Positive signs in the fight against littering

Changing leisure behavior, increasing on-the-go consumption and rising population figures led to increased littering in the noughties. For example, the population of the city of Zurich has increased by over 12 percent in the last 20 years. In the same period, applications for events in public spaces in Lucerne have more than tripled. And while the banks of the Rhine in Basel were barely populated at the beginning of the 1990s, even on warm summer evenings, several thousand people can be found there today. Finally, partial surveys indicate that on-the-go consumption has increased by about 25 percent in the last 10 years alone.

Many cities have only reacted to these changes with delay. Today, there are numerous cities that are tackling the littering problem from different angles with a mix of measures and are acting as role models.

Littering situation is under control
This targeted effort against littering can now show first successes, as a survey of the IGSU shows. The majority of the 1580 passers-by questioned assessed the littering situation from their subjective perception as unchanged. This assessment is confirmed by the cities of Basel, Lucerne, Zug and Zurich. While the systematic recording carried out since 2010 in Basel even shows a clear improvement in cleanliness, Lucerne, Zug and Zurich see the situation as stabilized. According to Rolf Stocker, Head of Maintenance Operations at the Lucerne Road Inspectorate: "The amount of litter is stagnating. Considering the increasing pressure of use on public space, this is already positive. The awareness campaigns 'Luzern glänzt' and 'Putztüüfeli' as well as the increased police presence at strategically important locations have had a particular effect."

The mix of measures brings success
The concepts of the various cities are similar. The central elements are the expansion and maintenance of the infrastructure, the sensitization of consumers and repression in the form of fines and increased presence of police or cleaning staff. Within the framework of this catalog of measures, many cities also make use of the free services of the IGSU. The ambassador teams are particularly well known, motivating passers-by to dispose of their waste correctly in a witty and charming way. Every year, the ambassador teams perform 16,000 hours of awareness-raising work. In addition, the IGSU is involved in anti-litter campaigns in schools, for example, or in organizing the annual national Clean-Up Day. Its activities have a demonstrably positive effect on the behavior of the population.

Basel, Zug and Lucerne all report that no single measure can be singled out as particularly successful in combating littering. Rather, it is the coordinated mix of measures that brings success. Of the cities surveyed, only Zurich relies almost exclusively on high cleaning performance. "The most important recipe for success against littering is event-oriented cleaning," Niels Michel, specialist manager for dialog and presence at Zurich's city cleaning department, is convinced. "Because dirty streets have been proven to attract further littering."

The problem remains
Despite the fundamentally positive finding that the situation has stabilized or even improved in some areas, it must be noted that too much littering still occurs and the problem persists. At the same time, the IGSU survey also clearly shows that the population is very annoyed by littering: 75 percent of respondents feel "rather strongly" or "strongly" disturbed by littering. In the perception of the population, therefore, it does not mean a decisive improvement in the situation if instead of ten "only" seven packages are left lying around on a meadow. This in turn shows that the path taken must be continued in order to keep the problem under control, to improve the situation step by step and to noticeably improve the quality of life of the population.