Case Study - East Lothian

Shock tactics hit the spot on litter

Shock tactics gained East Lothian Council nationwide publicity for its anti-litter campaign. Litter is as anti-social as drink driving, says the head of the campaign.

The anti-litter awareness campaign, the East Lothian Litter Initiative, was launched in 2006. The main aim of ELLI is to highlight that public money is being wasted by clearing up litter that could and should be put in a bin.

Stuart Pryde, Principal Amenity Officer and the man behind the campaign said:

"We currently spend more than £2 million a year cleaning up litter, and by stopping our regular daily street cleaning in one town we were able to show the extent of the problem that quite simply doesn’t need to exist."

"The ELLI campaign has certainly got people talking litter and we intend to introduce other measures in other towns and villages to reinforce the message."

Withdrawing the cleaning services

The council’s innovative approach to illustrate the problem of litter was to withdraw their street cleaning services in the town of Tranent for a week. As crisp packets, drinks cans and assorted debris piled up on the streets, newspapers all over the country reported the approach to shock the public and stimulate debate.

Stuart believes he was supported by both elected members and senior officials in taking this ground-breaking approach. Technically they were breaking the law but after litter was identified as a primary problem in a local citizen poll the council decided to take a risk. But criticism has not stopped Stuart from planning a follow-up with more challenging anti-litter mini-stunts.

"Lunchtime littering has dropped by around 70 per cent, the kids seem to have got the message" - Stuart

This is based on regular visual inspections of the targeted high streets before and after their respective ELLI launches, based on the LEAMS system of measurement.

The campaign has seen a sustained improvement in litter standards. The council’s LEAMS score looks as though it will have increased again in 2007 and may even achieve 73, a significant jump of 3 points since ELLI was launched.

Using a local design agency

To get the campaign up and running, the council contacted a local design agency to create suitable branding. Following an initial launch of the campaign in local papers, research indicated a high recognition rate amongst local residents, and feedback about the aims of the campaign was good.

Posters have been distributed across local public venues and business premises, stickers are proudly displayed on council vehicles and roadside signage has also strengthened the anti-litter message.

"We need to free up the cleaning people to do what they are paid to do. To actually clear the streets of natural problems such as leaves, and emptying bins" - Stuart

Asking him how he justifies spending the money on a campaign rather than on cleaning the streets, he replies: “How can I justify picking up your litter?” Stuart is a firm believer in preventative measures, clearly focused on sorting out the litter issue, which residents have identified as a problem.

"If we spend say £5,000 on the campaign in the next few years and can show that it has wiped out the problem, it is worth it" - Stuart

Awarding kids with vouchers

An earlier initiative that proved successful was to award three youngsters a month with a high street voucher worth £20, simply for not dropping litter. This has not only got schoolchildren thinking about their actions, but also offers a ‘reward’ approach to the problem.

Another successful initiative was the launch of street wardens who have the power to issue fixed penalty notices of £50 to people for not using bins.

As night-time litter continues to be a problem, the council hopes to work in partnership with fast food outlets and encourage them to take ownership of their section of pavements when they lock up at night.

The value of clean streets

A new waste haulage contract achieved 70 per cent recycling for all the waste generated by the service. Those savings were invested back into the front-line service delivery. An increase in the revenue budget will see an overall staff growth of 25 per cent in the cleaning services sector by the end of 2007.

"Elected members recognise the importance given to clean streets by the public so they have invested heavily in recent years" - Stuart

The council spent a few years considering the best approach to take and planning the structure of the ELLI campaign. It’s anticipated that ELLI will have a shelf life of approximately five years with different strands scheduled during this time.

Marketing the stunt

Having identified a suitable campaign message the question was how to market it. The council got in touch with representatives from radio, television and the press, who were happy to spread the message.

The ELLI campaign got some TV coverage, but mostly newspaper coverage, the news spreading from local and regional papers to national ones. Stuart gives the advice to give the media “something juicy”, i.e. not be afraid of spicing up the message.

Stuart worked closely with the East Lothian Council’s Corporate Communications team and was able to take part in most of the radio and TV interviews the publicity generated. He stresses, however, the importance of internal communication. Prior to going ahead with the shock tactics of halting street cleaning services, he ensured he had the full backing of councillors and senior officials.

For more information, please contact Stuart Pryde at spryde@eastlothian.gov.uk