YOUTH LITTER SEGMENTATION RESEARCH

YOUTH LITTER SEGMENTATION RESEARCH

Research Objectives
Method & Sample
Littering Habits
Focusing On The Schools
School Approaches To Litter And Pupil Suggestions
Opinions Of Other Current Anti-Litter Schemes
Attitudes Towards Anti-Litter Stimuli
Attitudinal Segmentation
Conclusions

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
“To understand the littering behaviour of secondary school
children with particular emphasis on their behaviour at school”
ACHIEVED BY:
• Understanding their opinions of Litter
• Determining why they litter
• Determining the effectiveness of current anti-litter measures at school
• Ascertaining reactions to a range of litter-related stimuli
• Grouping the behaviours of pupils into attitudinal segments
• Exploring the ideal anti-litter measures for schools

METHOD AND SAMPLE: Stage 1
• 6 standard length focus groups and 12 Friendship paired depths
• Single sex groups and paired depths - Male quotes in black italics;
Female quotes in red italics
• Schools selected: ‘Less desirable’, ‘More desirable’, ‘Catholic’, ‘Private’
• Groups and depths split by age per group/depth:
– Year 8/9 quotes shown not underlined in relevant colour
– Year 10/11 quotes shown underlined in relevant colour
– Mix of ethnicity

SPONTANEOUS IMAGE OF ‘LITTER’
• For most pupils, the word ‘rubbish’ immediately sprang to
mind
• The appearance of litter was often mentioned “Anywhere you
go you can see it”; “Makes the place look horrible”
• Other phrases associated were (in order) unwanted items,
pollution, should be in the bin, harming the environment, rats
• The actual items mentioned most often were (in order)
– Crisp bags, cans, bottles, paper, fast food packaging (and the
food), chewing gum

THE ‘BEST’ VS THE ‘WORST’ TYPE OF LITTER
WORST
Condoms
Dog dirt
Cans
Rotten takeaway food
Chewing gum Plastic bottles
(NB girls)
BEST
Small paper
(wrappers etc)
Fruit peel/Apple cores/bread
Glass bottles
“My friend cut her knee
open when she fell on a
can”
“Chewing gum is really
annoying when you sit in it
and it ruins your favourite
trousers”
“Animals will eat
bits of fruit”
“You don’t just throw one
type of litter do you”
A few stated that ‘nothing’ is ‘best’

WHY DOES THIS AGE GROUP LITTER?
• The most common - almost universal - response was that ‘people of their
age group’ could not be bothered to do anything else with unwanted
items
• This response was justified with the following reasons, and applied to both
at school and elsewhere:
– Laziness “It saves going to the bins doesn’t it”; “We are all just too lazy to
bother”
– Not enough bins “There’s never a bin when you need it”; “There can be no bins
for miles”
– Bins were full/overflowing/surrounded by wasps “There are lots of bins in
the park but they are dirty and full of wasps”
– Less effort than having to find a bin “There are bins around the school but
people just can’t be bothered”; “It’s easier to just chuck it away”
– Pockets would get smelly/dirty “There aren’t enough pockets in your clothes”;
“Don’t want your pockets to stink”

WHEN WOULD THEY BE MOST LIKELY LITTER?
• Most stated that children in gangs/groups were most likely to litter, as it was
‘the done thing’ “You wouldn’t really put it in a bin at school with your mates,
it’s a bit embarrassing”; “If you’re in a group then you would throw it away
instead of binning it”
• If they were not with their parents “My parents are very strict, so I wouldn’t
drop stuff on the floor if I was with them, otherwise I would”
• They felt that there were very few occasions where they wouldn’t litter,
as it was practically the norm to do so “Everybody drops litter at some
stage”; “We all do it - so what?”; “We’ll drop it anywhere, everywhere really”;
“I just do it without thinking”
• Several felt that not being seen was the key “Some kids sneakily drop it”;
“When my parents aren’t looking I might drop stuff on the floor”; “I’ll drop it on
the floor but I may distract the fact that I’m doing it”

WHEN WOULD THEY BE MOST LIKELY TO LITTER?
• A few did think that ‘some people’ may consider it to be a ‘cool’/’hard’
thing to do - and were in some ways pressured into behaving similarly,
so as not to seem ‘out of place’ “Accidentally drop it when you’re with
people” “Some might think it’s cool”; “They try to be tough - but they’re
not”
• A few of the older pupils were nearing the end of their school careers
(leaving after GCSEs) so they had little regard for school littering rules
“They treat us like children, we won’t be here much longer though”
• The most likely locations were (in order): School (lunchtime), outside
shops, at night, not near a bin

