Citizen involvement as a platform for reduced plastic in residual waste
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | ElectriCITY Innovation ek för |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 1 076 000 |
| Project duration | June 2022 - October 2024 |
| Status | Completed |
| Venture | The transformation of civil society |
| Call | Civil society´s solutions to climate transition. Innovation and cross-sectorial collaboration to reach the swedish climate goals |
Important results from the project
The project developed methods to enhance households´ knowledge and motivation for sorting plastic from residual waste and examined the impact of incentives. The development and testing of a simple, scalable method for recording chute openings enabled household-level measurement. Furthermore, a combination of informational mailings, incentives, and an app for tracking individual and neighbors´ waste statistics was tested. The project´s objectives were met and resulted in increased plastic sorting among households.
Expected long term effects
The project has increased the understanding of the challenges and opportunities related to plastic in residual waste for various stakeholders, developed and verified technology for household-level measurement, enabled the monitoring of effects at the household level, provided support for households to sort plastic correctly, developed and tested a model for offering appropriate incentives for waste sorting, and, as a result, increased the sorting of plastic among participating households.
Approach and implementation
The project´s implementation was based on thorough preliminary studies, followed by the development of solutions, pilot tests, and an analysis of the results. The project´s strength lies in the involvement and collaboration of partners from various parts of the waste chain, which has been an important success factor for both feasibility and the results achieved. Furthermore, the project has created a platform for continued collaboration, which is significant for further dissemination and upscaling.