Environment Protection Authority
Consultancy report:
Community Education and Awareness Strategy for Waste Management
This report has been prepared by consultants for the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the EPA. The EPA cannot guarantee the accuracy of the report, and does not accept liability for any loss or damage incurred as a result of relying on its accuracy. FINAL REPORT
Community Education and Awareness Strategy for Waste Management
Prepared for Environment Protection Authority 77 Grenfell Street ADELAIDE SA 5000
3 July 2003
50033-002 Project Manager: ………………………………….. URS Australia Pty Ltd Bronte Nixon 25 North Terrace, Hackney Senior Environmental Planner South Australia 5069 Australia Tel: 61 8 8366 1000 Fax: 61 8 8366 1001 Project Director: ………………………………….. Ruan Perera Principal
Author: ………………………………….. Date: 3 July 2003 Bronte Nixon Reference: 50033-002 Senior Environmental Planner Status: FINAL Contents
Executive Summary------ES-1
1 Introduction------1-1
1.1 Introduction 1-1 1.2 Strategy Development Process 1-2
2 Working Towards a Zero Waste SA------2-1
2.1 Recent Waste Reforms in SA 2-1 2.2 The Opportunity for a Zero Waste SA 2-1
3 The Waste Education and Awareness Strategy ------3-1
3.1 The Waste Education and Awareness Strategy 3-1 3.2 Integration with the State Waste Strategy 3-1 3.3 Roles and Responsibilities 3-3 3.4 Activities and Tools 3-5 3.4.1 The Promotional Theme/Brand 3-12 3.4.2 A State Residential Waste Profile 3-12 3.4.3 Marketing and Promotion of Products made from Recycled Materials 3-13 3.4.4 List of Popular Products that can be Recycled 3-13 3.4.5 Implementing a Community Volunteer Program 3-13 3.4.6 Using Well Known ‘Personalities’ for Promotion 3-13 3.4.7 Television Awareness Campaign 3-14 3.4.8 Radio Awareness Campaign 3-14 3.4.9 Website 3-15 3.4.10 Local Government Waste Awareness Resource Kit 3-16 3.4.11 Awareness Raising Outdoor Signage/Advertising 3-18 3.4.12 Sponsored Promotional Events and Displays at Major Events 3-18 3.4.13 Public Place Recycling Facilities 3-19 3.4.14 Educational Displays 3-20 3.4.15 Newspaper Lift-Out 3-21 3.4.16 Free-call Line 3-22 3.4.17 A ‘Responsible’ Shopping Guide 3-22 3.4.18 Household Information and Awareness Booklet 3-23 3.4.19 Promotion of Composting 3-23 3.4.20 Partnerships with Interstate Agencies for National Awareness 3-24 3.5 Activities for Community Sectors 3-24 3.6 Implementation Plans 3-27 3.7 Funding and Resource Plan 3-37 3.7.1 The Gold Program Funding and Resource Plan 3-37 3.7.2 The Silver Program Funding and Resource Plan 3-38 3.7.3 The Bronze Program Funding and Resource Plan 3-39 3.8 Assessing Performance 3-39 3.8.1 Evaluation 3-40 3.8.2 Key Performance Indicators 3-41 3.8.3 Systems to Measure 3-42
i Contents
4 Existing Programmes in SA ------4-1
4.1 Survey Technique 4-1 4.2 Key Survey Findings 4-2 4.3 Council Kerbside Recycling Facilities 4-3 4.4 Detailed Analysis of Survey Responses 4-6 4.4.1 Survey Responses from Metropolitan Councils 4-6 4.4.2 Survey Responses from Rural and Regional Councils 4-7 4.4.3 Northern Adelaide Waste Management Authority (NAWMA) 4-8 4.4.4 Solo Waste 4-9 4.4.5 Local Government Association (LGA) 4-10 4.4.6 Southern Region Waste Resource Authority 4-11 4.4.7 Wingfield Waste Management Centre – Waste Education Centre 4-11 4.4.8 KESAB 4-12 4.4.9 Peter Schulz – Waste Education Consultant 4-13 4.4.10 South East Local Government Association 4-13 4.4.11 Cleanaway 4-14 4.4.12 SITA 4-14 4.4.13 Recyclers of SA 4-15
5 Best Practice ------5-1
5.1 Key Findings 5-1 5.2 Interstate Information 5-1 5.2.1 The Business of EcoRecycle & Waste Wise 5-2 5.2.2 The Waste Wise Programs 5-2 5.3 International Information 5-8 5.3.1 The National Waste Initiative of the UK 5-8 5.3.2 The ‘Rubbish Revolution’ 5-10 5.3.3 The ‘Slim Your Bin’ Campaign 5-10 5.3.4 ‘Doing Your Bit’ – United Kingdom 5-11 5.4 Waste Education Internet sites 5-11
6 Changing Community Behaviour------6-1
6.1 Key findings 6-1 6.2 A Culture of Convenience 6-1 6.3 Community Attitudes to Waste Recycling in South Australia 6-2 6.4 How to Change Behaviour 6-3 6.5 Behavioural Outcomes Required 6-6
7 Community Sectors in South Australia ------7-1
