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With support from
WASTE WATCH is the national organisation that works in partnership with local community groups, authorities and industry to educate, inform and raise awareness on waste reduction, reuse and recycling. Waste Watch is a national charity established in 1987, and is supported by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, its membership and business sponsors. It provides educational projects, information, consultancy, publications, training events, campaigning and advocacy for all sectors.
Waste Watch
96 Tooley Street
London SE1 2TH
Tel: 020 7089 2100
Fax: 020 7403 4802
E-mail: info@wastewatch.org.uk
Web:http://www.wastewatch.org.uk
Waste Watch gratefully acknowledges support for this publication through Landfill Tax funds donated by Hales Waste Control Ltd.
Waste Watch is part-funded by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions' Environmental Action Fund. Registered charity no. 1005417. Company registered by guarantee no: 2649156. ENTRUST registration number 871023.
Copyright Waste Watch 1999
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.
ISBN number 1 898026 92 0
Municipal waste management in the United Kingdom is set for significant changes in the next few years. Legislative drivers from Europe will require a step change in the way we collect and treat much of our household waste. In particular, the Landfill Directive sets tough targets for the reduction of biodegradable municipal waste from landfill which will force waste managers in the United Kingdom to develop alternative ways of diverting waste from landfill.
As a result, tackling the organic fraction of the domestic waste stream will become more of a priority for local authorities. A number of local authorities have developed green and kitchen waste collection and composting schemes, and are pointing the way for developments in this field. Daventry District Council is one such authority, and Waste Watch has been pleased to be involved in a partnership with the council and Hales Waste Control which has developed an effective system of green waste collection. Combined with kerbside collections of dry recyclables and effective management of the thorny problem of changing the frequency of residual refuse collection, this scheme is producing significant rates of waste diversion.
Waste Watch delivered a twelve month communication and education programme, from August 1998-August 1999, to support the introduction of the green waste collection in a trial area of around 5,400 households. This report, Diverting Messages, catalogues the operation and results of this programme. It graphically illustrates what can be achieved when a strong and intensive education and communication programme is delivered to support changes in waste collection. It proves that the public are willing to participate in more detailed collection schemes, and that a combination of regular communication and feedback, backed up by staff resources and personalised information for the householder can be effective.
Diverting Messages makes the case for greater investment by waste managers in education and communication programmes, and points the way for the future development of such initiatives. If we are serious about achieving high rates of waste diversion through recycling and composting schemes, greater investment in support activities like communication, promotion and education need to become integral to the shaping of waste management budgets and new contractual arrangements. In the higher value, more sophisticated municipal waste management of the next century, intensive and sustained communication programmes will help the United Kingdom achieve its objective to divert much higher levels of domestic waste to recycling and composting. Communication is of course only one part of the overall picture of the changing waste management scene, but a part which has received insufficient attention to date. We hope that Diverting Messages draws greater attention to this issue, and offers you food for thought in developing your own contribution to future waste management strategies.
Ray Georgeson
Executive Director
Waste Watch
Many thanks to Hales Waste Control Limited and Daventry District Council for funding support. Thanks to everyone at Network Recycling who worked on the waste analyses and to Julie Adams and Viv Dady for their contribution. Thanks to all the householders in the villages of Boughton, Brixworth, Hannington, Holcot, Hollowell, Moulton, Overstone, Pitsford, Ravensthorpe, Spratton and Teeton, who participated in the trial and achieved the highest reported recycling rate in the UK to date. Final thanks to all the staff at Waste Watch who undertook the communication programme, and wrote this report.
1. SUMMARY
2. INTRODUCTION
2.1 Introduction to the Project
2.2 Daventry District
2.3 The Trial Area
2.4 Project Partners - Roles and Objectives
2.4.1 Daventry District Council
2.4.2 Hales Waste Control Ltd
2.4.3 Waste Watch
2.5 General Project Costs
3. METHODOLOGY
3.1 COMMUNICATION
3.1.1 Additional Staff
3.1.2 Stickers for Wheeled Bins
3.1.3 Householder Letters
3.1.4 Hotline Telephone Number
3.1.5 Home Consultations
3.1.6 Introduction Leaflet
3.1.7 Newsletters - Green Waste Update
3.1.8 School Visits and the Poster Competition
3.1.9 Media Coverage
3.1.10 Kitchen Pre-sort Bins
3.1.11 Timetable of Activities
4. RESEARCH RESULTS AND FEEDBACK FROM HOUSEHOLDERS
4.1 Waste Analyses
4.2 Feedback from Householders
4.2.1 Waste Analysis Questionnaire
4.2.2 Sample Survey
4.2.3 Final Questionnaire
5. RESULTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Trends in recycling rates
5.2 Recommendations