The following is an introductory article I wrote to introduce everyone to two essential elements in long term improvements. Leverage & Momentum.
There is much to discuss about litter but before we get into the tips, tricks clever techniques for good litter management I wanted to introduce you to two of the most important words in litter circles.
Leverage – the power to influence a person.
Momentum – the impetus and driving force gained by the development of a process or course of events.
Leverage in litter management comes from the actions and activities you attempt and how people perceive and interact with them. Establishing momentum and building on it occurs when you overlap your actions and activities, and you include as many stakeholders and community members as possible who support or benefit from those actions and activities.
Building momentum at community clean-ups is a great opportunity for all local councils.
There is no right or wrong starting point for litter management only what’s good for your town or city.
There’s no one size fits all approach to litter you can start with a marketing campaign such as New South Wales successful “Hey Tosser’, or the privatisation of some of the litter enforcement in the UK or perhaps the “Litter Cabinet” approach from Philadelphia. They are all correct when you gain some leverage from them, when you identify the momentum they are creating and build on it.
Once you’ve decided on a starting point you should be looking for the first leverage opportunity, how are you anticipating the first action will influence or impact on people’s behaviours? O.K, now what’s the next step that you could take to support or encourage those activities and outcomes? It’s not enough to point the finger and expect immediate improvements from a single action you must be building on them.
Each and every action or activity applied to litter management has options as to what should follow it and gaining a benefit from the preceding. That’s how you need to think to get the most leverage from what you are doing, always looking for the next step, be lateral, communicate what’s happening and be progressive.
Byron Bay have a created a fantastic message using the side of the waste trucks, uniformed staff and an investment in bins. These actions leverage of each other and help with local momentum.
Once you have launched the first of you actions in litter you should have a little momentum, that needs to be maintained. Let’s look at a crew of cleaners collecting litter in an area, is there a way to leverage them and gain momentum for your program?
You could then engage with the businesses or other users in the area and let them know about your cleaning activities, seek out the best time for them something that would ideally support them and the business. On the back of that, you can seek their assistance in doing a little bit in the area to help manage litter, asking their cleaners also to help maintain the space. A collaborative approach.
That’s just an example of how including as many others in the discussions about outcomes for improving litter will have you developing processes that work for your businesses and the community. The more people involved in your processes, the greater your momentum, and once you start the momentum, you should continue looking for ways to grow it.
If you have any question please feel free to contact me at paul@wasteadspace.com.au and I will provide answers and suggestions back to you.