Reducing Waste Contamination Through Understanding Campus Behaviour

Figure out why campus waste programs lose momentum and design interventions that stick in a constantly changing community.

ANU aims to divert 50% of waste from landfill by 2030. The Be Bin Smart program has rolled out standardised bins and signage, but a persistent problem remains: contamination rates drop after new infrastructure is installed, then climb back up within months. The challenge is structural—ANU's student population completely turns over annually, arriving with different habits and existing knowledge. By the time new cohorts settle, incorrect patterns are already entrenched. Your research will identify what drives sustained contamination and design approaches that account for this annual reset.

You'll develop skills in observational research, institutional systems thinking, and behaviour change theory. You'll learn to map the social, environmental, and structural factors that shape outcomes at scale, and to design interventions that work within real-world constraints.

Skills Needed:

• Interest in environmental sustainability, waste systems, or behaviour change
• Comfort with fieldwork—observing bin use, interviewing staff and students on campus
• Ability to think across multiple contributing factors and see systems holistically
• No prior waste management knowledge needed

Skills Developed:

• Field observation and intercept research methods
• Systems mapping and stakeholder analysis
• Behaviour change theory and institutional thinking
• Theory of change development

Review ANU's Environmental Sustainability Plan and existing Be Bin Smart materials. ANU Green will share waste audit data from pilot programs and current communications approaches at the start.

A research report including:

• Analysis of why contamination persists in institutions with high population turnover
• Findings from field observation and conversations with campus users
• Stakeholder map of the campus waste system
• Theory of change for sustained behaviour improvement
• Recommendations for future intervention approaches

This project rewards curiosity about why people do what they do—and about systems thinking. You'll spend time on campus observing and talking to real people, so be prepared for fieldwork. Your insights will directly shape ANU's waste reduction strategy.