Simpler Recycling – Improve Recycling and Food Collection Rates
Simpler Recycling means that councils in England must provide a consistent, core set of recycling services so residents can recycle the same key materials wherever they live, reducing confusion and increasing participation.
Behavioural science can help you address the challenges you face in increasing recycling and food waste collection rates, as well as managing service change and introducing new collections.
I work with councils and waste providers to improve recycling and food-waste services, as well as helping you to introduce new services, saving you money, delivering positive change and measuring your impact.
Increasing Recycling And Food Waste Collection Rates
To increase recycling rates, I work with you through a four-step process,
- Behaviour: first, I help you understand the real behaviours driving low participation or contamination, using existing data and new insight from surveys, focus groups and workshops to prioritise the most important behaviours to change.
- Barriers: I then identify the key barriers and drivers — such as confusion about what goes in each bin, inconvenient bin layouts, habits, or low motivation.
- Solve: next, I help you design co-designing practical, testable solutions with your team, from small-scale trials to full-service re-design and campaigns.
- Test: Finally, I help you measure what works through clear evaluation and live dashboards, ensuring recycling and food-waste interventions are evidence-led, cost-effective and deliver measurable improvements.
Introducing new services
If you are introducing a new service or changing your service e.g. introducing food waste collections, I can help you to
- Plan for your new service: this includes service planning as well as designing and executing your communications based on behavioural science.
- Co-design your missed collections and complaints process: I help you to manage the design of your services so you
- Increase food waste and recycling rates: I work with you to design a rollout of service changes that combines behavioural science, service improvements and communications that work and drive changes.
- Bring residents on the journey with you: I help you identify trusted messengers who residents listen to and channels (e.g. stickers, posters, letters and social media) that drive action.
- Segment audience: I help you segment your audiences based on living circumstances – e.g. households, communal, flats above shops and more – along with other demographics.
- Evaluate your work: finally, I work with you to measure the impact of what you do, helping you to save money, increase recycling rates and demonstrate impact.
To find out more, download my Campaign Planner below below, which shows the steps you need to take to change behaviour for the better.
Dominic Ridley-Moy FCIPR, Chart.PR, Dip CIPR
Behaviour Change Network founder
