Citizens’ Attitudes to Nudges in the Maintenance of Public Spaces and Waste Management

Behavioural interventions, or nudges, can be seen in public policy as a tool to help local governments in a variety of areas. The main advantages of nudges include the low costs associated with their implementation and, on the other hand, the relatively high effect if the factors acting on individuals are correctly identified (e.g., the salience factor associated with the individual’s bias, social norms, or how the individual’s surroundings react). Before implementing a behavioural intervention, it is necessary to know, the motives or causes of the behaviour of the inhabitants in the city.

The paper is specifically devoted to the nudges that can be implemented in the maintenance of public spaces and waste management. The aim of the paper is to find out the attitudes of citizens towards the problems in maintenance of public spaces and waste management caused by human behaviour as well as possible solutions in the form of selected types of nudges.

The paper identified several reasons that can contribute to an increase the level of citizen participation in waste separation and improve the quality of maintenance of public spaces, such as where the nudging is implemented (factor of affect), attractiveness of the nudge (factor of silence) and the commitment of individuals. The selected behavioural interventions show that there is a willingness on the part of the citizens in a local municipality to accept nudges and the citizens tendency to change behaviour in the desired way.