The cover of the West London Waste insight report featuring imagery of a father and a son putting plastic bottles in a waste bin.

The mission.

Understanding West London’s waste perception and behaviours 

We were commissioned by the West London Waste Authority to carry out a research project to help understand West London citizens’ perceptions of the value of waste, current behaviours in addition to increase awareness about the value of waste and identify opportunities to engage citizens in circular economy and waste-related activities. This was with the purpose of reducing the knowledge gap and achieve long lasting net zero carbon and circular economy goals. 

An open spread of 2 pages of the insight report, the right page features a pie chart of residents awareness of how to best dispose of their waste.

The research.

Discovering insights through in-depth overarching research 

We conducted a comprehensive scoping exercise to understand waste management practices and residents' behaviours. A focus group with professionals provided insights into community challenges across boroughs. Based on these discussions, we created targeted surveys for residents and waste management professionals, translating them into 5 languages for inclusivity. 

Using the COM-B Model of Behaviour, our surveys captured residents’ behaviours, motivations, and barriers regarding recycling, consumption, and climate action. We distributed these widely and analysed 1,074 resident responses. In-depth interviews further explored insights, focusing on waste, consumption, climate behaviours, and community engagement. Behavioural science principles guided our analysis, resulting in actionable recommendations based on behavioural science frameworks. 

The impact.

The research identified key residents’ behaviours, main behavioural insights and a series of recommendations. The report detailed these to help understand West London residents’ behaviours around waste, consumption and climate action. This understanding aim to help WLWA be able to make a change in their services and step closer to achieving a long lasting net zero carbon and circular economy goals. 

A woman with long colourful nails reading a page of the insight report detailing residents concerns over climate change.
A close up of several wheelie bins over flowing with the amount of black bin bags inside them. A woman walks down the street in the distance beside a line of parked cars.