How it works:
Developed by the charity Hubbub, it’s a simple bin that encourages people to dispose of their waste correctly.
It works by posing a simple two-option question – pineapple on pizza or not? Travel to the future or the past? Best superpower – flying or invisibility? – then people ‘vote’ by putting their waste into the side for their answer.
Why it works:
Feelings
people like to express themselves, so by tapping into mildly emotive issues – the kind people have an opinion on but won’t lose friends over – gives people a way to have their say
Incentives
the bins give people an incentive not to just drop their waste and, well, waste their vote. It’s a great example of how even the smallest of incentives can be a powerful motivator
Social
by providing a visual indicator of just how many people have correctly disposed of their waste, other smokers get a subtle hint that they probably should too.
Environment
by putting the bins where they’re needed they provide a simple way for people to make the right choice at the right time.
Friction
similarly, making sure there is a bin – and one that really stands out rather than fades away into the background – there’s less friction to take the right action
Wider impacts to consider:
Change never happens in isolation. To protect against unintended consequences from a system-wide perspective, they probably had to considered things like:
- What will people do if they disagree with the question?
- What if people don’t have an opinion?
- Could it incentivise people to smoke more, in order to vote more?
Why we love it:
It’s such a simple idea but, as we saw, for such a low-cost solution it ticks so many behavioural-science boxes.
And with Hubbub’s own research showing that the Ballot Bin is:
