Pilot action
State-of-the-art nudging techniques for effective and qualitative biowaste collection
In Mechelen, from 2026 onwards, biowaste from households will no longer be allowed in the mixed residual waste (obligation by Flemish law). Even though it will be mandatory to separate biowaste at the source, the intermunicipal waste company IVAREM, which is responsible for the collection, only expects a 50% participation rate and a rather poor quality of the biowaste. Biowaste that contains a lot of impurities will not be accepted at the composting plants and will be burned with the residual waste, which is more costly and bad for the environment. We know that a good communication campaign with the right nudging techniques will be crucial to changing the behaviour of citizens to get the desired results.
In the pilot action, we want to find out which are the best communication/nudging techniques for effective and qualitative biowaste collection in Mechelen. It is not feasible to test a large range of techniques on the entire population of 89.000 inhabitants. The city staff (1200 people) is a good reflection of the diversity of society in the city and a confined space where more techniques can be tested, so this will be our testing population for the pilot. The technique(s) that show to be most effective on the city staff could then be further scaled up towards all citizens in Mechelen and even further to the other 10 municipalities under the management of IVAREM.
We will first need to implement a biowaste collection system at the city offices before we can start testing different nudging techniques. The city’s own communication department can offer support but has too little experience with the latest state-of-the-art nudging techniques. Therefore, an external communication agency will need to be hired to guide the city of Mechelen. Due to the huge budgets for regular operations and logistics, the city government is not able to provide any additional resources that are needed to perform this testing, hence our request for additional funds for this pilot action.
In the pilot action, we want to find out which are the best communication/nudging techniques for effective and qualitative biowaste collection in Mechelen. It is not feasible to test a large range of techniques on the entire population of 89.000 inhabitants. The city staff (1200 people) is a good reflection of the diversity of society in the city and a confined space where more techniques can be tested, so this will be our testing population for the pilot. The technique(s) that show to be most effective on the city staff could then be further scaled up towards all citizens in Mechelen and even further to the other 10 municipalities under the management of IVAREM.
We will first need to implement a biowaste collection system at the city offices before we can start testing different nudging techniques. The city’s own communication department can offer support but has too little experience with the latest state-of-the-art nudging techniques. Therefore, an external communication agency will need to be hired to guide the city of Mechelen. Due to the huge budgets for regular operations and logistics, the city government is not able to provide any additional resources that are needed to perform this testing, hence our request for additional funds for this pilot action.
Addressed policy instruments
Policy Plan of the City of MechelenPartners
City of Mechelen
Belgium
Prov. Antwerpen