WHAT STOPS THEM LITTERING?
• Parents and school had the greatest effect:
– Upbringing/Education “I don’t litter because my mum told me not to”; “They are
always going on about it in assembly”
– Chance of being caught (few) “I wouldn’t do it at school, the teacher might catch
me”
– Not when parents were around “Kids are mostly brought up not to litter, but they
won’t listen much anyway”
• The other main reason revolved around appearance of an area, as many stated that
they would be unlikely to litter near their home “Don’t want to live in a dirty
environment”; “Don’t want around our house to look trampy”; “It doesn’t look nice
when people litter so I don’t”
• Only a handful saw it as an environmental issue “They don’t have the environment on
their mind when they aren’t littering”; “More aware of what it can do to the environment
I suppose”
• NB When talking about ‘not littering’, most pupils talked about ‘other people’, when
talking about littering, most referred to themselves and others

THE REASONS FOR LITTERING
LAZINESS, NO BIG DEAL
NO BINS NEARBY
WOULDN’T USE
ONE ANYWAY
Uncool
Group pressure
Hard
CAN’T BE
BOTHERED
Clean pockets
Perceived effort
No importance/consequence
attached to act

TRUE CONFESSIONS
Pupils were asked to anonymously note down the last time that they littered,
and the situation that they were in. All (including the few who felt that it was
down to ‘other people’) readily confessed - and were less embarrassed to do
so than adults. Almost all were very recent events
• The most frequently-littered items were (in order)
– Crisp bags, sweet wrappers, bits of paper, cans, chewing gum, plastic drinks
bottles, cigarette packets, cigarette ends, and one mention for each of tissue,
barbecue sauce pot, alcopop bottle, apple core
• The most likely situations and reasons were (in order)
– No bins nearby/no bins, with friends, couldn’t be bothered, out of a car window, ‘fell
out’ of a pocket accidentally, playing football, in a mood, dark, baiting the
headmaster, adding to a pile of litter, missing a bin
• The most likely locations were (in order)
– School, near shops, on a bus, at the park, at a cinema/lane/alley/back of a
pub/under a bench

“A crisp pack on the way
home from school, GCSE
work was catching up
with me and I was in a
mood”
“There’s only one
way to get the
Head to come out
of his room - to
throw litter”
“An apple core out the
window of a car, nowhere
else to put it and it’s not too
bad because it’ll feed
animals and stuff”
TRUE CONFESSIONS
“I was chilling in a park
drinking Red Square with
a friend - I was on one
end of the bench, the bin
was on the other”
Happy to tell the truth
“I was near the bin
at school and threw
it but missed the bin
and didn’t pick it
up”
“A barbecue sauce pot
by the leisure centre
with my friends, I didn’t
want to hold it, it was
messy and it would have
ruined my pocket”
“Accidentally
dropped my sweet
wrapper and
couldn’t be
bothered to pick it
up”
“I put a can on a pile
of other litter, there
were no bins but it
didn’t harm because
the pile was already
there”

THE REASONS FOR LITTERING
LITTERING WAS REGARDED AS THE
NORM IN MOST SITUATIONS
Few felt guilty about it
Littering is a thoughtless act
They had very low awareness or
concern regarding consequences
It was a very low level taboo, only
becoming important for some when
parents or teachers enforced it

Focusing On Their Schools

HOW DIFFERENT ARE THEIR SCHOOLS?
• In order to ascertain whether schools could be segmented according
to type, all pupils were asked a set of questions to determine the
general disciplinary approach of their school:
The policy on school uniform
The policy on truanting
The policy on bullying
The general attitude of teachers
and specifically towards littering
The general attitude of the head
and specifically towards littering

HOW DIFFERENT ARE THEIR SCHOOLS?
THEY SPOKE VERY SUBJECTIVELY
ABOUT THEIR SCHOOLS DEPENDING ON
Their own behaviour
Their own recent experiences
Their general attitudes to discipline issues
They struggled to compare the discipline at their own school
with that at other schools through lack of knowledge

HOW DIFFERENT ARE THEIR SCHOOLS?
However, the recruitment successfully identified less
desirable and more desirable schools based on local
knowledge, reputation, location and selection procedure
And headmasters have differing inclinations
regarding carrot vs. stick
Therefore offering a range of solutions for different
schools would make sense

HOW DIFFERENT ARE THEIR SCHOOLS?
- UNIFORMS -
• Almost all of the schools had a regimented uniform policy “Ours is all green”
• A handful had no set uniform, but insisted upon certain standards “Sensible
clothes only”
• Regardless of whether the school was ‘desirable’ or ‘less desirable’, catholic
or private, there was little way of determining a specific policy or type:
• More desirable: “They are shouted at and sent home and their parents are
rung if they don’t wear it”; “They do notice high heels but they aren’t as strict
as with trainers”
• Less desirable: “There’s always teachers going around telling you to put your
blazers on”; “Unless you bring a letter saying why you get a detention”
• For a few, the detention punishment was often litter picking

