Research unveils recycling barriers

The research carried out by the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has revealed four main barriers that stop people from actively participating in recycling, all of which it said need addressing if local authorities are to increase recycling rates in their area.

Following a survey of over 1,500 households in 2007, WRAP found that there may be physical or behavioural reasons behind people not recycling, and also a lack of knowledge or certain attitudes that stop people from sorting their waste.

The organisation concluded that actions such as improving recycling collections and providing better information would need to be taken by councils to improve participation.

Phillip Ward, director of local government services at WRAP, said: “Only by addressing these barriers will we get people to recycle more things more often. Good communication about their recycling service is vital but it will not persuade people to use services which are unreliable or complicated.”

Barriers

Having commissioned the research in autumn 2007 across nine authorities, the research found that the main problems faced by residents could be broken down into four areas:

– Physical: for example, when containers for recycling are unsuitable, or there is no room for storage, or the resident has no means of getting to a civic amenity site.
– Behavioural: such as when a person is too busy to recycle or if they struggle to routinely sort and put out their recycling.
– Lack of knowledge: not understanding recycling schemes or what materials qualify.
– Attitudes and perceptions: people may feel unrewarded for recycling or fail to see its environmental benefits.

The research probed them further and found that 52% of those consulted would recycle more if a wider range of materials were collected, 48% of people usually binned products they were unsure that they could recycle.

In addition, only 48% understood ‘very well' what their recycling containers were for while 86% of people spoken to said that they would recycle more if they could see the practical impact of recycling in their local area.

Along with improving recycling collections and providing better information and practical advice on how services work, WRAP suggested that councils should strive to show residents why taking part is in their benefit.

Mr Ward added: “We believe this research will help local authorities boost their own recycling rates and to build on their existing successes. WRAP will continue to support local authorities in achieving this.”