Environmental charity Hubbub launced – on 5 October – an in-depth guide for local authorities on how to roll out a successful recycling on-the-go campaign and thereby increase recycling rates and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill or incineration.
The ‘In The Loop’ toolkit, launched at the LARAC conference in Birmingham and funded by environmental compliance scheme Ecosurety, brings together key learnings and insights gathered from #InTheLoop, described as the UK’s biggest collaborative approach to boost recycling on-the-go, which was first trialled in Leeds in 2018, followed by similar trials in Swansea, Edinburgh, Dublin, Wimbledon, Telford and Lambeth.
These areas installed and tested a range of bright, colourful and eye-catching bins to make it as easy as possible for people to recycle empty glass, plastic bottles, cans, and in some cases coffee cups, and therefore improve recycling rates. Across all these #IntheLoop pilot projects, over 500 bins have been installed and over 2.5 million plastic and glass bottles and cans were collected and recycled.
The results and learnings from the various trials have been compiled into this new toolkit to act as a blueprint for other local authorities to benefit from, and the online resource is “packed with information, tips and downloadable templates and assets”, says Hubbub. Key recommendations include:
- Bright bins: Make the bins colourful and bright, so they’re easily visible and stand out on busy streets.
- Be specific: Consider updating your bins with clear messaging. People are confused about what to put in the bin and ‘mixed recycling’ gets mixed results. People spend less than 2 seconds at a bin, so be concise and give clear instructions.
- Bins need buddies: Don’t leave a recycling bin by itself. Place recycling bins next to general waste bins or use dual bins. Otherwise general waste will end up contaminating your recycling.
- Keep it positive and simple: Use positive, encouraging messages in your communications and avoid jargon. Repetition of these simple messages is key – we need to hear something 7 times on average before our behaviour changes.
- Build a partnership: Work with the local partners to increase the opportunities for people to see and hear about the new campaign, whether that’s through in-store posters, social media posts or in-person events to raise awareness of the waste issue and the how to use the new bins.
- Measure and make better: Measure what does and doesn’t work through on-the-ground observations, public surveys and waste composition analysis, and refine your approach accordingly.
The toolkit aims to provide valuable and easy to implement advice to local authorities, for whom on-the-go waste continues to be a significant problem. It is estimated that 9 in 10 of us recycle at home compared to 4 in 10 who recycle on-the-go1. In 2019 an estimated eight billion drinks containers failed to get recycled in the UK2. That means they were either landfilled, incinerated or littered. At the same time, less than half of local authorities currently have on-street recycling systems3, and 94% of the British public would like to see more recycling points in public places1.
To help local authorities and other organisations address this issue and roll out public recycling points and boost out of home recycling, the publication of the new toolkit is supported by additional funding made available by The Coca-Cola Foundation.
The #InTheLoop grant fund aims to build upon the successes and impact of the seven #InTheLoop campaigns, and Treasure Your River, the largest ever collaboration to reduce litter along five major UK rivers. The fund will support four new projects to introduce or improve their recycling points using #InTheLoop toolkit in areas that include waterways, such as coastline, riverways, canals, docks or wetlands.
Grant funding of £25,0000 will be made available to each successful applicant. As well as the funding, Hubbub will provide ongoing support to successful applicants based on the charity’s expertise and experience in delivering recycling campaigns.
Gavin Ellis, co-founder of Hubbub, said: “Our new toolkit pulls together key insights from seven trials in a variety of UK locations that have taken place over the last four years. Our ambition is for #InTheLoop to become a recognised and effective approach to out of home recycling that can be replicated throughout the UK and beyond. We hope sharing our results and learnings openly will be useful to local authorities looking to improve their recycling services.
“We’re delighted that additional funding from The Coca Cola Foundation will help four local authorities to get started and put the toolkit into action to help boost recycling rates and reduce marine litter.”
Stephanie Housty, Marketing & Sustainability Manager at Ecosurety said: “Four years after we joined forces with Hubbub to launch the #LeedsByExample campaign, we are thrilled to close the loop with #IntheLoop by funding this toolkit. Packed with useful tips and assets, it aims to inspire more locations to start or improve their own on-the-go recycling infrastructure.”
For more information on the grant funding and to access the In The Loop toolkit, including downloadable assets, visit www.intheloop.org.uk or contact intheloop@hubbub.org.uk
