Late last year, a pilot started in our Langeveld Building on Campus Woudestein, with the aim of reducing the amount of litter in the lecture rooms. Various 'nudges' such as posters and banners, grounded in scientific research, were placed throughout the building. The results of the pilot have now been presented. Using tailor-made interventions, litter in the teaching spaces of Langeveld Building was reduced by 63%!
The pilot was a collaboration between Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR), cleaning company Gom and BIG'R, an independent research centre within the Erasmus School of Social & Behavioral Sciences (ESSB). Together with students, BIG'R researched the specific situation in Langeveld Building by conducting interviews with people in the building. The researchers investigated that possible barriers and motivators for clean-up behaviour. Their study showed that it is mainly subconscious behaviour that causes the littering.
Pilot with behavioural interventions
Based on the results of the BIG'R research, Gom developed a series of banners, posters and table cards together with the university's Real Estate & Facilities department, which were distributed in Langeveld Building in November 2023. These 'behavioural interventions' aimed to positively 'nudge' people into different behaviour.
Gom's cleaners were instructed to record the amount of waste in the teaching rooms. They are positive about the pilot, says Daisy van den Ouden, Campus Manager Gom Education at EUR: ‘It takes our staff a lot of time to clean up rubbish, time they cannot spend on their core task, which is cleaning. The cleaning staff are happy that they are now being heard and that we are taking action to make their work easier and more enjoyable.’
What is nudging?
Nudging is a motivational technique from behavioural psychology, where people are subtly motivated to perform certain behaviour or make a certain choice. It often involves unconscious behaviour. 'Nudges' are changes in the environment that give people a nudge towards the desired behaviour.
For example: Placing a basketball net above the waste bin to it more likely for people to throw their rubbish in the bin.
"The interventions have turned out to be even more effective than we expected!"
Inge Merkelbach
Managing Director of Big'R
Three times less waste
After the pilot, BIG'R analyzed the measurements. The pilot has had a surprisingly big effect, says Inge Merkelbach, Managing Director of BIG'R: ‘Before the pilot started, waste was detected by the cleaners in 63% of the lecture rooms in Langeveld Building. Thanks to the interventions, this has decreased to 23%. That's a reduction of no less than 63%. The interventions thus turned out to be even more effective than we expected, as we were aiming for a 30-40% reduction. With this great result in Langeveld Building, we are really making a societal impact together.’
Behavioural psychology on campus
In sum, the collaboration between scientific research and strategic management turns out to be promising. Over the next months, EUR's Real Estate & Facilities department, together with BIG'R and Gom, will explore how to follow up on the pilot. They will also identify which other challenges on campus could benefit from a behavioural research approach. For example, how can we motivate people to stop smoking and vaping on campus? Or to separate their waste better? Hopefully, behavioural interventions could make a positive impact in these areas too.
- More information
Questions regarding this news? Ask them via tomorrowscampus@eur.nl.