Prevention of Littering through Improved Visual Design

Abstract

Littering is a daunting environmental issue that occurs daily; the impact of littering can range from lowering the aesthetic appeal of a city to polluting waterways and biomes. Littering persists on a collective and individual level despite the existence of numerous laws and regulations that prohibit it. We assume that there is a correlation between the effectiveness of visual aids and littering behavior. Poorly designed prohibitive signs and inaccessible trash bins could be part of the reason why littering persists. The current research aims to evaluate existing prohibitive signs and trash bins and to design some improvements. The researchers used direct observation methods of visual designs based on socio-psychological persuasion techniques and a questionnaire conducted at the School of Environmental Science of Universitas Indonesia. The results showed that respondents were generally aware of littering being a serious issue that could lead to environmental problems. The university campus was generally clean; however, respondents stated that they often saw plastic trash in sewer and drainage areas. University residents do litter despite adverse social judgment. In addition, respondents stated that they responded better to visually pleasing encouragement posters rather than the standard prohibitive signs on proper waste disposal behavior.

Digit Entrapment Due to Plastic Waste in a Verreaux’s Eagle Owl (Bubo lacteus)

“…Research has shown that including a brief explanation as to why a behaviour is prohibited and the addition of 'watching eyes' images can increase the efficacy of signage but will not completely eliminate the antisocial behaviour [15] and may increase the incidence of other 'displacement' behaviours which may also be antisocial [16]. The presence of litter bins has been shown to decrease littering; however, the design and positioning of the litter bin as well as associated signage may have a significant impact on their use [17,18]. Review of current signage and litter bins may aid in decreasing incidences of littering within the collection.…”

Aesthetic Elements of Urban Environments and their relation to Wellbeing: A scoping review.

“…Other understudied components that are linked to the presentation and exchange of information were highlighted. Indeed, specific urban components within the 'Structural/Infrastructure' category that relate to signage were only investigated once in the reviewed articles, such as information boards (Budner, 2016), posters (Johannes et al, 2021), signboards (Wang et al, 2010), and other wayfinding objects (Hunter & Askarinejad, 2015). Similar to art, signage, and other textual elements have been regarded as 'urban aesthetic' objects and should also be researched more within this context (Chana et al, 2023;see Kim &Mitschke et al, 2017 from the reviewed articles).…”

Water and Sanitation Service: A Priority to Improve Quality of Slum Areas in Pontianak City Based on Stakeholders’ Preferences

“…If children see their parents throwing trash into the river, there is a significant likelihood that the children will follow in their parent's footsteps and do the same [12]. The negative effects of littering can range from lessening a city's appeal from an aesthetic standpoint to polluting waterways and ecosystems [13].…”