A major national communication campaign is needed to boost engagement with recycling, a key body has urged.
The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) demanded stronger public messaging after identifying a “concerning trend” in attitudes to waste management.
The body’s annual recycling tracker report, published last week, found that just 69 per cent of more than 5,000 UK citizens polled agreed their recycling efforts were “worthwhile”.
This was down from 72 per cent a year earlier, with confidence in what can be recycled also falling.
But the report added that there was “strong evidence that citizens who have received communications from their council in 2024/25 and/or recognise one of WRAP’s campaigns show higher confidence, better knowledge and stronger recycling habits”.
WRAP called on the government to “strengthen social norms and feelings of worthwhileness with a strong national communications campaign building on recent extended producer responsibility for packaging reforms and the rollout of Simpler Recycling”.
It added: “These communications should utilise increasing consistency in collections as a result of Simpler Recycling to produce clear, concise messaging to close the functional knowledge gap.
“National communication campaigns should align with and build on existing efforts in UK recycling, and work with local authorities to produce easily transferable assets which can be tailored to local issues.”
