Strictly embargoed until 00.01 on Friday 10th May 2019
SUCCESS OF GROUNDBREAKING RECYCLING ON-THE-GO TRIAL S PA R K S E X PA N S I O N I N T O SCOTLAND AND WALES Industry collaboration Leeds By Example doubles the number of people recycling plastic, cans and coffee cups Leeds By Example, the UK’s biggest collaborative drive to boost recycling of some of the most common food and drink packaging consumed ‘on-the-go’, has inspired cities in Scotland and Wales to launch their own campaigns. Launched to help address the UK’s extremely low onthe-go recycling rates, the groundbreaking six-month trial in Leeds has doubled the number of people recycling plastic, cans and coffee cups and has recycled 600,000 cups in less than six months. The model will be rolled out in Swansea and Edinburgh later this year, and will also continue for a further six months in Leeds city centre, environmental charity Hubbub announced today. Launched in October 2018 by Hubbub and Ecosurety, Leeds By Example has brought together a unique combination of 25 national partners who are funding the scheme and 29 local partners including Leeds City Council. Together they have installed 124 eye-catching new recycling points in Leeds city centre, an area that had no on-the-go recycling facilities before the trial. As well as on-street bins, these include recycle reward machines, which offer money-off vouchers in return for recycling, and other recycling points in retailers and workplaces. Results from the trial show the proportion of people disposing of plastic, cans and coffee cups in a recycling bin almost doubled from 17% to 32%. In addition to the significant numbers of coffee cups recycled, 65,000 cans and 55,000 bottles were recycled during the six month period. The campaign grabbed the public’s attention with brightly coloured recycling bins, bins that burp and blow bubbles when used, a giant coffee cup installation and a ‘Re-Cycler’ recycling collection bike which were positioned in various locations including universities and shopping centres. Polling showed that 82% of the public in Leeds City Centre had seen the campaign. An evaluation of the campaign found that the following elements were key to its success:
• The public respond to fun and interaction; for instance the bubble-blowing bins were one of the most popular campaign elements
• The quality of on-street recycling is higher in places where people have more time to loiter, such as at bus stops, rather than when they are in a rush. It is also higher when recycling bins are visible from afar, as people have more chance to notice them
• Recycle reward machines are most effective in ‘closed-loop’ managed spaces where people both consume and dispose of food and drink packaging
• 95% of people interviewed liked the idea of recycle reward machines and most people who used them were motivated by a belief in recycling rather than financial rewards
The extension in Leeds city centre will increase the number of on-street recycling bins to around 100, introduce more cup collections and further engage the local business community. In September, the Recycling on the Go initiative will be available in Swansea and Edinburgh, building on what has been learned in Leeds to increase recycling levels in those cities. Gavin Ellis, co-founder and director, Hubbub said: “When it comes to recycling the packaging we all use, too often the onus is on local authorities to tackle this issue alone. The success of Leeds By Example shows what can be achieved when partners work together to share expertise, grab public attention and change behaviour. Lack of infrastructure and unclear messaging is a major barrier to recycling in the UK, and results from our trial have shown the importance of new recycling bins supported by a clear, concise call to action. “We’re thrilled with the campaign’s success so far and it’s the start of a wider ambition – to create a legacy for Leeds and a tried and tested replicable model for other cities to follow. We’re already looking forward to rolling out the campaign to Edinburgh and Swansea in September and we encourage other cities to get in touch about the possibility of launching in their area in 2020.” James Piper, CEO at Ecosurety says: “Not only has the Leeds By Example campaign provided some valuable insights on how we can successfully implement on-the-go recycling infrastructure, it has shown that leading brands and retailers now recognise the vitally important role that consumers play in our recycling system. Collaboration and education are critical components to an effective recycling process - Leeds By Example shows us why. We are delighted with the outcomes of Leeds By Example and look forward to working with Hubbub to develop the campaign further in Edinburgh and Swansea later this year.” Councillor Mohammed Rafique, Leeds City Council executive board member for active lifestyles and the environment said: “It’s great to see the Leeds by Example trial has seen numbers of people recycling on the go double in just the space of six months. The message is clearly getting across to people and the various city centre recycling options and incentive machines have been widely used. We are hearing great things from people across the city which is why we are very pleased to see the extension of the scheme to include even more opportunities for recycling in our city centre.” The Recycling on the Go model aims to ensure all plastic bottles, cans and coffee cups collected are reprocessed in the UK and as locally as possible. In Leeds, cans are being reprocessed in Cheshire, plastic bottles in Lincolnshire and cups in Cumbria. Hubbub will be exploring local solutions for the two new cities.
