There’s a fair amount of responsibility being placed on Local Authorities in terms of getting the Simpler Recycling to work. The challenge is that this requires getting communities educated and willing to take action. You can have all the infrastructure and logistics in place but if communities don’t participate, there will be little impact – much to the frustration of the role players.
Communication needs to focus on outcomes. In other words what to do and well as why it’s important. Remembering that getting people to change age old habits is one of the hardest things to achieve.
Years ago, a simple newspaper announcement or pamphlet in the post box was likely the best way to get everyone’s attention. Today the majority of working people read news online, or come across information on community chat groups. But is reading about something enough to get people to act? Or do they simply forget about it the minute they scroll on?
A recent study on behavioural change highlighted the necessity of a multi-pronged approach. Feeding people information in advance through newspaper and online communication, and then reinforcing that message through pamphlets, signs and messages – most importantly at the time and place where you want people to act.
An example of a “Do this, now” strategy is having a plastic bottle recycling bin located right next to a public drinking fountain. The sides of the bin and fountain could be used for signage telling people to take specific actions and change how they think about waste. In this case it would be to urge people to reuse and refill rather than simply discard plastic bottles into the recycling bin.
Most people want to be part of the solution and up until now believed that recycling is best. When they understand the better solution is to rather reuse then it can start to impact their buying decisions too, making circular economy principles easier to implement on a broader scale.
The other aspect to consider is technology, specifically cell phones. If there are local colleges or tech businesses in the area they may be interested in a collaboration, where they help develop an app that can engage communities, track efforts and show the impact.
This type of data-driven, interactive communication is highly effective especially with younger generations. The added benefits of a mobile app, is that it broadens the reach, and it can be shared on social media and other online platforms.
Using technology, print and online platforms creatively can help Local Authorities to broaden how they communicate with communities. It’s all about focusing on outcomes and being very clear in communicating what people need to do to be part of the solution.
