Litter and recycling interventions 

Our portfolio of evidence-based strategies all local authorities and organisations with a responsibility for litter and waste management. However, Keep Britain Tidy Network members receive an exclusive discount on these proven campaigns, helping them 'nudge' responsible behaviour and improve recycling rates. 

Our street litter interventions 

These ready-to-use toolkits leverage behavioural science to tackle specific littering habits, moving communities from reactive clean-up to proactive prevention: 

Bin it for Good 

This simple, low-cost solution transforms bins into 'charity collection pots'. By featuring a new local charity or cause each month, the campaign incentivises people towards doing the right thing with their litter. This taps into the powerful motivation of community benefit, having achieved an average litter reduction of 24% across pilot areas (with one site seeing a reduction of over 80%) and successfully raised over £10,800 for local charities. 

It's Still Littering 

More than one in four people admit to 'careful littering'—the act of placing rubbish on a surface and walking away. This intervention uses eye-catching signs and floor vinyls placed on ledges, benches, and seating areas where this behaviour occurs. It serves as a gentle, yet effective, reminder that whether it's carefully placed or simply thrown, It's Still Littering, disrupting the behaviour at the moment of decision. This approach successfully reduced littering by an average of 20%, and up to 57% in some locations, with 63% of surveyed respondents stating it would prevent them from careful littering in the future. 

Volunteers Tidied Here 

This intervention uses positive, attractive signage to inform the public that an area has recently been cleaned by volunteers. By promoting collective ownership and local pride, this method successfully leverages social pressure to discourage littering in areas cared for by community groups. For maximum impact, we recommend the trialled infographic design, which successfully reduced littering by an average of 40% across three out of four sites, achieving up to a 47% reduction at one location. 

Bin It or Take it Home 

Specifically designed for coastal and high-traffic recreational areas, this campaign addresses the problem of litter left by full or overflowing bins, which can easily be spread by winds, tides, and birds, harming marine life. Using strong, rock-pool themed visuals, the message is clear and actionable, asking visitors to 'bin it or take it home' and appealing to their concern for the environment. Trials showed this campaign reduced litter on beaches by an average of 26% (up to 59% at one beach) and resulted in a 55% reduction in observed instances of leaving rubbish next to bins. 

Our waste and recycling interventions 

Ted Says: Tackling Recycling Contamination 

This high-impact, behaviour change campaign—fronted by the loveable bear 'Ted'—was launched with nine local authorities to tackle the massive problem of disposable nappies contaminating recycling. Ted delivers a simple, clear message to residents about responsible nappy disposal. The campaign is highly effective: when exposed to the campaign, up to 85% of households contaminating with nappies then stopped, significantly improving material quality and reducing processing costs. 

Message from the MRF Worker 

The 'Message from the MRF Worker' is an award-shortlisted recycling contamination intervention that leverages behavioural science and the 'messenger effect' to drive real change: it uses authentic, personalised communications—including the name and photo of a local Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) worker—to engage households with high contamination rates. This simple, replicable, and cost-saving approach proved highly effective, achieving an average 12% reduction in the number of households contaminating their recycling (or 29% when excluding soft plastics) across pilot areas.

Access these proven interventions 

These behaviour change toolkits are available for all organisations to purchase, but our Network members receive an exclusive discount. 

Become a Keep Britain Tidy Network member: Gain access to these proven campaigns at a reduced rate, alongside our expert research, discounted training, and strategic support to help you achieve long-term local environmental improvement.