HOW DIFFERENT ARE THEIR SCHOOLS?
- TRUANTING -
• For all types of school, the punishment was quite similar, depending on the
frequency and attitude of the pupil:
‘Best’ Punishment
Put on report
“I did it - I got referred to
the deputy head and put on
report for a few weeks”
Detention
Weeks Detention
Parents called
Suspension
Expulsion
‘Worst’ Punishment
“You get isolated,
put in a class on
your own”
“If you aren’t a bad
pupil you won’t get as
much punishment or
attitude from the
teachers”

HOW DIFFERENT ARE THEIR SCHOOLS?
- BULLYING -
• The policy seemed to vary depending on the severity of the incident
• Calling Parents was generally the first option: Desirable -“The deputy
talks to them about why they did it and then phones their parents”;
Less Desirable - “The parents are brought in and they talk it through”
• Ultimately it could lead to suspension or expulsion “Take them out
of the system - they get suspended”
• There were a handful of pupils (who realised littering was wrong) for
whom the bullying policy had not worked “There is a bullying policy
but nothing really happens”

HOW DIFFERENT ARE THEIR SCHOOLS?
- TEACHER ATTITUDE TOWARDS LITTER -
• All commented that every school had some teachers who were stricter than others
• The stricter teachers tended to be seen as ‘picking on’ pupils, and were more annoyed
regarding uniforms and especially littering “Some won’t say a thing about your tie,
others wait while you do it up”; “Sometimes if you haven’t dropped litter the teacher
comes round and makes you pick it up anyway”; “The deputy head shouts at you and
spits in your face”
– They would almost certainly then punish the pupils “They put you on litter duty once
they’ve spotted you doing it”
• The less strict teachers tended to give pupils the option to pick litter up, and then drop
the matter “They don’t let you off but they will give you another chance first”
• All agreed that the littering policy was therefore inconsistent, as different teachers had
their own ways of dealing with the problem
• A few felt that the teachers were hypocrites, because they had seen them littering
“They drop litter, but we’re made to pick it up”

HOW DIFFERENT ARE THEIR SCHOOLS?
- HEAD ATTITUDE TOWARDS LITTER -
• Around 2/3 of the head teachers were male, 1/3 female
• As with teachers, the ‘strictness’ varied, although most did agree that they
were (unsurprisingly) more likely to ensure rules were not broken:
– Uniforms: “He insists that you keep the uniform on all the way home and he
drives around and shouts at you if you don’t”
– Littering: “If he catches you littering he’ll make you do the stick thing for a
week”; “If you are near litter he’ll try and make you pick it up so you try and avoid
him”
– General discipline: “She’s horrible, she’ll shout at you as you walk down the
corridors”; “She’s awful, makes a real show of you if you’re caught doing stuff
and shouts at you”
• NB Again, the littering approach was inconsistent - albeit less so

HOW DIFFERENT ARE THEIR SCHOOLS?
- DO THEY TAKE ‘CITIZENSHIP’ CLASSES?-
• Almost all took classes known as PSE - ‘Personal Social Education’
– A minority knew them as ‘PSDevelopment’ or PSReligiousE’
• Most had covered littering and the environment at some point in the past “We did
something on littering a couple of years ago”; “We had someone come in once and talk
about recycling, that we should recycle more paper”; “We went round the area and looked
at the litter and then discussed it in class - it was better than just sitting in a classroom”
• A few also recalled “Doing something about litter in geography”
• The main criticism of PSE was that few took it seriously, as it was not viewed as a ‘proper’
lesson - either by the pupils (and in some cases) or the teachers “Sometimes it’s good cos
we get people in”; “It’s boring except when we do sex and drink and drugs and stuff”; “The
teacher doesn’t really bother with it, just gives us the work and isn’t interested”; “We did
cover the environment in PSE, but most people don’t see it as a lesson and just doss
about”
Could this be better utilised as a means of informing them about litter?
Interesting lessons (speakers, field trips) seem to work

School Approaches To Litter - And Pupil Views On It

DOES THEIR SCHOOL HAVE A LITTER PROBLEM?
• All schools appeared to have litter in the grounds, albeit to varying degrees: “It’s
not that bad at the moment”; “It’s absolutely everywhere”
• Lunches and Breaktime were seen as the worst times for litter generation “It’s a
mess, you can see all the seagulls come down after lunch and breaktime”; “It’s
when we’re all outside, that’s the problem”
• The main ‘litter hotspot’ was seen to be the playing field (particularly in the
summer), as there appeared to be few bins in that location “All around the fences
of the field - about a million crisp packets”
• Many also saw the canteen/dining area as an issue - and the blame lay with a
lack of (empty) bins “Chewing gum all over the bottom of tables in there”; “Bins
get full in the canteen and so stuff is chucked at them”
• Other hotspots included (in no order): playground, corridors, outside stairs,
around vending machines, outside the canteen, around the school gates
• The cleanest areas appeared to be the classrooms (as few were allowed to eat in
them)

