Recycling Incentives

UK - pilot study of local authority household incentives for waste management - report launched

Defra carried out a pilot study of local authority household incentives in England, backed by £3.1m in 2005/06; to evaluate the effectiveness of a range of incentive schemes in encouraging householders to reduce, recycle and compost their waste. The pilot was launched by the Environment Minister in March 2005.

Based on the results from this research Defra conclude that incentives can be a useful tool to authorities that wish to enhance the performance of their waste collection service. However, they have a number of considerations to take into account when choosing an incentive to trial.

There is, unfortunately, no "one size fits all" ideal solution. The authority must first and foremost consider the barriers to recycling that it needs to address, such as: lack of participation; excessive contamination; infrequency of collection service; number or size of collection receptacles.

The best solution may then actually be to introduce a service or infrastructure change, for example, collect more material types rather than an offering an incentive alone. Incentives should be seen as a means of maximising the efficiency of waste management infrastructure and service provision that is already available to householders.

Final household incentives pilot report

The results of all the pilots are published in a report written by AEA Technology. The report has been made available, and is supported by a range of Appendices; one for each of the geographical regions covered by the pilots. The report and appendices are available for download at Defra's website.

However, for your reading convenience it has been packaged in to one report which can be accessed via the related resources section of this page.  A copy of the Yorkshire and Humber summary is also attached.

Some of the Reports highlights:

* Recycling for schools Schools in County Durham competed against one another to recycle the most waste. The top recyclers were awarded equipment for schools such as laptops. The tonnage of recycled waste collected in the area increased by 13%.

* Recycling the right things In Hampshire, residents who recycled properly and put the right waste in the right bins were rewarded with vouchers to local attractions. The result was a 50% reduction in the number of households putting the wrong things in their recycling bins.

* Recycling for prizes The most popular schemes were those that offered lottery-style prize draws. In Exeter, one lucky resident won an environmentally friendly car.