7.1 The Different Groups 7-1 7.2 Available Information on Participation 7-1 7.3 Targeting Information to Specific Groups 7-2 7.4 Key Target Sectors 7-2
8 Communication and Information Material ------8-1
8.1 Promotional Theme/Brand 8-1 8.2 Key Messages 8-2
ii Contents
8.2.1 Key Awareness Raising Messages 8-3 8.2.2 Broad State-Wide Education Messages 8-5 8.3 Community Sectors and Key Messages 8-10
9 Campaigning and Message Delivery ------9-1
9.1 Key findings 9-1 9.2 Media Options 9-1 9.2.1 A Media Campaign 9-2 9.2.2 Frequency 9-3 9.3 Other Delivery Options 9-4 9.3.1 Source of Information 9-4 9.3.2 Community Networks 9-4 9.3.3 Face-to-Face Communication 9-4
10 Conclusions ------10-1
iii Executive Summary
URS Australia Pty Limited (URS) was commissioned by the South Australian Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and the Waste to Resources Committee (WRC) in October 2002 to prepare a community education and awareness strategy for waste management in SA to assist the State Government in formulating the State Waste Strategy.
Background
A 2002 audit of kerbside waste in South Australia, conducted for the EPA, found that much of what is being sent to landfill is unrecovered recyclables such as paper, cardboard and plastics, or compostable materials (22).
Based on Waste Audit 2002 information (22), a reduction of kerbside waste going to landfills of at least 74% could readily be achieved by changing our behaviour. Changing our attitudes to avoid consumables will also help further reduce the balance of 26% of other wastes going to landfill.
A state-driven strategy is necessary to increase community confidence in waste management in South Australia and to try and increase and maintain community enthusiasm in working towards a Zero Waste target. Funds raised by the increased Waste Depot Levy will be made available to support waste initiatives that focus on waste avoidance, reduction, recycling, reuse, and recovery. A state role is required to help raise the community awareness of ‘why’ and 'how' to manage waste (avoid, reduce, reuse, recycle and recover) and to educate the community on issues that are common across the whole of South Australia, regardless of available waste services and facilities or council area.
The community education and awareness strategy has been designed by URS Australia to help support the State Waste Strategy work towards a vision of zero waste. The desired outcomes of implementing the Strategy include:
• Increased participation in kerbside recycling.
• Reduced contamination in recyclables.
• A reduction in the quantity of garbage placed out for collection.
• Increased participation in green organics recycling and composting.
• A greater understanding of why recycling is important and what the benefits are
The Waste Education and Awareness Strategy generally consists of the following key components:
• Development of a Branding/Promotional Theme that will be applied to each education and awareness program/activity and will link individual activities back to the over-arching campaign.
• The Zero Waste Education Program that aims to increase the community’s knowledge and improve attitudes and practices through building upon existing programs.
ES-1 Executive Summary
• The Zero Waste Awareness Program, which aims to increase the level of community awareness about waste issues in general.
• Performance Assessment, which is integral to ensuring that the strategy is successful.
The Process
In order to achieve the desired outcomes for this study, URS interviewed metropolitan and regional/rural councils and existing waste organisations and industries to establish exactly what was already being done in South Australia in terms of waste education and awareness and to determine their thoughts and ideas about a role for the EPA in education and awareness.
From these interviews it was determined that councils and existing waste management organisations focus mainly on educating about ‘how’ to recycle within their specific areas or regions as opposed to ‘why’. It was also suggested that a potential role for the EPA lay in awareness-raising across the state and supporting existing education programs.
