Waste not, want not
The UK’s pursuit of a 'zero waste' economy is not going to plan. Serco's Robin Davies presents the findings of a report into recycling habits and motives – and calls for a debate about the future of recycling
As a nation, we are producing less waste. But under present trends, the UK will not reach its commitment to recycle half of all household rubbish by 2020, which will mean multi-million-pound fines by the European Commission; urgent policy debate must establish how best to promote recycling.
The previous government advocated weight-based charging for waste, where those generating greater volumes pay more for disposal but the policy received a very negative response from political opponents and the national press. The current government has explored a different path: household ‘incentives’ to encourage recycling. The 2020 group of Conservative MPs recently examined the subject in its policy paper ‘Sweating our Assets’ and recommended rebates and incentives in the hope that carrots, not sticks, will encourage recycling through rewards – either for individual gain (such as Nectar points) or for community benefit (funding local projects, etc).
Each year, Serco interviews 10,000 council tax payers through our Citizen First consultation programme, which we undertake with a market research partner, SPA Future Thinking. Feedback from telephone surveys enables us to continually improve and evolve the services we provide. For example, at Charnwood, customer feedback led to the development of a five-point plan to increase recycling by making it easier for residents through commingled recycling and the provision of wheeled bins. Recycling rates rose from 34% to 50% within a three-year period...
Read on at Ethos Journal
Ethosis aimed at public sector leaders, politicians, academics and policy specialists debating the future of public services today.
