I am liking the Fun Theory.

An initiative of the car manufacturer that brought us the Combi Van and the Beetle, the site opens with this …

“This site is dedicated to the thought that something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better. Be it for yourself, for the environment, or for something entirely different, the only thing that matters is that it’s change for the better.”

Here are the videos demonstrating people’s interest in something different and something fun. The thing I noticed most was how the initiatives bring people together and stimulate interaction between each other. Have a look for yourself …

Reflections

In my own community, council is running a competition for the best decorated recycling bin. The garbage truck drivers will decide on the winner too! Guess what, everyone is talking about it!

This has nothing ‘directly’ to do with decreasing contamination in curbside recycling, nor does it relate directly to our purchasing habits and of buying less stuff. But, I wonder what the ‘impact’ will be … the unexpected outcomes of a project that creates a ‘social object‘ out of a boring old recycling bin?

I will take photos and eavesdrop on my own community on this one and keep you updated. I may even contact the council officers and ask them what they are hoping to achieve. Hopefully they will reply by saying … ‘we have no idea what will happen, we are going to watch and see what happens and continue to measure contamination rates and bin weights along the way’.

I wonder what our community would look like if all residents spend hours decorating and personalising their own bin? I’ll bet it creates some serious word-of-mouth and ‘over the fence’ conversations too! If the only outcome is that our streets on Tuesday mornings are more colorful AND that more people are talking with each other, then that’s enough for me.

Geoff