Here are the four steps to help you apply a behavioural lens:
1) BEHAVIOUR – Define the Behaviour
Be specific about what you want people to do:
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“Put all recyclable materials in the recycling bin rather than the general waste bin.”
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“Rinse food containers before placing them in the recycling.”
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“Recycle food waste every week using the food caddy, and not the wheelie bin.”
At this stage it’s important to create a long list of potential beahviours you may want to shift, and then segment this down to a shortlist of what you will actually do.
Also, be clear on what will and what won’t achieve change. You may have the best communications campaign on a housing estate, but if someone brings their recycling down from the sixth floor and the nearest communal recycling bin is too far away, it smells, is full, and there are problems with missed collections, a pretty poster won’t solve this. This is where a behavioural approach reaps the most benefit.
2) EXAMINE – Examine the Barriers Using COM-B
Now put yourself in the shoes of your residents and ask: what might get in the way of them carrying out a behaviour or set of behaviours? Sometimes telling residents can be enough. For example, if a resident doesn’t know they can now recycle small electricals, telling them can be enough.
But usually about much more, as lots of things affect human behaviour. Better services and better communications go hand in hand. A useful starting point is the COM-B framework, developed at UCL, which explains that a behaviour (B) only happens when people have: Capability – the knowledge and skills to do it, Opportunity – an enabling environment that makes it possible and Motivation – the belief and desire to do it.
Here is a worked example,
Capability barriers
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Do residents know which items can be recycled in their area?
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Do they understand that items need to be clean and not contaminated?
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Are instructions clear and easy to follow (e.g. “remove film from trays”)?
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Do they know when the recycling collection day is?
Opportunity barriers
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Do residents have the right containers or bins at home?
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Is there enough space (particularly for flats) to store recycling?
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Are recycling services regular, convenient and easy to access?
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What are neighbours and family members doing – are they setting a positive example?
Motivation barriers
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Do residents believe recycling makes a real difference?
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Do they feel it’s worth the effort, or do they see it as “someone else’s problem”?
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Is it an embedded habit or something they have to actively remember?
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Are there any perceived downsides (e.g. “it’s messy / confusing / takes too long”)?
3) SOLVE – Use the Insights to Design Your Campaign or Intervention
Once the key barriers are identified, you can design specific interventions to tackle the problems you’ve identified. But don’t rush to this part. Solutions that don’t solve the actual problem won’t change behaviour. Take the time to marry up interventions matched to behaviour.
| Barrier | Potential Intervention |
|---|---|
| People don’t know what can be recycled (Capability) | Simple, visual bin stickers or leaflets with local rules |
| Residents don’t have enough space for recycling (Opportunity) | Provide space-saving caddies or collapsible containers |
| People think recycling is pointless (Motivation) | Share impact facts and “you helped recycle X tonnes” feedback |
| Not a habit (Motivation) | Nudges and prompts (e.g. fridge magnets, bin labels, reminders) |
| Neighbours not recycling (Opportunity) | Community-led campaigns and visible commitments (“Our street recycles”) |
And when you communicate repeating messages, simply and often can be key.
4) TEST – Test and Learn
After launching your campaign, track behaviour and feedback. Are contamination rates decreasing? Are people using the correct bin more often? Which interventions are having most impact? Use learning to refine and scale.
But always link your services improvements and communications back to your goals and what you set out to achieve. And if you are struggling to get data, can you trial something in a smaller area first?
In Summary
This apprach helps join up service improvements with communications that works, as long as you follow these four steps:
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Behaviour: Define the specific behaviours to change.
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Examine: Identify the barriers using Capability, Opportunity and Motivation.
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Solve: Design targeted interventions and communications.
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Test: Evaluate what works, learn and continually adapt based on what works.
Book a planning call and I’ll show you what steps to take to improve your receycling service and communcaitons.