The countdown is on for Recycle Now’s new ‘Rescue Me – Recycle’ campaign launching during Recycle Week from 14 to 20 October 2024 to raise public awareness that recycling is worthwhile.
While recycling continues to be a widespread practice across the UK, there is still more we can do, to recycle more of the right things, more often.
This Recycle Week and beyond, we need your support to increase the perception amongst the public that recycling is worthwhile. We need you to tell the story of what’s happening to household recycling once collected by using our assets, top tips and tools to showcase that citizens' efforts are making a big difference.
A few stats to back this up…
- 21% of the population say they are not confident their recycling gets recycled.
- 15% say they are put off by stories that their recycling doesn’t get recycled.
- 12% say a barrier to them recycling more is the lack of feedback from the council – like the benefits or being told what happens to their recycling.
To help local authorities break down these barriers for their residents, the ‘Rescue Me – Recycle’ campaign has created a range of communication assets to help tell the story of what happens to our characters.
These often-overlooked items have been turned into five lovable characters that you'll want to root for. All they want is to be rescued from the rubbish bin and recycled so they can be transformed into something new.
Transform our recyclable friends into something new…
- Yogi, the yoghurt pot and Rey, the kitchen cleaner spray could be turned into watering cans, buckets, raincoats, clothes, toys and food trays.
- Dee Dee, the deodorant could be recycled into a drink or food can, or even parts of a train.
- Fitz, the perfume bottle could be transformed into other glass bottles and could even be used to tarmac roads.
- Hube, the toilet roll tube could be turned into cardboard, egg boxes and even more toilet roll tubes.
How to get involved
Participating in the ‘Rescue Me – Recycle’ campaign is an excellent way to share your local recycling journey and let citizens know what happens to their recycling.
- Download all our FREE assets from the Recycle Now toolkit to encourage citizens in your area to recycle these five key items. If you haven’t registered on the resource library before, simply register here. You can also use these assets all year round!
- Create engaging content like videos, infographics, and success stories about local recycling workers to personalise the process and inspire more citizens to follow suit. Regular updates and interactive content, such as Q&A sessions or virtual tours of recycling facilities, can further enhance understanding and enthusiasm.
- Encourage citizens to check the Recycling Locator to find out what else they can recycle in addition to the five key items.
Share your recycling journey
By transparently showing the recycling journey you can reassure citizens that their recycling efforts are making a big difference.
- From Recycle Week 2024 onwards offer virtual or in-person tours of MRFs and reprocessing facilities. These tours can highlight the processes involved in sorting, cleaning, and reprocessing recyclables. Providing this behind-the-scenes insight validates the importance of recycling and fosters a sense of trust and accountability. Citizens are more likely to recycle when they see the real-world outcomes of their efforts.
Together, we can inspire citizens and change perception that recycling really is worthwhile.
Follow us @RecycleNow and use #RescueMeRecycle #RecycleWeek
