Planet Ark urges consumers to ‘Check It! Before You Chuck It’ in recycling awareness campaign
Planet Ark and the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) have partnered for a new campaign designed to boost recycling awareness and encourage Aussies to recycle effectively.
The new campaign aims to educate about sustainable packaging and calls on Australians to check the Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) every time they are at the bin.
Planet Ark ‘Check It! Before You Chuck It’
The campaign has launched off the back of a study conducted by Pact Group, which found 81% of Australians are not confident they are recycling correctly.
The Community Attitudes to Waste and Recycling study also revealed that 22% of people would recycle an item even if they were unsure of whether it was appropriate to do so, a practice called “wish-cycling”.
Trevor Evans MP, Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction and Environmental Management, said the new campaign would be key to stopping contamination in waste stream and reduce waste going to landfill. “One of the best practical things we can do to help the environment is to recycle correctly,” he said.
“This new recycling campaign, funded by the Federal Government, is a fantastic reminder to always be mindful of recycling correctly by looking for the packaging label before chucking things in the bin. Recycling correctly reduces the amount of waste going to landfill and enables new products to be made and re-used again and again”.
Planet Ark deputy CEO said the organisation is aware the Aussies want to do the right thing. “The most common place people look for recycling information is on product packaging, therefore we need to have consistent labeling on that packaging that truly reflects Australia’s recycling infrastructure.
“The second step is to educate Australians to look for the Australasian Recycling Label when they are at the bin, which will help them recycle right, reduce contamination in our recycling streams and keep recyclable materials in circulation,” she said.
The campaign is headlined by an animation introducing a cast of characters who visually demonstrate the positive recycling behaviour of checking the ARL before chucking your packaging in the bin.
The ‘Check It! Before You Chuck It’ call to action is reinforced by a catchy song and will be supported by a suite of creative assets over multiple platforms including social media.
APCO CEO Brooke Donnelly said the campaign is about helping consumers “feel empowered” about the part they play in getting recycling right.
“By educating households and businesses to source separate effectively by looking for and following the ARL instructions, we can reduce contamination in the waste stream and ensure valuable materials have the opportunity to be recycled into new products,” she said.
“Research consistently shows that Australians are confused by recycling – this campaign will help to cut through that confusion with one simple action every time consumers are at the bin: to check it before they chuck it.”
Pact Group managing director and CEO, Sanjay Dayal, said: “As Australia’s biggest recycler and user of recycled materials in Australia and New Zealand, Pact Group understands how important it is that households and businesses have the information they need to recycle properly.
“Reducing confusion and improving our waste stream will help build Australia’s circular economy and reduce our reliance on imported recycled materials. This will unlock significant environmental and economic benefits while creating high quality, local manufacturing jobs for generations to come.”
More information and resources at the Australian Recycling Label info page.
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Zanda Wilson was a reporter and podcast producer at Mumbrella, specialising in radio reporting. He left Mumbrella in September 2021.
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