Environmental concern in everyday life. The example of introducing a new waste‐handling system

Abstract

When the housing estate Ladugårdsängen in Örebro was planned in the late 1980s, one aim was that the planning should be influenced by an ecological perspective. For one of the multi‐family houses a new waste‐handling system, where waste is sorted into 16 different types and organic waste is composted, was designed. An evaluation study has shown that the new system is successful and the tenants are satisfied with it, even if the composts periodically cause some problems. In this article the prerequisites for the success of the waste‐handling system are discussed. This discussion has bearings on the issue of how social change can be introduced in connection with physical planning and how people can change their everyday routines toward more environmentally friendly practices.