Science & Tech

The Best Anti-Littering Campaigns

Mica Bendezu

30 Sep 2025 — 3 min read

"Ballot Bins" designed by the Hubbub Foundation for Edinburgh and London (Zero Waste Scotland, 2023)

While discussing waste management with Tracey Coe of ODNR, she pointed our group to the following article on successful anti-littering campaigns around the world by Zero Waste Scotland (2023).

Excerpts from Zero Waste Scotland (2023)

A finely-tuned litter prevention campaign gets people talking.

It tackles the challenge of changing behaviour, and brings communities together to do good. Get it right, and a campaign can also become a vehicle for long-term sustainable change.

We’ve picked some of the best campaigns from around the world, including our own Scotland is Stunning campaign – they’re here to inspire you, and to help you engage effectively with your communities.

"Ballot Bins" designed by the Hubbub Foundation for Edinburgh and London (Zero Waste Scotland, 2023)

Littering is often an unconscious act. The best campaigns make people stop, and think.

In Edinburgh and London, Hubbub installed double-slot ‘ballot’ bins for general waste and cigarette butts. The bins gave people the chance to vote with their rubbish. Light-hearted questions kept them engaged. Messi or Ronaldo? Begbie or Renton? Batman or Superman? Just pop your litter in the slot to register your vote.

In London, the campaign focused on one busy street. Here’s what they found:

Cigarette butt littering was reduced by 8% during the campaign, at one point dipping by 18%

Ballot bins collected 29% of a street’s correctly disposed-of waste

Voting-by-bin went viral on social media

The campaign buzz drew 80 enquiries asking to use ballot bins in other areas.

Why does it work? Most bins are designed to blend in. The ballot bins work because they stand out – thanks to brightly coloured wraps. More than that, the campaign achieved something that’s hard to do: make it fun to use bins.

Slogan for the **Texas Department of Transportation**'s anti-littering campaign (Zero Waste Scotland, 2023)

The campaign’s 2013 report found that:

98% of Texas residents are familiar with the slogan

There had been a 34% reduction in visible roadside litter since 2009

Why does it work? Don’t Mess with Texas speaks to local people in a way they can instantly connect with. It appeals to their pride in their local community, helps them to ‘own’ the campaign and be proud of their achievements.

Love Essex littering prevention campaign (Zero Waste Scotland, 2023)

How did it work? By combining education with enforcement warnings. Messages highlighting the risk of a fine for littering were displayed on posters, buses, fast-food packaging, and promoted on social media.

There were also regular litter-picks with local businesses and councils, highlighting the extent of the problem. A single clean-up along a six mile stretch of the A120 collected 120 tonnes of litter.

More importantly, the Love Essex message got results. In its third year, from August to October 2016, Keep Britain Tidy reported a two-fifths reduction in fast-food litter and a 41% reduction in litter overall.

Why does it work? Dunna Chuck Bruck’s long-running success can be summed up in one word: change. As time goes on, organisers and participants have adapted to the islanders’ evolving needs around litter prevention.

Why does it work? This campaign made an instant connection with the target audience, using language that’s instantly recognised by Scots. The informal language also means that people view Flinging’s Mingin’ as a grassroots movement for good, not a public information campaign.

Cigarette butts, Nicole Li and I found in our research, represent a significant portion of littered material at Alum Creek State Park Beach. Our contacts at ODNR were resistant to the idea of cigarette butt ballot bins; they found them a little strange, or maybe not in keeping with the atmosphere and ethos of state parks. The effectiveness of the ballot bins may still be valuable in what it teaches us, though: that eye-catching, and/or interactive/gamified solutions might be the way to go. The other examples show the effectiveness in appealing to local pride, which could be a source of inspiration as well.