Métropole Européenne de Lille (MEL)

Turning a new food-waste sorting rule into an everyday habit

Waste Research Behavioural design Citizens France

Challenge

The Métropole Européenne de Lille (MEL) launched an ambitious food-waste sorting policy: residents are asked to separate their food waste and bring it to local drop-off points. But information alone rarely changes behaviour, with ingrained habits, lack of time and impractical equipment all getting in the way. MEL needed to turn a new obligation into a lasting everyday habit.

Solution

Combining behavioural science, design and co-creation with residents, we mapped the journey to sorting with our Landscape Model™ and grouped the barriers into contextual, social and individual families. Using our Rainbow Wheel™, we translated the priority barriers into a coherent toolkit that acts at each step of the journey: a compost bag, a graduated scale on the caddy, a reminder magnet, and ground markings around the drop-off points.

Impact

The result is a practical, evidence-based toolkit and a clear roadmap: cues that make sorting simpler, more visible and more rewarding, rather than asking residents to do more. Beyond food waste, MEL gains a replicable method it can reuse across other ecological-transition challenges.