KAB, Ad Council partner with Unilever to promote recycling bathroom products

Keep America Beautiful (KAB),  Stamford, Connecticut, and the New York City-based Ad Council, along with the consumer products company Unilever, co-headquartered in Rotterdam and London, have launched a public service announcement (PSA) campaign focusing on the benefits of recycling packaging and containers typically found in the bathroom.

 

According to a survey released by the Ad Council, bathroom products like shampoo bottles, toilet paper rolls and toothpaste boxes are significantly less likely to be recycled than kitchen products. To remedy this, The Ad Council, KAB and Unilever have formed a partnership to motivate more Americans to recycle products found in the bathroom. 

 

Together, the groups have launched a new phase of the national “I Want to Be Recycled”  communications campaign, featuring a series of broadcast and digital Public Service Announcements (PSA). 

 

According to research commissioned by the Ad Council, only 10 percent of U.S. residents have a recycling bin in their bathroom, compared with 45 percent who have recycling bins in the kitchen. The survey also found that 52 percent of respondents say they have a lack of knowledge about what items can be recycled in the bathroom and 47 percent say they do not think about recycling materials in the bathroom. 

 

“As a society, we’ve come a long way in increasing recycling in the kitchen, but now it’s critical that we carry that progress into the bathroom,” says Jennifer Jehn, KAB president and CEO. “We’re very grateful to Unilever for adding their influential voice to this initiative and are excited to launch another phase of the ‘I Want To Be Recycled” campaign with the Ad Council to help people give their garbage another life.”

 

The program was created by the San Francisco-based ad agency Pereira & O’Dell and funded by Unilever. This new phase of the campaign, which launched in 2013, illustrates how products like shampoo bottles can be recycled and transformed into new products. Unilever will extend the campaign this spring. 

 

“As a company that touches more than 2 billion people every day with a Unilever product — many of which are found in the bathroom — we have the ability to drive an enormous positive social impact when it comes to changing recycling habits,” says Gina Boswell, executive vice president of  personal care, Unilever North America. “Recycling in the bathroom is a simple act that can make a huge difference in our environment and in our supply chain. We’re excited to team up with KAB and the Ad Council to help people reimagine recycling in the bathroom.”    

 

New TV and digital PSAs will direct consumers to the website www.IWantToBeRecycled.org, which includes an interactive game on recycling and comprehensive information on recycling throughout the home. The website offers information on which products to recycle, how to recycle products and what the products could potentially transform into when recycled properly. The site also includes infographics and information on how to find a recycling facility nearby.

 

“People are largely unaware that many products we use in the bathroom can become something new through recycling, and instead are continuing to push them to the landfill,” says Lisa Sherman, Ad Council president and CEO. “After four decades of powerful collaboration with KAB, encouraging proper and consistent recycling habits continues to be a crucial message that we are proud to share to help improve the environment for future generations.”

 

PJ Pereira, chief creative officer and co-founder of Pereira & O’Dell, says, “The new creative aims to change people’s mindsets about recycling in the bathroom. While we use all these personal care products to take care of ourselves, we can also help take care of the world by making sure the products we use in the bathroom make it to the recycling bin. The spots continue to demonstrate how you can give your garbage another life by recycling.”

 

In addition to Unilever, KAB partners in the “I Want To Be Recycled” campaign include the American Chemistry Council, Niagara Bottling, Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries and the city of Austin, Texas.

 

The online omnibus survey was conducted by ORC International nationwide from Feb. 12-15, 2015.