Annual Report 2010-11 - Zero Waste SA - SA.Gov.au

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A major focus during the year was delivery of the Recycle
Right household educational campaign and other activities
to encourage and facilitate behavioural change in recycling
A major focus during the year was delivery of the Recycle
Right household educational campaign and other activities
to encourage and facilitate behavioural change in recycling:
> An advertising and direct mail campaign, delivered in
partnership with the Local Government Association of
South Australia, promoted a free community event on
11 and 12 September 2010 for thousands of Adelaide
householders to clear their homes of unwanted
computers, televisions and mobile phones. This project
was short-listed in the 2011 Premier’s Award for
Showcasing Excellence in the Public Sector.
> A comprehensive advertising campaign targeting
29 regional councils supported the Australian
Government’s digital switchover with a free television
take-back collection for regional South Australia
and Broken Hill (NSW). The Australian Government
regarded the communications strategy a worthy
model for replication and the advertising material has
since been adapted by the Victorian and NSW State
Governments for use in similar campaigns.
> The BackLight Household Light Globe Recycling
Program marketing campaign informed householders
about the benefits of recycling light globes and
promoted the drop-off of end-of-life household light
globes at Mitre 10 stores throughout South Australia
for free.
> A press advertising campaign sponsored by the
Publishers’ National Environment Bureau praised
South Australians for their world-class recycling,
especially newspaper recycling, and educated them on
correct preparation of some items for recycling.
Planning for a refreshed corporate communications
strategy to support the Waste Strategy 2011 2015 began
with a review of existing communications activity and
development of an on-line stakeholder survey. This work
will be completed in 2011–12 with action plans developed
to support new strategic goals for waste avoidance
advocacy and engagement, as well as building synergies
within and between portfolios.
Recycle Right household
recycling program
In 2010–11 the Recycle Right householder educational
initiative was developed in response to long standing
issues of ‘contamination’ (householders placing incorrect
materials in recycling bins) raised by the recycling industry.
Benchmark research by Zero Waste SA in 2005 and 2008
indicated that attitudes, behaviour and knowledge of
recycling had remained almost static during this period,
reinforcing a need to provide information to improve
understanding about recycling.
This campaign was designed to be run in two phases: direct
mail (bin lid stickers and educational ‘disc’ in a Recycle
Right branded envelope); and press, radio and outdoor
advertising. Due to the Government’s ban on advertising,
this part of the campaign was postponed until 2011–12.
The direct mail campaign was piloted in five councils
(95,000 households) and supported by new educational
resources including an online-delivered DVD and recycling
search engine, 1300 information line and recycling
workshops for council staff.
Free council recycling workshops were delivered by KESAB
environmental solutions through the Local Government
Association of South Australia. The workshops have been
particularly successful in educating council staff about
the ‘ins and outs’ of recycling a wide range of materials.
Eight tours were held with 190 staff participating. Almost
all metropolitan councils and 23 of 49 regional councils
participated in the workshops.
Concurrently, an extensive online library of Recycle Right
branded imagery and icons was developed in response to
demand from council waste educators. An outcome of the
pilot was the increased engagement with council waste
educators outside of the five pilot councils.