Don’t mess with our recycling

August 26, 2014 at 3:27 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Most householders “get” recycling. What they don’t understand is why those in charge of the process need to keep messing with collection methods.

With the EU’s revised Waste Framework Directive coming in to force in January 2015, there is a (kind of) requirement for local authorities to collect paper, metal, plastic and paper separately. There are, however, exceptions. The changes are only necessary where they “facilitate or improve recovery” and are “technically, environmentally, and economically practicable”.

Industry is responding to that clarity accordingly, by considering, discussing and publishing their thoughts on how they can best meet the amended Waste Regulations. This debate is naturally filtering back to those people that have accepted recycling as part of their everyday responsibility: householders. And do they really get it? Do they heck!

Outside of the industry, what impact are the changes having and how can we sensibly communicate these to a public that, although supportive of recycling as a concept, is also confused by the processes employed to deliver it?

Leaving aside the obvious Daily Mail multi-bin headlines, it’s interesting to look at the impacts at a local level.

For example, in July the Leicester Mercury published an article with the headline “Incorrect recycling set to end up in landfill sites”. The item warned residents that failure to recycle properly could result in loads containing the wrong materials being rejected and sent to landfill. It could also see the authority struggle to maintain its rank as the 2nd highest recycling authority – as a result of the new legislation.

You’d be excused for thinking that Leicester was about to change its collection methods. In fact, it was simply issuing a bin sticker to help householders comply with the new regulations. But that message was secondary to the threat of the perceived difficulty of compliance with new regulations.

Over and over again, we hear that communications about recycling need to be better. Why then, are we letting industry legislation affect householder perceptions, again?

As a sector we need to keep our messages simple and provide the public with the transparent information about where their recycled materials go and what they are used for. Only then will they trust us, the industry professionals, to make the right decisions when it comes to legislation.