A scheme launched by North Somerset Council and supported by environmental consultancy Resource Futures has seen the area’s recycling rate increase to 60 per cent in the last 12 months, it has been announced.

The ‘Don’t Waste It’ campaign launched in September 2013 with a team of 10 dedicated waste advisors visiting around 25,000 properties in North Somerset over a three-month period.

The scheme was set up after North Somerset Council found that if action was not taken to reduce residual waste and increase recycling, it would see its waste disposal costs rise from £4 million to £4.4 million.

As such, the council asked Resource Futures to recruit, train, and manage a team of advisors who could visit residents and ensure they were fully aware of the authority’s recycling service and of what could be recycled.

The team also logged residents’ suggestions for improvement and noted any barriers to recycling for future reference.

The scheme reportedly had an immediate impact, with residual waste decreasing by 5.4 per cent, and recycling rising by 5.7 per cent in the period from October 2013 to March 2014, compared to the same time period in 2012/13. This has helped the council boost its recycling rates to around 60 per cent.

Speaking of the campaign, Councillor Peter Bryant, North Somerset Council’s executive member for recycling and waste, said: “As a local authority dealing with the ongoing pressure of rising waste bills and volumes, we are delighted with the impact of the waste advisors programme. Working with Resource Futures has enabled us to avoid a potential extra cost burden on our local taxpayers.”

Coralline Guillon, Consultant at Resource Futures, added that the results “show how important engagement is to elicit positive behaviour change”. She continued: “Part of the success is in recruiting the right people to take on the responsibility of chatting to householders in a way that encourages individuals to take action. Working with North Somerset Council has been a great partnership of expertise.”

North Somerset Council has also found that if all recyclable waste found in the residual waste stream (around 50 per cent of the waste bins) was recycled, the authority could save around £1.5 million a year.

As such, it is now working in partnership with Weston College and parish councils to carry out survey work and doorstepping in areas where greater participation is needed, in the hopes of changing residents’ attitudes and behaviours to waste management and recycling.

Find out more about North Somerset Council’s ‘Don’t Waste It’ campaign.