THE CURRENT ANTI-LITTER MEASURES
UNDERTAKEN BY THE SCHOOLS
• Around 1/3 of the schools instigated general litter picking tasks, not as punishment
but as part of routine. This was not well received, as pupils did not like to pick up litter
for no reason “We sometimes have to go and pick stuff up, it didn’t work right because I
did it four times and some people only did it once”; “Each part of the school has a zone
it has to clear up”
– A few of these schools did have a reward on offer, but this did little to encourage them
“We do have a litter picking session for each class and we get a non-uniform day as a
reward - but we don’t like it”; “We did litter duty for a prize, we won a trip out but it was
easy to cheat - we just picked the litter out of the bins”
• There were some eating restrictions, eg only in the canteen, no eating inside, no
eating in classrooms - all of which were hard to police “They did a thing where you
couldn’t take anything out of the canteen, and we had to smuggle our drinks out”
• Most appeared to restrict movement outside the school at lunchtime, with the
exception of the 6th form “You’re not supposed to go out at lunch - but there are ways”

THE CURRENT ANTI-LITTER MEASURES
UNDERTAKEN BY THE SCHOOLS
• A few schools had taken the step of banning vending machines, although this
tended to harbour resentment and did little to prevent littering “It got so bad they
took the vending machines away, but it made no difference”
– Banning chewing gum also had little effect “Chewing gum was everywhere so they said
we weren’t allowed it in school anymore, but we still do”
• Some schools had recycling bins for cans (and paper) usually in the canteen
area, but these were usually treated as ‘just another bin’ “There is a green can bin
but it gets used as a normal bin”
• Some had tried to make the canteen a pleasant area to eat in, but the problem
remained “If there is a bin nearby in the canteen then you chuck your stuff and if it
goes in the bin then it’s fine, if not then it goes on the floor”
• A few schools raised the subject in assembly “When it gets really bad, they go on
about it in assembly”
• One school put up posters

ANTI-LITTER PUNISHMENTS
• For the vast majority of schools, the punishment for littering was litter picking
“You go on ‘the truck’ - a wheelie bin that you pull around the field - we don’t have
gloves or anything”; “You’re given a big postbag and made to pick up all the litter
he can see”; “Going around at lunchtime with a litter picker-upper”; “If they see
you drop stuff you have to fill a whole bag up”
• This did seem to vary depending on the teacher “Depending on which teacher
sees you, it’s almost certainly litter duty”
• Other punishments mentioned by a few included:
– Detention “We get put in Remove”
– Cleaning tables in the canteen “They made us scrape all the gum off the bottom of
chairs and tables”
• Girls in particular (and a few boys) hated the thought of litter picking “I can’t stand
picking other people’s litter up”

BUBBLE DIAGRAM ANALYSIS OF LITTERING
- ARE THEY PUNISHED AS OFTEN AS THEY SAY? -
• All were given a bubble diagram, depicting a teacher catching two pupils littering -
they were asked to state what the teacher and the pupils would be thinking
• The Pupil Thoughts were, in order:
– Can’t be bothered; Going to be in trouble; Saves the effort of finding a bin; No thought
given - automatically done; No bins nearby; Caretakers will pick it up; ‘Teacher baiting’;
Trying not to be seen; Don’t want to hold it; Try and pick it up before punished; More
litter makes no difference; Regret doing it (because about to face punishment)
• The Teacher Thoughts were, in order:
– Detention/litter picking punishment handed out; Tell them to pick it up; Concerned about
the mess; Disappointed that didn’t bin it; Stupid behaviour; Not bothered/don’t care;
Hypocritical
Even though they know the possibility of punishment, they don’t think
about it and hope that they will get away with it

CURRENT MEASURES
“We’d taken a bin
bag out of the bin
and pretended we’d
filled it”
Most measures appear
to result in little difference to
the problem
Too many ways to
‘beat the system’
“Taking cans
away from the
canteen and
getting vending
machines instead
made it even
worse”
Threat of litter picking
has a small effect
Restrictive measures
are easily countered
Only one apparent success
“Everybody got told
off about it in
assembly, we got
more bins and things
got better”

IS IT OF CONCERN TO PUPILS?
• Most were quite ‘matter of fact’ when asked if they were bothered by the litter at
their school “You don’t really notice, you just get used to it”; “No big deal really, if it
was tidier I wouldn’t notice”
• A few were quite interested in improvements “It would be nice if there was less
mess, not kicking rubbish around I suppose”; “At least you wouldn’t have to worry
about tripping up in it”
• Only a handful were very keen “You have to walk through it all”; “People might
respect the school more then”
• Most saw it as a joint responsibility: “They should provide the bins but we
shouldn’t drop it”; “It may be our responsibility because we’re dropping it but it’s
also theirs because they should try to stop us”; “If we took more care not to drop
the rubbish then it wouldn’t be as bad”
– However, a handful felt “That’s what the caretakers are paid for”

