The environmental NGO’s “Rescue Me, Recycle” advertisement, which is part of WRAP’s long running Recycle Now campaign, has been designed to encourage households to recycle more consistently and improve public confidence in what can and cannot be recycled.
Despite high levels of participation, inconsistent recycling behaviour remains a challenge.
WRAP’s latest research showed that while 89% of UK households regularly recycle, 79% admit to throwing away at least one item that could have been recycled. Just 9% of people reported feeling “very confident” about what materials can be recycled.
WRAP’s wider Recycle Now initiative runs across social and digital channels and culminates in the annual Recycle Week.
This year’s event is scheduled to take place from 14 to 20 September, with a further burst of TV advertising planned to coincide with the campaign.
David Wilson, Communications Director at WRAP, commented: “We’ve just seen one of the largest reforms to recycling in England with Simpler Recycling, and this advert reminds people everywhere that they can play their part in using our precious resources more sustainably.”
WRAP campaign funded by Sky Media
The campaign has been supported by £200,000 worth of advertising secured through Sky Media’s Sky Zero Footprint Fund, which provides £2 million in media value to organisations driving environmental change.
WRAP was selected as the winner of the Fund’s Catalyst Category, aimed at helping charities and not-for-profits scale awareness of their work.
Fiona Ball, Group Director, Bigger Picture and Sustainability at Sky, said: “WRAP’s ‘Rescue Me, Recycle’ campaign shows the power of creativity and data‑driven media to turn good intentions into real-world impact.
“Through the Sky Zero Footprint Fund, we’re proud to support advertising that makes more sustainable choices simpler, more engaging and accessible for households at scale.”
‘Even toilet rolls have a story to tell’
Created in partnership with creative agency Among Equals, the campaign takes an emotive approach to tackling confusion around recycling.
It personifies commonly discarded household items – including toilet roll tubes, perfume bottles and aerosols – giving them human characteristics, voices and emotions.
The aim is to reframe recycling as an act of “rescue”, encouraging people to think differently about items before they are thrown away.
Meg Jordan, Creative Strategy Director at Among Equals, added: “Behavioural science tells us that empathy is one of the most powerful drivers of action – so rather than hit people with more information, we made them feel something.
“By giving recyclables a voice and a sense of humour, we put the items people forget about firmly in the foreground. Turns out, even toilet rolls have a story to tell.”
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