THE INFLUENCE OF MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS ON THE WASTE REDUCTION AND RECYCLING ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOUR OF RUSHCLIFFE RESIDENTS

摘要

It is clear that achieving statutory targets for recycling will be a considerable challenge for councils involved in schemes to collect and recycle household waste. Reducing household waste and increasing recycling behaviour is heavily dependent on the voluntary behaviour of the public, and there has been little research published on the regular evaluation of customer satisfaction and attitudes towards such schemes and the influence of marketing communications in increasing recycling rates. This research is the start of frequent monitoring of public satisfaction with a new kerbside recycling and wheeled bin initiative which is being gradually introduced to all households in the Borough of Rushcliffe in south Nottinghamshire between February 2002 and summer 2004. The research will monitor attitudes and satisfaction levels to the new initiative, whether the public perceive that they are being kept informed by the various marketing communications media utilised by the council, and will evaluate which media are most influential in improving recycling behaviour. The results from regular surveys and semi-structured interviews conducted to date demonstrate that the scheme has been very successful in terms of generating participation and public satisafction with its operation, and that marketing communications is influencing people to recycle more, with printed material such as newsletters and direct mail being the most effective media. However, the research demonstrates that considerably more could still be done to improve the Borough's recycling rate, clarify the public's reasons for non-participation and improve communications so that it has a greater influence on encouraging recycling behaviour.