PUPIL’S SUGGESTIONS FOR RESOLVING THE PROBLEM
• Despite the apparent apathy towards the issue, almost all volunteered a
solution (in order):
• More bins/bins near to playing fields was the most popular suggestion
“More bins in the places where people hang out”; “The bins are miles away at
the moment”
• Immobile bins “Bins that can’t be kicked about”
• Reward (NB both sexes, but similar number wanted punishment) “If they
gave you a reward for not littering and they say ‘well done’ you may feel more
inclined to do it”; “Fill a bag of litter and get a free dinner”;
• Punishment (NB almost exclusively girls, but similar number wanted
reward) “Punish us a lot harder, isolate us for a day”; “Consistent punishment
if you’re caught”; “Punish people, no end of year trip”

PUPIL’S SUGGESTIONS FOR RESOLVING THE PROBLEM
• Posters around the school “Posters showing the consequences”
• More teachers patrolling “More to catch us at it”
• Lessons in PSE “If they had a video with celebrities picking up litter and we
saw it in PSE then it might work”
• Removing the ‘stigma’ of good behaviour “If there was some way we all
did it - and didn’t feel like geeks doing it”
MORE AND BETTER BINS
but is it really the answer?
CARROT
AND
STICK

OPINIONS OF CURRENT ANTI-LITTER SCHEMES
• Three schemes were described to the pupils for their reactions as to whether
or not they would be appropriate for their schools
• The idea of collecting certain types of litter (eg crisp bags) for a reward was
also put to them
• Overall, two schemes and the ‘collecting’ idea were very close in popularity:
‘Naming and Shaming’ was the slight ‘winner’, closely followed by ‘Tokens
for a prize’ and ‘Collecting certain types of litter’
• The idea of ‘6th Form litter wardens’ received only a handful of votes
• However, it should be borne in mind that the ‘prize’ aspect of the ‘tokens’
scheme was the key driver, not the mechanism for obtaining it

OPINIONS OF CURRENT ANTI-LITTER SCHEMES
- ‘NAME AND SHAME’-
HEADTEACHERS NAMING AND SHAMING
LITTERING OFFENDERS
• Opinions were very much polarised
• Those who voted for it (a mix of all types) felt that the idea of being ‘named and shamed’ in
assembly would be a real deterrent “You wouldn’t do it again if you were called out in
assembly”; “Nobody would want the humiliation in front of the school”
• Some suggested certain ‘improvements’
– Total humiliation “Make them wear a dress, or a sign saying ‘litterbug’”
– Only for repeat offenders “Can’t be just if you put stuff near a bin and it blew away and
you didn’t chase it”
– Total surprise “If they didn’t know they’d been seen and were suddenly called out in
assembly then it may work better”
• The only concern from those who feared the scheme was that some (harder) pupils would
take it as a badge of honour “Some people might think it’s cool to get their name called out
and to stand up”; “Some may think it funny or cool to be named”

OPINIONS OF CURRENT ANTI-LITTER SCHEMES
-‘NAME AND SHAME’-
• Those who thought the scheme would not work had several reasons
• They felt that nobody was perfect, and that everybody would litter at some
point “No - the whole school would have to stand up”; “Everybody drops
paper, everybody does it at least once, puts chewing gum underneath the
tables”
• Girls in particular felt that littering was nothing to be ashamed of - and was
simply a matter of fact “It wouldn’t be a case of shaming, more like ‘oh well
never mind’”
• A few older boys (and girls) would take it as a means of reinforcing their
status “I’d stand up and take the applause”; “We’d have an honours list of
the worst pupils!”

OPINIONS OF CURRENT ANTI-LITTER SCHEMES
- ‘TOKENS FOR PRIZES’-
USING NEIGHBOURHOOD WARDENS TO DISTRIBUTE TOKENS FOR GOOD LITTERING
BEHAVIOUR AND BAD. THE CLASS WITH THE MOST CREDITS WINS A PRIZE
• This scheme was popular because of the idea of a prize, but the actual mechanism
came in for considerable criticism:
– It would be difficult to spot pupils out of school “But you take your blazer off when
you leave school”
– It would be unfair if good behaviour went un-noticed “People could be putting stuff
in the bin but wouldn’t be recognised for doing it”
– The idea of being ‘spied upon’ was seen as intrusive “People wandering around
looking at you”
• The suggested improvement was that of a simple competition, as opposed to a ‘token
based’ scheme (eg simply collecting as much litter as possible)
• In any case, all agreed that “The prize would have to be pretty good”
• The most popular prizes were school trips or money/free lunches