Leeds By Example and the overall Recycling on the Go initiative is backed by Alupro, Asda, Association of Convenience Stores, Ball Beverage Packaging Europe, British Plastics Federation, Bunzl, Caffè Nero, Coca-Cola GB, Costa Coffee, Co-op, Crown Packaging, Danone, Ecosurety, Greggs, Highland Spring, Innocent, Klöckner Pentaplast (kp), Lucozade Ribena Suntory, Marks and Spencer, McDonald’s UK, Morrisons, PepsiCo UK, Pret A Manger, Starbucks and Shell. For further information on Leeds By Example, the overall Recycling on the Go initiative and to get involved visit www.leedsbyexample.co.uk.
NOTES TO EDITORS For more information contact the Hubbub team at Barley Communications: Nicola Ennis nicola.ennis@barleycommunications.co.uk 07837 201085 Katy Rabie katie.raby@barleycommunications.co.uk 07896 533547
ABOUT LEEDS Leeds is the UK’s third largest city, with an economy worth £21.3 billion and is forecast to grow by 21% over the next decade. It has the largest centre outside London for financial and business services, digital, creative, publishing and broadcasting and is ranked third in UK for its retail offering. There are 774,060 people living in Leeds. It has four universities and 200,000 students. Leeds has the busiest train station in the North of England catering for over 100,000 passengers a day.
ABOUT HUBBUB Hubbub is a charity which explores innovative ways to interest mainstream consumers in important sustainability issues, through different ‘hubs’ of activity: Food; Fashion; Homes; Neighbourhoods. Hubbub’s previous campaigns have included #SquareMileChallenge, the UK’s first large scale solution to coffee cup recycling, #NeatStreets to cut litter in UK cities and For Fish’s Sake (#FFSLDN) to tackle litter in the Thames. www.hubbub.org.uk Twitter: @hubbubuk
A B O U T T H E C A M PA I G N B A C K E R S #LeedsByExample is backed by Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation (Alupro), Asda, Association of Convenience Stores, Ball Beverage Packaging Europe, British Plastics Federation, Bunzl, Caffè Nero, Coca-Cola GB, Costa, Co-op, Crown Packaging, Danone, Ecosurety, Greggs, Highland Spring, Innocent, Klöckner Pentaplast (kp), Lucozade Ribena Suntory, Marks and Spencer, McDonald’s UK, Morrisons, PepsiCo, Pret A Manger, Starbucks and Shell.
WRAP and RECOUP are affiliate partners on the campaign. The campaign is delivered in Leeds by a local collaboration including Leeds City Council, Zero Waste Leeds, Forge Recycling and HW Martin. All the cups in Leeds are recycled via the Valpak Scheme. The Valpak Scheme is a national cup recycling scheme founded by Costa and co-funded with McDonald’s UK, Caffè Nero, Greggs, Burger King and Pret A Manger. It is the first collaborative approach by the brands to tackle the ongoing issue of recycling disposable cups.
ABOUT ECOSURETY Ecosurety is the market leading compliance scheme investing in quality recycling. With more than 1,000 customers including Morrisons, The Co-operative Group and Virgin Media, Ecosurety supports efficient and more transparent investment in UK recycling projects via infrastructure, innovation and consumer awareness campaigns. Committed to reducing the environmental impact of UK businesses, and to a tangible increase in UK recycling, Ecosurety helps producers organise quality evidence to ensure they comply with packaging, WEEE, batteries and international regulations. www.ecosurety.com