Decisions about recycling are ‘not always taken consciously and are often seen to be an instinctive part of everyday life’, a new Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) report has found.

The finding comes in a new report commissioned by The College of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Exeter and Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) to discover why only around half of all plastic bottles produced are collected for recycling in the UK and France, despite three-quarters of people saying they ‘always’ recycle them.

Released yesterday (31 March), the ‘Unpacking the Household: Exploring the dynamics of household recycling’ report observed 20 households in Britain and France over the course of six months, to ‘understand the drivers that determine recycling habits and behaviours, and investigate the gap between good intentions and reality’.

Report findings

According to the study, first launched in May 2013,there are six main reasons why recycling action is limited:

1. Active decision-making plays ‘only a small part’ in the recycling activity carried out within the household

The report reads: ‘People do not always make conscious decisions about recycling – the way in which people behave is essentially an instinctive process built into their daily lives. Being pressed for time was a typical response to the question of why some recyclable waste ends up with general waste rather than in the recycling bin. Put simply, people just ‘do what they do’ unconsciously and often out of habit.

2. Relying on behaviour change is only part of the solution

The study found that action to encourage behaviour change to alter household recycling habits will help to improve recycling rates, but that the ‘recycling infrastructures that surround household practises must also be considered and adjusted’.

3. Householders aren’t prepared to compromise the aesthetics of their home to make room for a recycling bin.

As well as citing aesthetic reasons, some participants argued that more physical space is needed to make recycling a ‘more viable activity’.

A further barrier was found to be the fact that recyclable items are sometimes collected in several bins, and that there was a view that some bins, such as those located in bathrooms, are ‘dirty’ and are therefore less likely to be sorted for recycling.

4. A lack of understanding of what happens to waste once it has been collected for recycling

According to the report, the majority of households do not have an accurate understanding of what happens to waste once it has been collected for recycling. Householders often assumed the recycling process ended when they discarded an item, while those who knew more about recycling, harboured some skepticism over whether recycling materials were really being recycled and not sent for reprocessing/landfill abroad.

5. Confusion about both the recyclability of materials and what could be collected for recycling.

Participants in the study indicated confusion about the recyclability of different materials with some checking their neighbours’ bins to see what they can recycle, while others said that when in doubt, they were more likely to discard the waste than recycle it.

6. Recycling attitudes and behaviours differ by age

Lastly, the study found that recycling behaviours differ across age groups: teenagers were commonly disengaged from recycling, with none of those participating in the research expressing an interest in it. However, children were found to ‘make an important contribution and act as catalysts to promote recycling within their households’.

Writing in the foreword to the report, Joe Franses, Director of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability at CCE said: ‘Recycling is not a conscious decision. People go about their daily lives and if the stars align and they can recycle, they will. But if it isn’t made easy for them, all of their other priorities such as cooking, cleaning and making sure the kids are in the right place at the right time, and with the right equipment, take precedence. The issue is that recycling habits have already been formed – and it’s not always the best recycling behaviour. We all know that it’s hard to break a habit, but that’s where we – the industry, NGOs and recycling organisations - can and should intervene.’

Recycling Challenge

The findings from the study are now being used as a basis for setting an online ‘Recycling Challenge’, which asks members of the public to come up with ‘innovative, yet practical solutions’ to encourage people across Europe to recycle more.

Hosted on Open-IDEO’s website, the challenge is presently in a ‘research’ stage, where members of the public can post information and case studies regarding their household recycling.

On 22 April, the ‘ideas’ phase will start, where the community will post solutions to these problems. There are further ‘applause’ and ‘refinement’ stages, for suggestions about how to develop these ideas.

Finally the ideas will be judged, both by the community and by an external panel of experts (including representatives from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Forum for the Future, and the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP)), who will also provide advice throughout.

Winning concepts will be judged on ‘original thinking, practical sense, and real applicability’.

The challenge closes on the 24 June this year.

'Collaboration is the key to successful innovation for good'

Franses explained: “While we [CCE] can leverage our experience and expertise to educate and inspire consumers to recycle more often, we recognise we don’t have all the answers. So, we are collaborating with other thought leaders, and the best creative minds in the OpenIDEO.com global community, to help generate ideas that could deliver real change in at-home recycling habits.”

Nathan Waterhouse, Director of OpenIDEO, added: “We believe in the power of the community and see collaboration as the key to successful innovation for good. The innovation platform, at its most impactful and passionate, empowers participants to inspire each other and build on each other’s ideas to find the answer.”

Dr Liz Goodwin, CEO of WRAP, also commented, saying: “The UK has made fantastic progress in recycling over the last ten years and now recycles four times as much, which means we now recycle more than we send to landfill.

“This is great news for the environment and economy, but there’s still a lot more we can all do. The Recycling Challenge is a great way to stimulate debate, share expertise and encouraging creativity around recycling to create real change.”

Read the the ‘Unpacking the Household: Exploring the dynamics of household recycling’ report, or find out more about CCE’s Recycling Challenge.