Brussels-Capital Region

Building a behavioural playbook for cleaner public spaces

Waste Research Behavioural design Evaluation Citizens Belgium

The Challenge

How do you move beyond awareness to actually change how people dispose of waste in public space? Since 2020, Bruxelles-Propreté and the Brussels-Capital Region have worked with us to answer that, replacing one-off communication campaigns with behaviour change solutions that hold up across very different settings.

Our Approach

We began with a comprehensive regional study, mapping the contextual, social and individual barriers to proper disposal across more than ten distinct settings, from high streets to bus stops to public events. Working with regional stakeholders and local municipalities, we co-created and prioritised interventions tailored to each context, covering infrastructure, communication and service.

The Result

The Region, its municipalities and partners now have a catalogue of 100+ evidence-based interventions, built on 50+ identified barriers across 10 contexts with 19 local councils involved. Beyond the toolkit, the work has strengthened intermunicipal partnerships and now helps shape the region’s public cleanliness strategy.