Refreshing recycling with ReLondon

Moments of change, such as moving house, getting married, having a baby or starting university present a key opportunity to intervene and change behaviour. This is because at moments such as these, existing habits are disrupted - paving the way for new ones to be formed.

Whilst getting a new recycling service may not seem quite as exciting as the aforementioned moments of change, if executed correctly, we can still make it feel like a moment - and therefore reap the behaviour change benefits. This is exactly what we did with ReLondon on our project looking at improving recycling rates in purpose-built flats. 

ReLondon's challenge was to increase dry-mixed recycling capture, and introduce new food waste, WEEE (small electricals), and textiles recycling services for purpose-built flats across 4 estates in Lambeth. Whilst they could have just sent a simple informational flyer to residents telling them about the new services and asking them to recycle more, they knew that this would be a missed opportunity to create real change. Instead, we worked together to make this service change much more exciting for residents - introducing the “fresh new start”.

The “fresh new start” addressed common issues with recycling in purpose-built flats: dirty, overflowing bins were replaced with new bins which were much more appealing for residents to use; brand new, bold, unmissable signage was placed around the bins making it super easy for residents to know what to put where; and innovative ways to engage residents on food waste (including sending them a free tea bag!) were just some of the ways we made the new service feel like something new and different for residents.

Our “fresh new start” succeeded at making residents rethink their recycling - with a 150% increase in recycling across all types being recorded - and an associated 31% decrease in residual waste generated. 

If you’re thinking about introducing a new service - and want to drive as much impact as possible - get in touch, we’d love to hear about it.

To read about this work in more detail, check out ReLondon’s report on the project.