Free reuse communication tools launched by WRAP

The posters, leaflets, web banners and other materials are aimed at promoting the financial and social benefits of increased reuse levels in order to divert more waste from landfill.

The promotional material focuses on bulky waste such as electricals and furniture and textiles, after successful trials by WRAP.

Six partnerships, comprising of a mix of local authorities, third sector organisations and commercial companies, worked with WRAP to trial the communications materials. From the trials, five out of the six projects increased the amount of material they would normally collect for re-use during the trial period.

All six projects included a leaflet drop to all households in the target area. Other communications included press releases, roadshows, posters, banners, online and social media activity.

The partnership projects ran in Leeds, Shropshire, Inverness, Nairn, Oxford and the London borough of Bexley.

‘change behaviour’

Frances Jones, director of Revive Leeds, partner in one of the trials, said: Revive Leeds is delighted with the communications materials that have been provided by WRAP. The footfall and sales at our reuse shop on the council’s Household Waste site have increased over 100% in comparison with the same months last year. This, of course, means that we are diverting a much larger tonnage and making a real contribution to the council’s reuse and recycling targets. We are pleased to have been part of the pilot and we recommend other groups now use the templates that have been developed.

Linda Crichton, head of collections and quality at WRAP, said: People are becoming more aware of the financial opportunities around increasing levels of re-use for example, WRAP estimates that almost a quarter of electricals taken by householders to household waste and recycling centres across the UK have a reuse value of over 200m. This is on top of the benefit of avoided landfill tax charges.

She added: As a result, we know that reuse organisations, recyclers and local authorities are looking to tap in to those economic opportunities by increasing the amount of reusable items they collect. This can be achieved with the help of communications. The free communications materials that WRAP has published today have been thoroughly tested with householders in real life trials, and are now proven to make an impact and change behaviour.

The communications materials and a report on the partnership trials are available on the WRAP website.

In November 2012, WRAP launched a second round of competition for businesses and councils to apply for grants of up to 50,000 to increase the reuse and repair of textiles, furniture and WEEE (see letsrecycle.com story).