes of litter every day and over 3,000 tonnes every year. It is hoped the campaign will help to reduce litter and save the taxpayer some of the £3m a year that is spent clearing up waste.
Small changes in behaviour can make a big difference. For example, the Local Government Association says the average price of clearing up each piece of gum off pavement is £1.50 – 50 times as much as the gum costs to buy.
The Clean Streets Sutton activities, which will run over six weeks, include:
Cigarette ballot bins outside pubs where smokers can vote on topical issues including as who is the best superhero, Batman or Superman; who would make a better James Bond and will Leicester City win the Premier League.
Covering the hoardings in front of Times Square Shopping Centre with an image gallery of business people and residents holding signs supporting the campaign.
Installing brightly-coloured bins in the High Street to see if they entice more people to use them over traditional bins.
Outlining each piece of trodden-in chewing gum with brightly-coloured chalk to create a visual display that will highlight the scale of gum litter on our streets.
Trail the use of ‘Gum Drop’ bins, where used chewing gum is collected and recycled into useful items such as rulers and gumboots.
The campaign also includes a schools programme in which more than 1,000 young people in Sutton Grammar, Greenshaw High School, Glenthorne High School and Wilson’s will watch anti-litter assemblies to educate and inform them.
Greenshaw High School is also to be a pilot school to promote the campaign through lunchtime activities on Tuesday 22 March including:
Trash converters, where actors dressed as refuse collectors exchange litter in the playground for prizes such as recycled material stationery
Gum-chalking activity, where chalk used to highlight chewing gum litter
Litter basketball
Voting bins, where students put litter in particular bins to choose their answer to a question.
Cllr Jill Whitehead, Chair of the Environment and Neighbourhoods Committee at Sutton Council, said:
“Clean Streets Sutton is about using the latest thinking about behaviour change to try to alter the habits of people who litter, and help educate others as to the benefits of a cleaner, safer and more inviting environment.
“It will also help to save the taxpayer money as the everyday costs of cleaning up chewing gum, cigarette butts, fly-tipping and litter really add up. At a time when our budgets are being severely cut, any savings can make a big difference.
“Clean Streets Sutton will help us work towards our ambitious One Planet Sutton goals to reduce waste and pollution, and create a more sustainable borough.”
The approach builds on Hubbub’s successful Neat Streets campaign last year that cut littering in Villiers Street, Westminster by 26 per cent. Hubbub is bringing that latest thinking, combined with observational research about the habits of people who drop litter in Sutton, to reduce the amount of litter dropped, which in turn will mean the council will save some of the money it costs to keep the streets clean.
Trewin Restorick, CEO/Founder of Hubbub, said:
“The voting bin is a simple solution that has provoked an incredibly positive response. We’ve had requests from around the world for the bin with many countries wondering how they can change the questions to reflect their country’s culture and interests. So we have taken the plunge and are now scaling up production so that we can sell the bins to tackle the issue of litter in a fun and engaging way.”