Stopping Water Plastic Pollution at the Source (SWAPPS)

This initiative seeks to reduce plastic pollution in our municipality by making it easier to dispose
of waste properly, cleaning up the most-affected areas, and ‘nudging’ the local culture away from
acceptance of dumping and littering.

The project is divided into three components to address the plastic pollution issues in the area:

Installation of more dumpsters and trash cans in areas with large amounts of littering. Often, trash is dumped either because residents do not want to travel to the location of a dumpster – which may be at the intersection of a village road with the main road – or when dumpsters overflow due to insufficiently frequent pickup. Installing more dumpsters in different areas will reduce this incentive to litter. These dumpsters will be emptied by the municipality’s preexisting collection service.
Educational and cleanup events with local schools. These events will focus on the environmental and economic consequences of plastic pollution, take advantage of volunteer labor to clean up polluted areas, and create a social incentive for residents, especially children, to not litter further.
Installation of signs in bridges and other points with large amounts of littering. These signs will encourage residents to not dump trash by explaining consequences of plastic pollution for the environment and economy or highlighting the efforts of the cleanup events, and noting the location of the nearest dumpster or trash can.