OPINIONS OF CURRENT ANTI-LITTER SCHEMES
-‘COLLECTING TYPES OF LITTER’-
PUPILS ENCOURAGED TO COLLECT A CERTAIN TYPE OF
LITTER (e.g. CRISP BAGS) AND REWARDED ONCE THEY HAD
COLLECTED A SET AMOUNT
• Again, this scheme was more popular because of the reward than the benefit
of collecting litter
• The chief criticism was that it would not solve the entire litter problem “It’ll only
get rid of some of the litter”
• Some did recall when crisp bags were collected - which did seem to motivate
them at the time “Everyone collected vouchers for schools - people picked
them off the floor and everything”
• As to the type of reward, all wanted something substantial for their efforts “If it
was a half decent reward then lots would probably do it”

REWARDS - THE SMALL PRINT
• The most popular reward was a school trip - provided that it was NOT an educational
one “Not to a museum”; “NOT an educational trip - not to a cathedral or something like
that”
• Several suggested that a financial reward was best - but their expectations were quite
high “You can pick up 5p from the ground, so 5p a bag isn’t enough”; “£20 to the
winner!”; “Cinema tickets”; “HMV vouchers”
• A few suggested a food-based reward “Money or chocolate”; “Free cake”; “Free
lunches for a week”
• The idea of a non-uniform day was largely vetoed, as many had a ‘mufti day’ already
“We pay £1 for mufti day anyway”. Not only that, but several stated that this led to
problems “When we had mufti days some people skived off because they couldn’t be
seen”; “Some non-pupils snuck in when we had a non-uniform day”
• The only other suggestion - from a couple of the younger boys (in different groups) was
that of an ‘instant reward machine’ “On holiday I put an empty bottle into a machine
and it gave 20 Euro cents out - you could maybe put a few wrappers in and get a
chocolate bar out”

OPINIONS OF CURRENT ANTI-LITTER SCHEMES
- ‘6TH FORM WARDENS’ -
6th FORMERS ACTING AS WARDENS TO CHALLENGE PUPILS WHO DROPPED LITTER
AND PROMOTING THE MESSAGE THAT THEY COULD BE FINED
• This scheme was very unpopular, for several reasons:
• A lack of respect for prefects “People just take the mick out of the prefects”; “Most of the
people in our school aren’t scared of 6th formers”
• Those about to become prefects themselves felt it would be hypocritical as they littered “It
would be hypocritical if I was a warden - I do it after all”, or that they could not be bothered
to take part “They might just do it for the money, they might not even be bothered”
• The main concern for the younger pupils was that they could end up being picked on by
certain more ‘bullyish’ 6th formers “The prefects think they are better than you and boss
you around, so if they got paid for it they would have more of an excuse to pick on you”;
“They may end up picking on people they don’t like”
• The prospect of being fined did have a limited impact however “The idea of being fined is
a deterrent”

ANTI-LITTER SCHEMES
EQUAL ENTHUSIASM FOR…
Name and shame
Tokens for prizes
Collecting types of litter
Each would benefit from fine tuning
May be suited to different school cultures
Many still sceptical about likely impact of all schemes

Anti-Litter Messages

PUPILS’ SUGGESTIONS FOR ANTI-LITTER MESSAGES
The pupils were asked to think of slogans and design posters which could have an
impact at their school
• The image which was most often depicted was that of rats “Relish for rats”; “Keep
your school clean or the rats get mean”; “A rat eating a sandwich”
• An image of an unsightly pile of litter was next “Put your rubbish in the bin, dropping
litter is a sin”; “A big mess in the school”
• Images of animals in various states of distress were quite common “A very graphic
picture of a hedgehog stuck in a plastic beer can holder”
Other
• Damage to the environment was a message created by some “Help the
environment, don’t litter”
• A handful suggested that footballers could support a programme “People you see
on the telly - footballers saying don’t drop it and doing something”
• A few came up with the idea of thinking of the potential danger “Think before you
do it - someone hurting themselves on a can”

PUPILS’ SUGGESTIONS FOR ANTI-LITTER MESSAGES
• Other suggestions included (in no order):
– disease, recycling, chewing gum, thinking of future generations,
responsibility down to them, a ‘think’ (car) type poster
WINNERS:
RUNNERS UP:
Rats and unsightly litter
Shocking imagery
Danger
Consequences
Comparatively little environmental messages
THEY WANT AND NEED TO BE SHOCKED

