The campaign is managed by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and was launched in September 2004 with 10 million worth of advertising across television, radio and the press.
”Recycle Now has made a major contribution in communicating the endless possibilities of recycling “
-Elliot Morley, Environment Minister
WRAP said today that six months after the launch its messages are already making an impact with an estimated 42.9 million people across England having seen the TV and press adverts.
According to the figures published this week the number of people who are classed as committed recyclers has risen from 45% to 50% and 9 out of 10 people regard recycling as an important thing to do.
The results show that access to facilities is a key factor in encouraging recycling with 79% of those surveyed saying it is now convenient for them to recycle, an 11% increase over the period. A total of 65% said that they now had access to doorstep collections of at least two materials.
Major contribution
Environment minister Elliott Morley said: “Through working together effectively, the recycling sector is making it easier for the consumer to recycle more household waste more often.”
“At a national level, Recycle Now has made a major contribution in communicating the endless possibilities of recycling and at a local level the improved services mean that it has never been easier for people to recycle as part of their daily routine,” he added.
Commenting on the research, Jennie Price, chief executive of WRAP, said: “We are really encouraged by these mid-term results which show that the general enthusiasm for recycling has been successfully converted into positive action.
“Many local authorities and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have worked hard in putting an infrastructure in place to communicate with their residents, and they have a major share in this success,” she added.
Compost awareness
The Composting Association has announced that its fifth Compost Awareness Week will be joining forces with the Recycle Now programme. This year the awareness raising week, which will use the theme “Compost, the Possibilities are Endless,” will run from May 1-7.
Throughout the week local authorities and composters across the UK will be organising special events to promote the benefits of making and using composts to their communities.
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For the composting week, as well as joining forces with WRAP and Recycle Now the Composting Association has said it will also be teaming up with Waste Aware Scotland and Wales, the Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee and Community Composting Network during the week.
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