Thank you to all of you who have contributed to Recycle Week this year which I’m pleased to report has helped to make it one of the most successful yet.

The partnership support for Recycle Week was so wide and varied consisting of many local authorities, commercial partners, brands, NGOs, Government departments and, most importantly, all of us together as consumers.

What has come to my attention in particular is just how much the concept of ‘recycle’ and ‘recycling’ has grown and changed to mean more than just cans, paper and glass.  Recycle Week this year was about each of us trying something new to help waste less, The pledges, which many signed up to included; wasting less food, reusing carrier bags, recycling and reusing clothes and recycling our unwanted small electrical appliances and more.  It was wonderful to see how well we embraced this concept and inspiring that so many were eager to make a real difference for Recycle Week and beyond.  It just goes to show how far we’ve come in the last 5 years.

Besides expanding on the ‘traditional’ concept of recycling, Recycle Week 2009 was ground-breaking in many other ways as well.  For example, it was the first time we used a ‘pledging’ mechanism as part of a campaign.  We also delivered messages through a wider range of partners and it was the first time we used social media in conjunction with traditional media to get the word out.  Digital technology has really revolutionised the way in which people communicate and share information.  For Recycle Week, it was important for us to understand and embrace those changes, so that we could reach a wider audience than ever before.  And it’s working!  We are happy to report that Recycle Week 2009 was very successful—reaching more than 123.5 million people during the week through the various channels. 

Believe it or not, we are already making plans for Recycle Week 2010, building on the success from this year and adapting and evolving for an even better, more engaging campaign for 2010.  We hope that you’ll continue to support recycling and help us keep a good thing going!