Case Study - Southwark

‘Blinging’ campaigns reach teens

Previous litter campaigns had not reached 11 to 18-year-olds, so Southwark created the Blingin’ or Mingin’ campaign. Quite simply, enviro-crimes are mingin’, whereas keeping the area clean is blingin’. The Stalking Litter campaign saw actors dressed up as litter on the street.

Southwark is a borough of stark contrasts, with some of the poorest as well as some of the wealthiest people in the capital. There are concentrated areas of high deprivation and most residents live in social housing. In fact, the council is the third largest landlord in London.

Anti-social behaviour and enviro-crimes are major concerns for local people – a fact discovered through surveys and community consultation. In last year's MORI survey of residents, crime and cleaner streets were the main worries and Southwark residents wanted to see action taken against people who damage the environment.

With a cleaning bill of around £19m for its streets and housing estates, the environment certainly matters for Southwark Council too.

With so many deep-rooted issues, the council has had to take an innovative approach – and its ambitious teams have produced a programme that is hard-hitting, focused, and is proving to make a real difference for all sections of the community. Two of their most successful – and creative – solutions have been the Blingin’ or Mingin’ and the Stalking Litter campaigns

Blingin’ or Mingin’ – which are ya?

This tongue-in-cheek comic approach was a first for Southwark and was, to a large extent, based on ENCAMS research that showed many young people were quite honest about their propensity to drop litter. Many claimed they dropped litter every day, without thinking and without any regard to the consequences. Unlike adults, they felt guilty about this behaviour.

"We used a viral e-mail with a quiz to find out how blingin’ or mingin’ a person is, and dedicated web pages on the Southwark website. There were posters for schools and community sites, key rings with the blingin’ or mingin’ message, stress decision dice and folding enviro-crime pictures." - Gemma Gallagher, Client Enforcement Project Officer

Reaching secondary schools

Each secondary school in the borough received a letter about the campaign and copies of the posters. The letter explained what the campaign was about, asked for a volunteer school for the launch event and offered follow-up work for schools that were interested.

The viral e-mail was sent to the main office of each secondary school in Southwark and a banner was added to the homepage of the Southwark website for the first four weeks of the campaign in December 2004. Each school received posters with Southwark’s website address on them.

A blingin’ launch event

The launch event involved a blingin’ ‘pimp host’ and two ‘hos’ in a limousine with police car, security guards and motorbike escort. The limo pulled up outside the school where the ‘celebrities’ (council staff) inside gave out freebies, pulled away as the crowd grew, and then came back to give out more freebies.

"Since the launch event, many teachers have requested a similar event at their schools. So far two more schools have had a visit from the limo, with further events planned for 2007" - Gemma Gallagher

Many schools requested extra posters and freebies – and a total of 2,000 decision dice, 2,000 key rings and 4,000 folding pictures were given out. The viral e-mail has had more than 30,000 hits since its launch. There was also coverage of the campaign in the Times Educational Supplement, the South London Press, the Southwark News and Waste and Recycling World.

Since the campaign was launched, requests through the call-centre for street sweeping from litter have dropped significantly and the council’s BVPI 199 score has improved too.

Stalking Litter

This campaign was aimed at the whole community and involved a borough-wide, highly visual series of performances by people dressed as giant litter. Costumes included a cigarette butt, crisp packet, cola can, chewing gum, burger and banana skin – all branded with names such as Trash Cola and Debris Bar.

The concept was based on Trigger Happy TV’s 'stalking squirrels' and was designed to overcome people’s apathy about littering.

The performances were an opportunity to educate the public through leaflets, promotional products such as pocket ashtrays (stubbies) and telling people about forthcoming enforcement operations.

"The campaign particularly set out to raise awareness of problems associated with littering such as rat infestations" - Gemma Gallagher

Stalking Litter actors also worked with young people in acting skills workshops and enlisted their help in putting on more performances.

More than a thousand stubbies have been given out to smokers as an alternative to putting their cigarette ends on the floor, and around 5,000 folding enviro-crime pictures and other promotional products have been given to passers-by.

As a result of the campaign, the costumes are in demand from other council departments, schools and community groups.

For more information, please contact Gemma Gallagher at gemma.gallagher@southwark.gov.uk