Recycle Now’s mission is to increase the perception that recycling is worthwhile. At Recycle Now, we know that most UK households are actively recycling, with 90% regularly taking part. However, our research shows that 79% of UK citizens still miss one or more items that could be recycled in their kerbside collection.
The two main barriers preventing more effective recycling are:
- Uncertainty about what can and cannot be recycled – Many people admit they are unsure about which items belong in their recycling bins.
- Doubts about whether recycling is worthwhile – People express scepticism, often due to concerns about what happens to their recycling once collected.
To tackle these challenges, Recycle Now developed a strategy to reinforce the belief that recycling is worthwhile. To help us deliver our strategy, we need a collective effort across the industry to make this happen:
- Recycle Now will encourage those who don’t care that much about recycling to recycle at least one more item.
- Local authorities can play a crucial role in communicating what happens to recycling after collection.
- Businesses can show the full recycling journey, from sorting and reprocessing to being transformed into new products.
By working together, we can break down these barriers and increase confidence in recycling.
Inspiring change
The ‘Rescue Me – Recycle’ campaign creates lasting impact that resonates with those who are less engaged with recycling. This campaign personifies some of the most commonly binned, yet recyclable household items - aftershave and perfume bottles, plastic trigger spray bottles, yoghurt pots, toilet roll tubes, and aerosols. By giving these objects human traits, emotions, and personalities, we’ve created lovable characters that people can connect with. Through humour and emotion, we highlight the ‘dreams’ of these items to be recycled - and the unfortunate fate they face if they aren’t rescued.
If you haven’t already, check out the campaign toolkit Rescue Me - Recycle Toolkit You can use the toolkit to plan your recycling communications activities throughout the year.
Recycle Week 2024: A landmark year
2024’s Recycle Week was a real success, marking the campaign’s 21st anniversary. During the week, Recycle Now delivered an extensive national and regional PR campaign, driving awareness with a powerful headline: Households waste one billion recyclable items every year.
Among the staggering figures:
- 59 million aftershave/perfume bottles
- 84 million plastic trigger spray bottles
- 743 million yoghurt pots
- 126 million aerosols.
To bring this message to life, we orchestrated a high-impact PR activation. Our campaign’s characters—Dee Dee, Fitz, Yogi, Rey, and Hube were joined by WRAP CEO Harriet Lamb and celebrity ambassador JJ Chalmers as they delivered an impassioned letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street, urging action and public participation in rescuing recyclable items.
This campaign reached 33 million citizens through PR alone, with a further 25 million impressions delivered via a paid digital campaign across Meta and Google. Our fantastic partners - local authorities, retailers, and brands added further momentum with extensive online and community engagement.
We also launched our ‘Workshop In A Box’ community engagement initiative. Developed with Behaviour Change Ltd, this interactive game saw over 100 partners bring recycling education into schools, Cubs, and Brownie groups, engaging an estimated 8,000 young people and encouraging them to be recycling champions at home.
Driving behaviour change
Ultimately, our goal was not just to raise awareness but to change behaviour and the results speak for themselves.
Post-campaign research revealed that:
- The campaign reached 7.3 million citizens.
- 2.9 million people said they changed their recycling habits as a result.
- The rate of missed capture for the five key recyclables dropped from 70% to 64% - a huge achievement!
Keep the momentum going!
Recycle Now is committed to keeping this momentum alive and will continue pushing the message to encourage more citizens to rescue at least one more recyclable item.
However, we need your help. Whether you’re a local authority, a brand, or a retailer, you play a vital role in showing the public that recycling is worthwhile. Let’s work together to ensure that fewer recyclable items end up in the bin.
Remember to access the latest Rescue Me – Recycle assets where you will find a suite of resources that align with the different seasons of the year and loads of ideas on how you can tell the story of recycling worthwhileness.
Remember to Save the date! Recycle Week 2025 will take place from 22nd–28th September—mark it in your diary now!
Finally, a massive thank you to our funders Defra and DAERA and our sponsors Tesco and Boots for making all this possible.
Together, we can inspire the public to recycle more. Let’s rescue more recycling, one item at a time.