Incentives
Incentives are gentle 'persuaders' for people to change their behaviours.
Incentives can be free give-aways, recognition for dog clubs, competition prizes, awards and other forms of encouragement. Of course, the funding of these incentives needs to be built into the program budget.
The purpose of these incentives is to encourage the individual or organisation to take responsibility for the waste in the longer term. 'We'll pay now to introduce you to the product and you can pay for future items!' is a common marketing strategy to raise awareness of a new or improved product on the market.
Incentives can be powerful drivers in a dog poo litter prevention program, supporting education, enforcement and infrastructure strategies. Examples include:
- Providing dog owners with free dog poo removal devices, such as bags, scoops or pouches. For example, with the launch of this litter kit, 40,000 'pooch pickup' products have been distributed amongst councils in Victoria. For a full listing of the various dispensers and bags available and their suppliers see the Infrastructure section.
- Recognition for dog clubs, e.g., those based at a particular park, for cleaning up dog poo in the area (many club members will clean up after other people's dogs, as well as their own). Recognition could be in the form of a certificate, awards, a story in the local paper or the creation or maintenance of dog off leash exercise facilities.
- Holding 'responsible pet ownership' competitions, to acknowledge and reward owners doing the right thing (for instance, awarding prizes to dog owners observed cleaning up after their dog). An example of this is Maroondah City Council's Responsible Pet Ownership Competition included in the Case Studies section.
