Single-use plastic packaging is among the five most common types of litter in urban environments. Two of the most common reasons people litter are either a lack of bins or that the bins are full. Now the new consumption pattern will be studied with the help of a unique measurement method.
It is Keep Sweden Tidy and measurement company Bumbee Labs that will investigate and propose how the collection of litter and waste should be handled to best reduce littering in public spaces. The measurements are carried out by capturing anonymised Wi-Fi signals from mobile phones at the measurement site, showing how people move around the area. The measurement method is the only one of its kind to be approved by the Swedish Data Protection Authority.
The project is financed by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and will lead to concrete proposals on how municipalities should design, place and maintain their bins. The measurements will take place in Borås, Jönköping and Uppsala during November and December.
“With these studies we hope to gain knowledge about where bins do the most good. We hope the insights can then be used to help municipalities across the country make it easy for people to throw away their litter and thereby reduce littering,” says Johanna Ragnartz, CEO of Keep Sweden Tidy.
“On the one hand, we are very pleased that our data can contribute in a concrete way to improving the environment; on the other, we are very proud that Keep Sweden Tidy wanted us to be part of this project. The development of city centres in both Sweden and internationally places new demands on everyone who operates in them, from municipalities to businesses to visitors, and to meet these demands in the best way, you need accurate data about how visitors act and what the consequences are,” says Karl Samuelsson, CEO of Bumbee Labs AB.
About Bumbee Labs:
Bumbee Labs measures visitor flows by capturing anonymised Wi-Fi signals from smart mobile phones, and can take measurements in both outdoor and indoor environments. Visitor flows are measured completely anonymously, not at an individual level, and the measurement method is the only one of its kind to be approved by the Swedish Data Protection Authority. Through its method, Bumbee Labs can produce highly reliable statistics on how many people visit the measurement area during different time intervals, how long visitors stay in the area, and which the most common walking paths are.