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New poll shows nearly 30% of us could recycle more

Simpler and consistent information could help tackle a problem costing councils

millions

Embargoed: 00.01am, Monday 12 September

Results from a new poll show nearly 3 in 10 people don’t recycle as much as they could, with 38%

of those people citing confusing information on packaging or from local authorities as the reason.

These figures are more pronounced among younger people, with those aged 16-34 least likely to

say that they recycle all they can (57%) and more likely to be confused about what can be

recycled. This finding leads to questions about the means by which councils and service providers

are communicating with their younger residents. The poll shows that the likelihood to recycle

increases with age, with 82% of 55-74 year olds and 88% over 75s saying they recycle all they

can.

People living in Wales, which has been praised for its cohesive and ambitious recycling strategy,

were among the most likely to say that they are already recycling all they can (75%) compared to

those living in parts of England, such as the West Midlands (69%) and London (68%). People

living in Northern Ireland (63%) were least likely to say they recycle all they can.

The findings come from a poll conducted by Serco’s Environmental Services business and long-

term research partner Future Thinking, which surveyed over 12,000 members of the general

public and has been published to mark National Recycle Week (12-18 September).

Other reasons people gave for not recycling more, included: the need for collections to be more

frequent (8%); the need for some kind of financial reward (5%); that they did not have recycling

bags or bins (5%); they didn’t believe it was being recycled (4%) and, that they simply could not

be bothered (3%).

Serco’s Environmental Service’s business, which manages waste collections for over 1 million

households on behalf of 16 local authorities across England, estimates that confusion over what

can be put in household recycling is costing local authorities around £45m each year as a result of

contaminated waste that is unable to be processed (total based on the cost of disposal per tonne

of contaminated waste and the lost income per tonne of what could have potentially been

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recycled). Plus, as it’s often cheaper to burn than process mixed waste, there is also a wider

environmental impact in terms of increased CO2 emissions.

In response to the findings, Serco Environmental Services’ team is urging the waste industry to

work together with local authorities, retailers and consumer goods manufacturers to standardise

recycling communications and develop a simpler recycling labelling system for food and product

packaging which is easier for consumers of all ages to understand.

It points to the successful partnership working between the government and the industry to

improve food labelling and develop the universal traffic light system for food nutrition as an

example of how simple, standardised information can support clearer communications to the

public and help drive behaviour change.

Robin Davies, Serco’s Business Development Director for Environmental Services, said:

“While it is encouraging that a large proportion of people believe they already recycle all they can,

the fact is that recycling rates, especially in England, have plateaued over recent years. Councils

and service providers put a lot of effort into communicating guidelines to local residents, but their

job would be made easier if we all worked together to simplify and standardise recycling

information. Clearer and consistent information would help people understand what items to put in

the right bins and recycle more, leaving local authorities to set their waste collection policies to suit

local needs, and building greater confidence among the public that items that can be recycled are

being recycled.

“Today’s millennials have grown up in a world where recycling is common practice, with ‘reduce,

reuse, recycle’ taught in schools, so it’s surprising that younger people are most confused. The

poll suggests we look again at how we are communicating with this audience, especially when

digital transformation is already high on the agenda of most local authorities.”

Claire Tyrrell-Williams, Associate Director at Future Thinking, added: “It’s encouraging to

see that people are evidently sold on the recycling message and are keen to do their bit. However,

the research also demonstrates that people are aware that they could recycle more and are

conscious of how confusing recycling information can be. Clearly there’s a disconnect between

how much we want to recycle and how much we do recycle.

“Changing people’s behaviour and attitudes when it comes to recycling should be a priority going

forward. Providing people with the right tools and information, while making the most of the latest

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insights into human behaviour, is a crucial part of delivering a sustainable and environmentally-

conscious future.”

Twitter: @SercoESUK @FutureThinkHQ #recycyling

Ends

For further information, or interviews please contact:

Tracey Cobbett at Serco on 07590 779 327 or tracey.cobbett@serco.com or Velvet PR:

Bhavna Mistry, Velvet PR, 0208 996 1802; bhavna@velvetpr.biz

Jack Ferris, Velvet PR, 0208 996 1805; jack@velvetpr.biz

Sean Barry, Velvet PR, 0208 996 1801; sean@velvetpr.biz

Notes to editors

1. The national poll was conducted by Future Thinking from 1-9 August 2016 with a sample size of 12,166.

For further information on the findings, please see our infographic.

2. The survey follows the release of government data last month showing that the amount of household

rubbish being rejected for recycling at material recycling facilities (MRFs) in England has increased by

84% over the past four years.

3. The most recent Defra statistics show around 45% of household waste is currently recycled. There is an

EU target for the UK to recycle at least 50% by 2020.

4. As an example, there are difficulties in marrying the current plastic packaging labelling system (see

picture below) with providing simple, effective communications to residents. The labelling system sets

out seven types of plastics which can be recycled, but actually only a handful of these plastics (types 1

and 2) are currently collected and then recycled through household waste doorstep collections. Some

popular household items in the other five categories, such as food bags and egg cartons, can only be

recycled at designated centres, but people see the symbol on plastic packaging and wrongly assume

that it can be put in their household recycling, leading to increased waste contamination levels.

5. Now in its 13th year, National Recycle Week is a celebration of recycling. The theme this year is “The

Unusual Suspects”. The aim is to encourage people to think about all those items that often get

forgotten about when recycling at home. For more information visit www.wrap.org.uk/content/recycle-

week-2016

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About Serco

Serco is a leading provider of public services. Our customers are governments or others operating in the

public sector. We gain scale, expertise and diversification by operating internationally across five sectors

and four geographies: Defence, Justice & Immigration, Transport, Health and Citizen Services, delivered in

UK & Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. More information can be found at

www.serco.com

About Serco’s Environmental Services business

Serco’s Environmental Services business provides refuse and recycling collection, street cleansing, vehicle

maintenance and landscapes services to UK local authorities. We also operate fully integrated waste and

recycling contracts which include waste and recycling treatment, processing, recovery and disposal. The

company works in long term partnership with 16 local authorities with many relationships spanning several

decades. We pride ourselves in taking a more customer-centred approach in the way we think and act and

to bringing a residents perspective to the way we design and deliver services. With a £2.5bn forward

contract order book and with over 5,000 colleagues it represents a very important part of the Serco Group.

About Future Thinking

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Future Thinking is a global company of researchers, marketers, statisticians, strategists, innovators,

creatives and industry experts. We take a consultative approach to market research, placing a commercial

focus at the heart of everything we do, by focusing on three key areas that drive a competitive advantage –

launch, communicate and experience.

We integrate qual, quant and analytics through the latest technologies to deliver research that engages

audiences and drives action.

Our mission is to work alongside brands and businesses to deliver consumer and business insights that tell

stories, inspire action and travel within an organisation, long after the debrief.

Future Thinking’s client portfolio includes: McDonald’s, Dixons Retail, Mercedes-Benz, ITV, Unilever, Great

Western Railways, The Walt Disney company, GSK and more.

For more information, visit: www.futurethinking.com or follow us on Twitter: @FutureThinkHQ

To see more of our added insights specific to Retail and Shopper follow us on Twitter: @FutureConsumer_