Changed behaviour to make Hässleholmen cleaner

Bostäder i Borås is running a pilot project in Hässleholmen to reduce littering in the area. Psychology and behavioural science have been used to map the causes of the problem, and those insights are now being turned into concrete action. From this weekend, for example, the company is offering weekend containers for bulky waste to its tenants.

- Littering in Hässleholmen is a major problem both for our customers and for us, says Sophia Jonsson, head of communications at Bostäder i Borås. On average we spend 144 hours a week cleaning in and around our properties in the area. That is time we would much rather spend doing other things for our tenants.

Since last autumn the housing company has been working with the behavioural science company Nordic Behaviour Group AB on a pilot project aimed specifically at Hässleholmen. Through surveys among tenants, staff and other stakeholders, such as Borås Energi och Miljö, the problem has been mapped and a strategy developed.

- The interviews we have carried out show that littering can come down to several different things, says Sophia Jonsson. It may be that people do not understand what applies, that they do what many others do, in other words that it is accepted behaviour, or that they simply have no way of getting broken furniture to a recycling point. Our aim is to make it easy for our tenants to do the right thing. We need to inform people clearly and accessibly, while also making different options available for getting rid of their waste.

Examples of how Bostäder i Borås is working on the issue

• Photographing and recording every littering case in the properties
• Following up cases by text message to everyone living in the stairwell concerned
• Staffed containers for bulky waste placed out at weekends in several locations in Hässleholmen, starting 29 April.