Recycling campaigns are not without their detractors as their results are often met with more than a little scepticism and their long-term value often questioned.
However, a number of communication programmes, developed by the Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation (Alupro), are delivering measurable benefits not only for the duration of each project, but long after.
In fact two programmes, Metal Matters and Caps & Closures, are showing a significant return on investment, and perhaps more importantly, are demonstrating that with a targeted communications strategy, delivering easy to understand messages that engage with the general public, genuine long-lasting behavioural change is possible too.
Year-on-year figures for the industry-funded Metal Matters programme, which runs in partnership with local authorities show it has successfully delivered sustained increases in the recycling volumes of metal packaging collected at the kerbside long after the initial communications activity has ended.
For example, the MetalMatters campaign that ran in Sefton, Merseyside in 2012 showed that 63% of the estimated total metal packaging used by households is now being collected for recycling, which is more than double the amount collected before the campaign. Given the modest costs associated with the campaign, typically 20p to 35p per household, (leaflet drops, road shows and collection vehicle livery) and its short 8-week duration, the investment has been returned upon many times over and is still on-going. The success of the campaign is being replicated around the UK as more local authorities sign up for the programme, but already the MetalMatters message has reached over 2.4 million households.
Whilst MetalMatters is a wide message encouraging the general recycling of all metal packaging, we are also seeing success with recycling programmes that target specific areas where presently recoverable aluminium is being lost, either through a lack of awareness or the misconception that it was already being recycled.
The aluminium Caps & Closures campaign, which we introduced in 2013, is more specific, focusing on the recovery of aluminium screw caps, lids and collars from glass bottles such as wine, spirits and cooking ingredients such as vinegar. Running under the consumer-friendly “You Can Leave Your Cap On” slogan, the programme was launched in Kent, but has since been launched in partnership with local authorities throughout the UK, and is designed to educate the general public that the best way to ensure that the aluminium caps and closures on bottles are recycled is to simply screw them back on before recycling via the kerbside or a bring bank.
With estimates suggesting that the volume of aluminium caps and closures that could be diverted from landfill have at least a £2million value at current material prices, the campaign has financial potential in addition to the obvious environmental benefits.
All of Alupro’s communications campaigns are designed to raise awareness of the recyclability of aluminium directly increase the amount of aluminium packaging recycled. This is important if the UK’s aluminium packaging producers and reprocessors, as an industry, are to meet and exceed recycling targets.
However, the campaigns are designed to encourage a level of behavioural change, which will last well beyond the running of any campaign. Materials for each campaign are designed as templates so that local authorities can easily incorporate them into their own wider recycling information and campaigns.
For example “canny facts” are available for social media use, and template web copy and press copy as well as great supporting visual images allow quick and easy messages to be produced and rolled our regularly. As recycling targets are set ever higher, it is important that campaigns are designed such that their benefits are sustainable so that higher recovery rates are met through new initiatives and built on top of what success has been achieved already.
Europe-wide, the aluminium industry has ambitions to achieve 70% recycling by 2020 and UK success is an important factor in achieving this. Collaboration is also key to a programme’s success so Alupro partners with local authorities, and other recycling organisations, to ensure that strategies are rolled-out in a co-ordinated manner and in line with any existing recycling initiatives. This approach has helped with the behavioural change, as new initiatives are positioned as part of the overall recycling message and become habit rather than effort.
Cynics underestimate the general public, but in today’s multi-channel world getting the message out, and making it stick so that we achieve lasting behaviour change is a challenge that faces us all. As our programmes show, with a little gentle coaxing and the delivery of easily digestible messages you can bring about positive change. All it takes, as we have experienced, is to tell the public simply what can be done and why – rather than what must – and then positive change becomes habit.
Rick Hindley is executive director of Alupro, the Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation
