NRC CONVENTION: Recycling Image Needs Overhaul

DDB’s conclusions about the recycling brand were based on a survey of 3,500 consumers, on-the-street interviews and trend scans from U.S. newspapers and magazines. Cox used advertisements to illustrate her points.

The recycling brand is more than a logo or a name, Cox said, but what the customer knows and thinks about it. During the years, a product’s image must change in order to keep it relevant and to add to its customer base, she added. However, the recycling image has stagnated since it was first introduced in the 1970s. Those in the recycling industry could learn a thing or two by studying the re-branding of companies such as McDonalds and J.C. Penney, Cox suggested, showing recent commercials from both companies that appealed to a changing female demographic.

“‘Recycling’ belonged to everybody, therefore it belonged to nobody,” Cox said.

When the recycling industry grew out of the environmental activism of the 1970s, it was sold as the “right thing to do.” Cox said, “We believed it and taught others to, and the brand grew.”

However, the industry is guilty of assuming that people still agree with this principle, neglecting new customers who may not be as familiar with the concepts behind the recycling “brand” and emerging issues that have displaced recycling in the public’s conscious, Cox explained.

“It appears we are losing our share of concern,” she said of America’s growing concern of food safety that is interfering with the public’s reception of the recycling message. In addition, the message seems to be penetrating select ear canals. 

According to DDB’s data, the most devoted recyclers tend to belong to older age groups. Of those greater than 45 years of age, 67 percent say they always recycle. Our incomes and lifestyles also affect our tendency to recycle. “Recycling is a middle class activity,” Cox said, adding that it is also “politically agnostic” and therefore does not belong to a single political affiliation. Children also hamper a couple’s recycling efforts, she said, as childless homes do a better job of recycling than homes with children.

DDB’s study also revealed that convenience plays a major role in the success of a recycling program. People are far less likely to recycle if it is inconvenient or if information about recycling is not readily available. Cox said recycling’s current image suffers from a perceived lack of availability and the complications in sorting recyclable items from non-recyclable items.

“It’s hard to sell something that needs consistent and constant activity without a recognizable reward,” she added.

Her suggestions for re-branding recycling included refocusing the brand, updating messages related to the brand and explaining its benefits. Consumers are looking for convenience, availability and coolness, she said.

As a result of the study, Cox suggested that the recycling industry as a whole simplify service, update and focus its message and demonstrate the benefit of recycling. At the local level, she also suggested simplifying the service, increasing convenience, informing the public and communicating with current and potential customers frequently.

As Cox said in closing, a clear message coupled with a clearly illustrated reward equals a happy customer. And a happy customer is good news to the recycling “brand.”

The National Recycling Coalition’s 22^nd Annual Congress & Exhibition was held Sept. 15-17 in Baltimore.