Guro-gu Installs 'Nudge Effect' Dedicated Cigarette Butt Trash Bins

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[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] “What about Guro’s resident participation cleaning volunteer group?” This is the question on the cigarette butt trash bins.

Smokers choose their preferred answer between the ‘Kkalkkeumi Volunteer Group’ and the ‘Foreigners’ Autonomous Crime Prevention Unit’ and throw their cigarette butts accordingly. The correct answer (Kkalkkeumi Volunteer Group), which has accumulated more butts, can be checked through a transparent window.

Guro-gu (Mayor Lee Seong) is installing and operating ‘nudge-effect type’ cigarette butt trash bins at 10 locations along Umagil Culture Street in Garibong-dong.

On the 15th, Guro-gu announced that on the 1st, it had pilot-installed ‘nudge-effect type’ cigarette butt-only trash bins mainly in areas with heavy foot traffic and dense commercial districts, and plans to expand installation later considering the effect.

‘Nudge’ is a term mainly used in marketing that refers to a strategy that attracts consumer interest by arousing curiosity while allowing consumers to make their own choices.

The ‘nudge-effect type’ cigarette butt-only trash bin is 1 meter tall and rectangular in shape. At the top, there is a questionnaire related to Guro-gu, allowing smokers to throw their butts into one of two answer options. The correct answer can be checked in real time through the transparent front window filled with accumulated butts. The questionnaire and choices will be regularly changed through discussions with local residents.

Guro-gu also signed management and operation agreements with store owners in locations where cigarette butt trash bins were installed. Through these agreements, continuous management of the installation areas is possible, and it provides an opportunity for residents to develop a sense of ownership in solving local waste problems themselves.

A Guro-gu official said, “We induced smokers to throw cigarette butts into the trash bins by arousing their interest,” and added, “We will continue to expand installation areas through consultations with residents and take the lead in creating clean streets.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.