ATTITUDES TOWARDS ANTI-LITTER STIMULI
‘STALKER!’
STALKER!
You are never more than a few metres from a rat.
They are breeding rapidly because they are ‘grazing’ off discarded food.
Keep rats away. Use a bin or take litter home.
• With 23 votes, this was the most effective message - with an even split between
boys and girls, especially older year girls
• The idea of a rat being in close proximity had a great impact on them:“I’m terrified
of rats”; “The idea of being near a rat is gross”; “When you know you’re a few
meters from a rat that’s really bad”
• Several had ‘first hand’ experience of rats and so this really hit home “The other
day I saw a rat jump out of the sewers”; “I’ve heard that they eat the leftover
burgers around the B&Q - I don’t go there”

ATTITUDES TOWARDS ANTI-LITTER STIMULI
‘STALKER!’
STALKER!
You are never more than a few metres from a rat.
They are breeding rapidly because they are ‘grazing’ off discarded food.
Keep rats away. Use a bin or take litter home.
• Several felt that they would change their behaviour as a result of this
information “I will keep my litter on me now”; “I don’t want to take any
chances to encourage a rat”; “That would definitely work in our school
because you don’t want rats there”
• Almost all felt that coupled with a suitably frightening image, this would have
even more impact than words alone “A picture of a big rat crawling around”;
“An image of a person with a rat’s shadow behind them”

ATTITUDES TOWARDS ANTI-LITTER STIMULI
‘MURDER WEAPON’
MURDER WEAPON!
Every year thousands of animals die
miserable deaths caused by litter.
Save lives. Use a bin or take it home.
• This received 18 votes, with an even boy/girl split but a bias towards
younger years
• Many knew that animals were harmed by litter, so this message confirmed
the fact “Animals can get caught in those plastic beer can holders and die”
• Many said that they felt guilty for their actions “Makes you feel guilty when
you drop stuff because you could be killing animals”; “Makes you feel
guilty about all the animals dying from you dropping litter on the floor”

ATTITUDES TOWARDS ANTI-LITTER STIMULI
‘MURDER WEAPON’
MURDER WEAPON!
Every year thousands of animals die
miserable deaths caused by litter.
Save lives. Use a bin or take it home.
• The only improvement was seen to be an image of an animal - and
almost all felt that it had to be suitably upsetting to make people think
“Needs a picture of a bird trapped in rubbish”; “You need a picture of
a cute animal dying”; “Quite upsetting, you imagine a picture of a
hedgehog or a little bunny rabbit”

A NOTE ON CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT
• Overall, celebrity endorsement was viewed with considerable scepticism
• The main problem lay in the fact of using ‘publicity shots’
• The celebrities used - other than the England squad - were seen to be not mainstream
enough to have impact
• More appropriate celebrities were suggested (in order)
– David Beckham (far and away the most popular)
– Robbie Williams
– Michael Owen
– Kylie Minogue
• Even if one of these were to endorse the campaign, all agreed that they must be
actually doing something as opposed to merely posing for a photo “I wouldn’t litter if
David Beckham said not to, but it would have to be a proper photo, not just from OK”
• However, many felt that it was almost impossible to find a celebrity who would appeal to
everyone “Everyone in the school has views on the different celebrities that they like”

SUCCESSFUL ELEMENTS OF THE VARIOUS STIMULI
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Simple messages
Appeal to all ages
Frightening/upsetting animal imagery
Nothing too dramatic (avoid sceptics)
Rats

Attitudinal Segmentation

ATTITUDINAL SEGMENTATION
From general
attitudes to litter
At School (and elsewhere)
littering behaviour
Response to
anti-litter stimuli
Pupils generally exhibited certain attitudes, although in
most cases this was heavily influenced by whether or not
they were alone or in a group. And whether they were with
their mates or their parents

ATTITUDINAL SEGMENTATION
IDENTIFYING THE SEGMENTS
In ‘normal’ circumstances
At current year in school
The overriding attitude

ATTITUDINAL SEGMENTATION
I’m Just Not Bothered
• Any age, probably more female
• They viewed litter as matter of fact,
it’s simply something that happens
“If you say ‘I drop litter’, well
nobody says anything about it,
it’s no big deal”
• No thought was given to their actions
“You don’t think about it, you
just do it”
• They would rather not be distracted from their activities “You are just walking along
and you don’t want to break up the conversation by finding a bin”
• Some older children who were in their final year and who were leaving school were less
likely to bend to the school rules, as they had nothing to lose “They could try stopping
us leaving at lunchtime but it wouldn't work, we’re leaving soon anyway”

ATTITUDINAL SEGMENTATION
I Don’t Want to be Seen Like a Geek
• Mainly younger (impressionable)
pupils, and a few older pupils -
a minority segment
• Unlikely to litter when on their own
but, when at school, peer pressure
made them change their habits
“They think it’s hard - and people
call you a wuss if you put it in the
bin”; “You don’t want to look like a geek and bin stuff if your mates see you”
• They sought safety in numbers “If everyone else used the bins then I wouldn’t be
embarrassed to do it”; “The trouble is if you get seen on your own doing it, away from
a group”
• This segment was more likely to want to resolve the litter problem - but was afraid to
speak their mind “It gives the school a bad name, it’s not nice”

