Seagull Trash Patrol

Helsinki struggles with a persistent litter problem that affects both aesthetics and environmental health, costing millions each year. People litter without caring – but they do care about their tax money. So, we used it in the most absurd way possible: training seagulls to clean up trash. Yes, it's ridiculously costly, but far less so than the money spent on traditional cleanup. By flipping the narrative, seagulls, once symbols of litter, became champions of cleanliness and made people realize it’s just stupid to be a litterbug – if seagulls can do it, so can you!
Helsinki saw a significant reduction in the amount of trash with a decrease in cleanup costs. As a result of the campaign, volunteers joined in the cleanup. The seagulls were positively received by youth and older generations alike, both in events and on social media. The local campaign reached the majority of the nation, with earned media reach of 3.6M (population of Finland is 5.5M)