Millions More get the Recycling Habit
The survey shows that nearly three out of five (57%) people in England are now committed recyclersii compared to 45% of people in August 2004. This represents a 12% increase since the Recycle Now campaign was launched in England by WRAP (the Waste and Resources Action Programme) in September 2004.
“This is great news for the campaign and for the environment. By recycling, everybody really can make a difference, and we have recently published figures that demonstrate, for the first time, the positive contribution that recycling can make to tackling climate change – equivalent to taking a staggering 3.5 million cars off the road,” says Jennie Price, WRAP’s Chief Executive.
Managing the Recycle Now campaign on behalf of the government, WRAP has exceeded its target, which was to achieve a 10% increase (from 45% to 55%) in the number of committed recyclers by 31 March 2006. The research also shows that:
- more than nine out of ten (92%) people regard recycling as “important”;
- around eight out of ten (79%) respondents recycle a lot or everything;
- over two thirds (69%) of people are aware of the national advertising campaign; and
- the number of people who say they do not recycle has almost halved - from 13% to 7%.
Over 340 local authorities in England have signed up to support the Recycle Now campaign. Half of respondents (50%) now recognise the new recycling logo, many having seen it as part of local authority promotional material.
Jennie Price adds:
“These results show the significant contribution that the Recycle Now campaign has made to encouraging people to recycle more things, more often. Local authorities have played a major role in this success through their support for the campaign and their work in improving recycling facilities at a local level. With nine out of ten of us now able to recycle on our doorstep, it couldn’t be easier.”
In fact, improved access to recycling facilities is a key factor highlighted by many respondents, with 77% of those surveyed saying it is convenient for them to recycle and 69% saying they use the doorstep recycling collection service for two or more materials – an increase of 18%.
Recycling of specific materials varies according to individual local authority provision. However, all eight of the main materials collected for recycling – paper, glass, cans, card/cardboard, garden waste, textiles, plastic containers and food waste – have seen increases over the last 18 months, the biggest being the recycling of plastic containers which has jumped from just over a third (36%) to more than half (57%).
“Moving forward, the Recycle Now campaign will continue to build on this enthusiasm and commitment and encourage even more people to recycle more things, more often,” says Jennie. “We are all becoming aware of just how serious an issue climate change is, and while recycling will not cure the problem on its own, it is a simple, everyday way in which everyone can make a difference.”
ENDS
Sources:
i For the latest wave of research, 1,521 interviews were carried out across England by GfK NOP World between February and March 2006. WRAP was set a target to achieve a 10% (from 45% to 55%) increase in the number of committed recyclers by 31st March 2006.
ii Committed recyclers are people who state that:
- recycling is either “very” or “fairly” important to them
- they “recycle even if it requires additional effort”
- they recycle “everything that can be recycled or “a lot but not everything that can be recycled”
Editor's notes:
- Recycle Now - Launched by Matthew Pinsent in September 2004, Recycle Now is the multi-media national recycling campaign, implemented and managed by WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) on behalf of the Government. The aim of the campaign is to encourage more people to recycle more stuff, more often.
- WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) is a major UK programme established to promote resource efficiency. Its particular focus is on creating stable and efficient markets for recycled materials and products and removing the barriers to waste minimisation, re-use and recycling.
- A not-for-profit company, WRAP is backed by substantial Government funding from Defra and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Environmental Benefits of Recycling: an international review of life cycle comparisons for key materials in the UK recycling sector has been produced for WRAP by international researchers at the Technical University of Denmark and the EU-funded Danish Topic Centre on Waste, a team that has also worked closely on the development of life-cycle thinking to inform future European waste strategies.
The Danish experts conducted a comprehensive international review of existing life cycle analysis (LCA) projects that have used ISO standard methodologies to evaluate the impact on the environment of managing the key materials commonly recycled (glass, paper/cardboard, plastics, steel, aluminium, wood and aggregates) in different ways – through recycling, incineration or landfill. Organic material for composting will be tackled in a similar study to be commissioned this year.
The research review was edited in the UK by Dr Julian Parfitt, a leading waste and resources policy and research analyst, and Principal Analyst at WRAP. It was peer reviewed by David Fitzsimons of Oakdene Hollins, a leading practitioner in LCA review. The summary document and full report can be downloaded from the WRAP website (www.wrap.org.uk). - More information on all of WRAP's programmes can be found on www.wrap.org.uk and for more information on the Recycle Now campaign visit www.recyclenow.com
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