ATTITUDINAL SEGMENTATION
I’m Hard, I’m Cool
• Both younger and older pupils,
who had - or were aiming to
achieve - alpha status in the group
(a minority segment)
• For them littering was a sign of
rebelliousness, proving their
status “I throw litter at people”;
“People kick the bins over to
prove they’re hard”
• They behaved worst when with others “Walking down the street chucking chips with a
gang”; “We’re not allowed out at lunchtime but most people do - and we nick stuff
from the shops”
• However, a minority of these may have been acting up in front of their friends like ‘I
Don’t Want to be Seen Like a Geek’ segment “Acting cool in front of your mates”;
“People in a gang all throw wrappers on the floor, cos we all do it”

ATTITUDINAL SEGMENTATION
Blame it on the Bins
• A large segment, very much a pupil
with a ‘Blamer’ mentality, the
difference being that the blame was
laid squarely on a lack of bins
“If there was a bin we’d use it”
• This segment knew that littering was
wrong, and in most cases would
rather not do it, but needed a bin
nearby to overcome their inherent laziness “You’re not going to run 500M on the
playing field to put a Mars Bar in the bin”
• If there were no bins in the vicinity then they saw no alternative other than to litter “If
I’m near a bin I’ll put it in, if there isn’t a bin then I’ll throw it on the floor - there’s
nothing else to do”

SEGMENT MAPPING
FEMALE
I’m Just Not Bothered
HARD
I’m Hard
I’m Cool
Blame it
on the Bins
GEEK
I Don’t Want to be
Seen Like a Geek
YOUNGER

WEIGHT OF LITTERING BY SEGMENT
I Don’t Want to be
Seen Like a Geek
LIGHT LITTERING
Blame it
on the Bins
I’m Just
Not Bothered
HEAVY LITTERING
= In a group
= On their own
I’m Hard
I’m Cool

GENERAL AWARENESS OF THE IMPACT OF LITTER
• At the end of the interview, the pupils were asked what they knew regarding the impact
of litter - other than at school
• Almost all knew of the dangers to animals caused by plastic can holders “Animals get
their heads stuck in those plastic rings”; “Ducks get their beaks stuck on those plastic
can holders”
• Around 1/5 mentioned the problem of rats “There was a thing about rats playing in a
field in Kenilworth because of the litter - people don’t litter there anymore”
• The unsightly appearance of litter was often mentioned “If you start to run high on litter
it can be all over the streets and cause a problem”; “Makes the area look horrid”
• The problem of hurting yourself on litter was noted by a few “Kids can get injured on
the broken glass”
• Other than this, only a handful mentioned the wider environmental issues - and even
they were hazarding a guess “Well, it leads to pollution and that”
• Clearly, their knowledge of the consequences of litter - other than that of hurting
animals and promoting the rat population - is minimal

CONCLUSIONS

CONCLUSIONS
THE PROBLEM
It proves my status
It’s just the done thing
I do it without thinking
It’s no big deal
(I wish I could do more about it)
APATHY
Lack of realising
the consequences
Peer pressure
Rebelliousness

TOWARDS SOLVING THE PROBLEM
The littering behaviour is very strongly entrenched
And teenagers talk very subjectively
about their behaviour
Teachers and parents have much
worse problems to contend with
Litter is only a priority for a few authority
figures at certain times
HENCE - inconsistency

TOWARDS SOLVING THE PROBLEM
Understanding the sociology of
adolescence is important
Working with the segments to change behaviour
Working with teachers and parents
Conducting strict pilot exercises to test
alternative messages and schemes

CHANGING YOUTH BEHAVIOUR
Not quite adults…
but not really children
Resistance to adult norms and conventions
Certainly behaving in a tribal way
Keen to conform to the norms of their new tribe
But how are these norms constructed…
and who determines how their ‘peers’ operate?

CHANGING BEHAVIOUR - BY SEGMENT
CURRENT
ATTITUDE
CURRENT
BEHAVIOUR
HOW TO CHANGE
BEHAVIOUR
The message
I Don’t Want to be
Seen Like a Geek
I wish I could
bin things
Little littering except
in company
It’s not geeky
Blame it
on the Bins
No bins, so
what else do
I do?
Bins used IF in very
close proximity
Make the effort to find
a bin
I’m Just
Not Bothered
I don’t even
think about it
Heavy littering
Make them aware of
the consequences
I’m Hard
I’m Cool
It proves my
status
Heavy littering -
especially in
company
Lead by example