Perth and Kinross Council was awarded over £2.7 million to introduce a twin-stream kerbside recycling collection service and expand recycling services to properties in Perth City Centre.
Project outcomes
The project is on its way to achieving the three key objectives:
Increase recycling
Reduce contamination
Increase participation
Project activity
Perth and Kinross Council used the funding to deliver two major service changes while utilising a strong traditional and digital communications approach.
Twin stream recycling
A twin stream recycling service was introduced to approximately 73,000 properties (over 97% of households) which involved repurposing the existing blue-lidded recycling bin to collect only paper, card and cardboard (which originally was used to collect paper, cardboard, plastics and metals).
They provided a new grey-lidded bin for recycling plastics, metals and cartons, with additional materials such as including soft plastics and foil.
City centre recycling
Recycling collections were introduced to approximately 1,000 properties in Perth City Centre. Existing communal bin hubs were enhanced to provide a blue-lidded bin (for paper, card and cardboard), a grey-lidded bin (for plastics, metals and cartons), and a food waste recycling unit.
Communications
Perth and Kinross Council promoted the service change using a mix of traditional communication methods, including sending a leaflet to every household, along with a digital-first approach which included the use of social media, online engagement sessions, TV and radio advertisements.
A new mascot called “Wheelie” was also introduced to act as the face of the campaign; this received an excellent response from the public.
Downloads
For more information, you can read the project case study here.