Resource efficiency specialist Ecosurety has partnered with environmental charity Hubbub to increase quality recycling in the UK.
From 2018 the exclusive collaboration will see two consumer-facing campaigns a year, funded by Producer Responsibility compliance evidence money, created and executed by Hubbub.
The partnership will see Ecosurety members’ evidence money put towards the consumer awareness campaigns via its Circularety platform, to increase transparency and ultimately UK recycling. Such campaigns are expected to generate more recycling evidence and ultimately lower costs for producer members, and could focus on packaging, batteries or WEEE recycling.
Recent campaigns by Hubbub include a high-profile coffee cup recycling initiative which has led to over 1.2 million being recycled, the redistribution of perishable food to voluntary and charitable organisations via community fridges, as well as a forthcoming campaign to increase plastic recycling. The #1moreshot Coffee Cup scheme, which started in Manchester and then spread to London, now has interest from Germany.
“We strongly feel that if UK consumers were better informed and therefore better able to care about recycling best practice, our recycling rates would increase even further”
The partnership between Ecosurety and Hubbub will also see regular canvassing of opinion from obligated producers and recyclers about which issues or campaigns should be prioritised across Producer Responsibility compliance.
This Autumn, the two organisations will also launch a public awareness campaign along with major UK retailers to encourage more households to recycle domestic batteries. The UK fell short of its 2016 battery recycling target, with the collection being met disproportionately by lead acid batteries.
James Piper, managing director at Ecosurety, says, “As recycling and compliance specialists, Ecosurety has seen first-hand just how easy it can be for waste to be rejected because it is contaminated, mixed with other materials, or does not make it into the recycle system at all.
“We strongly feel that if UK consumers were better informed and therefore better able to care about recycling best practice, our recycling rates would increase even further. The collaboration with Hubbub and use of compliance evidence money that has already been spent by producers, aims to fix this disconnect between the consumer and the waste and recycling industry.”
Trewin Restorick, Hubbub’s CEO, says, “Working with dedicated and passionate partners such as Ecosurety, which is uniquely positioned to connect recyclers with major brands and create sustainable change, is key to Hubbub’s approach. We are committed to creating campaigns with tangible impacts and longevity, and are excited to devise awareness-raising campaigns to help UK consumers make better choices about how and what they recycle.”
