The industry knows that recycling is important and, with facilities available to recover and process all the beverage cans used in the UK, what’s stopping everyone from actually doing it?
There has been plenty of research on the subject, not just commissioned by the industry. Whilst some may think the reason why people don’t recycle enough is because they don’t feel it’s important, in fact the opposite is true. People do feel that recycling is important but there are a plethora of reasons why they don’t do it.
From the home, the majority of councils collect recycling which is in designated boxes or bags. One of the major barriers to recycling from the home is that people aren’t convinced that what they put out for recycling is actually recycled. Another is that people don’t really understand what can be recycled and some don’t feel that they make a difference.
Outside of the home there are, again, many reasons why people don’t recycle. On the go recycling facilities can be difficult to come across and symbols are often complicated and difficult to understand. This is improving as more organisations, from shopping centres to high streets, become aware of the importance of accessible recycling facilities. Within the workplace, recycling facilities are often lacking and messaging is not always clear.
There are various initiatives around for businesses to achieve recycling targets. Organisations are sometimes unsure of where to start, where to go for advice, how easy it can be to implement. If they already have some form of recycling, may not realise that it’s incredibly easy to build upon. There is also an abundance of free material available online, and programmes that are free to join which will offer advice. It is vital that businesses have a good recycling programme in place, not just to achieve their recycling goals but also as a way to spread the recycling message to a wider audience. After all, if recycling messages in the workplace are simple and effective, these will the recycling habit will spread into the home and have an even wider impact.
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