Councils with recycling incentive schemes have witnessed an 8% boost to local uptake, findings from the first ever performance study suggest.
Research into the impact of incentives and reward schemes on recycling rates in over 30 UK regions found town halls with strategies in place had recorded an average 4% reduction in landfill.
Some 25% of responding residents said local incentive schemes had encouraged them to recycle more, while three quarters claimed they were already doing as much as they could – research commissioned by Serco reveals.
However, the study concluded it had found no data to demonstrate the long-term impact of recycling incentive schemes. The report added that with residents thinking that they already recycle what they can, the potential for behavioural change could be limited.
‘Government are looking for councils to develop and implement incentives to encourage behaviour change particularly in the waste and recycling sectors,’ Chartered Institution of Wastes Management deputy chief executive, Chris Murphy, wrote in the report. ‘In order to implement such initiatives local authorities need to understand the cost, impacts and benefits of incentives.
‘There is much for us to learn about incentives in this sector and at present we are only scratching the surface. We need objective reports like this to inform decision makers so that they can see the options and decide what is right for their residents and their particular circumstances,’ Murphy added.
Business development director of environmental services at Serco, Robin Davies, said: ‘In a difficult financial climate, Serco is supporting our local authority partners in harnessing the potential of recycling incentives to help increase recycling rates and thereby keep costs down.’