The new campaign will be run by the Waste and Resources Action Programme and succeeds the former Rethink Rubbish programme. The overriding objective of the new campaign “is to link increases in awareness to increases in active participation and to influence buying patterns and behaviour.”
 The expected icon for the new campaign |
At the centre of the campaign there will be a new icon which is expected to be the use of one recycling arrow with a heart shaped tip, sitting alongside the message: “Recycling. The possibilities are endless.” While final details of the campaign are still to be given, WRAP's creative advisors have won support for a campaign with a message explaining that by recycling household products, such as cans, bottles and newspapers, the public will see the materials used again, in particular in larger manfuactured products. A proposal to use the Wombles has been ruled out.
 A can shaped fridge in the home of the animated characters |
The subtle, soft and stylish tone to the advertising has been adopted following research by WRAP that found the public did not want to be lectured.
WRAP chief operating officer Philip Ward has explained: “We have been looking for a campaign which will hit the right note with the public. This has not been easy. We know that the public don't like to be hectored, nor do they want to be told something terrible will happen to them if they don't recycle.”
One example of a proposed animated film shows how a can is placed in a can bank with visual images then showing a car, a train and a plane to emphasise how all contain metal with a recycled content. Characters used include a trendy young mother and a boy who place items for recycling in a kerbside box.
Unchecked growth
The new campaign sits alongside WRAP's work to deliver an additional 4.25 million tonnes of new recycling capacity by 2006. The organisation is also aiming to halt “the unchecked growth in household waste which we have seen over the last decade. Its target is to reduce the rate of increase by 1%, which is equivalent to eliminating around 745,000 tonnes of waste. Complementing this, WRAP will be undertaking a wide range of communication activities, including a national awareness campaign to generate a minimum increase of 10% in the public perception of recycling as a 'must or should do' activity.”
Speaking about the campaign, Jennie Price, WRAP chief executive, said earlier this year: “Surveys consistently demonstrate that there is strong support for recycling out there and WRAP's intention is to build on this enthusiasm and convert it into action in homes throughout the country.”
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