Nottingham · Nottingham Trent University, Newton Building, Level 2, Hooley Room
Hosted by Service Designers Connect
Work with Nottingham City Council on a real fly-tipping challenge at this free, hands-on service design meetup in Nottingham. On Thursday 24 September 2026, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm BST, Service Designers Connect will turn a complex local issue into a collaborative design challenge. The session takes place at Nottingham Trent University, Newton Building, Level 2, Hooley Room, 10 Goldsmith Street, Nottingham NG1 4BU. A real problem, not a hypothetical exercise Local authorities in England dealt with 1.26 million fly-tipping incidents in 2024/25, a 9% increase on the previous year. Yet familiar responses, including more bins, larger fines, signs and cameras, do not necessarily address why people dump waste illegally. This meetup asks a different question: could services sometimes make responsible waste disposal confusing, difficult, expensive or inconvenient? Attendees will work with James Denham, Jim Lowe and Claire Knight from Nottingham City Council to investigate the people, places, behaviours and circumstances behind fly-tipping. Through an interactive, practical format, the group will explore: - What happens when someone needs to dispose of an item - Which choices and services are available to them - What makes the responsible option easy, or difficult - Where frustrations, barriers and opportunities appear - What circumstances might lead someone towards illegal dumping Using personas, place-based experiences, journey mapping and behavioural insight, participants will examine the challenge from multiple perspectives. The aim is not to solve fly-tipping in two hours, but to generate fresh viewpoints and practical interventions that the council could explore, test and learn from. Who should attend? The event is open to students, academics, designers, researchers, strategists, council employees and anyone interested in making the city a better place. No service design or fly-tipping expertise is required, just curiosity, an open mind and a willingness to collaborate on a genuinely difficult problem.… Register for this event