A role for the EPA in waste education and awareness was then determined, which incorporated leaving the detailed waste education to councils and waste management organisations and focusing on waste awareness as well as broader state-wide education issues. There is also a definite opportunity for the EPA to form linkages and partnerships with various organisations, especially in relation to funding of education programs and awareness campaigns and implementation of joint initiatives.
An important aspect in designing any environmental education strategy is reviewing the behavioural changes required to achieve the desired outcomes. The key outcome of this section of the report was that recycling behaviour is linked to the availability of services and facilities and the level of understanding about why its is important to avoid, reduce and recycle waste. Other important findings were that recycling is a fundamentally different behaviour to avoiding, reducing and reusing and that to change a particular behaviour the person must perceive the particular activity as beneficial and in accordance with their own values. The activity must also be easy to understand and adopt. Importantly, it was found that in order to achieve the behavioural changes required it is important to inform the community about what happens to waste locally and increase awareness and understanding of relevant waste issues.
Key target community sectors were then identified in order to prioritise groups that could perhaps be targeted with a new waste education and awareness campaign (however it is important to note that the strategy’s main target group is actually the entire population). Key target groups for South Australia were identified as flat and unit dwellers, new residents to areas, ethnic communities (particularly Italian, Greek and Vietnamese), renters/tenants (especially Housing Trust tenants), rural and regional communities, full- time workers, holidaymakers, youth (age 13 – 19), senior citizens (over the age of 60), and households that currently do not recycle.
After determining the behavioural changes required to increase participation in waste management and identifying the key community sectors for potentially targeting waste campaigns it was important to look at the kind of material that would need to be produced to raise awareness across the state and educate on some of the broader issues. Besides recommending the use of a promotional theme or ‘brand’ for
ES-2 Executive Summary
recognition and linking different initiatives, the strategy recommends a set of key awareness raising messages, as well as a set of broad state-wide education messages. These are messages that relate to issues that apply across the state, regardless of council area or location. Overall, it is essential to emphasise ‘why’ waste avoidance, reduction, reuse and recycling are so important.
Avenues of information were then explored in the strategy. These are the ways that information can be disseminated to the community. The key avenues investigated and recommended including the use of media (television, radio, website and newspapers) and interestingly the use of ethnic radio stations in the past have proved to be successful in educating about recycling in Greek and Italian areas. Other delivery options included the use of councils and organisations that already have a role in waste education, the use of community networks and the potential use of face-to-face communication.
From here, potential education and awareness tools and activities were explored and recommended. Potential tools for promoting awareness and education included using the promotional theme/brand, a state residential waste profile, marketing and promotion of products made from recycled materials, lists of popular products that can be recycled, implementation of a community volunteer program, and using well known South Australian ‘personalities’ for promotion of waste issues.
Potential activities to raise education and awareness about waste issues include a television awareness campaign, radio awareness campaign, website, newspaper lift-out, local government waste awareness resource kit, outdoor signage, sponsored promotional displays at major events, public place recycling facilities, educational displays, a free-call line for information, a ‘responsible’ shopping guide, a household information and awareness booklet, promotion of composting, and looking into potential partnerships with interstate agencies for national awareness.
These tools and activities are all described in section 3 of the strategy and associated timeframes, costs, potential audiences, issues to be addressed, key community sectors and other considerations are outlined in two tables with the aim of contributing to the final recommended programs.
URS also considered how to evaluate and measure success. This is a very important concept in terms of measuring the success of the strategy, but also in measuring the success of the individual activities, which make up the overall education and awareness program. Outcomes of waste audits, council surveys, community attitude surveys and market research were found to be the most useful tools for measuring the success of any strategy.
Outcomes
Three program/strategy options have been recommended that bring together all facets of the report. They include a “gold”, “silver” and “bronze” option and include various tools for education and awareness and a range of the different activities outlined above. All the recommended programs would be linked by the promotional theme. Recommendations have also been made for the duration of implementation over a five year period, as well as recommendations on aims, information dissemination and delivery options, whether education or awareness material would be used, particular community sectors targeted, funding opportunities, ways to measure success and approximate indicative costs and resourcing arrangements.
ES-3 Executive Summary
The following is a summary of each program/strategy option:
Gold – The Gold program targets a high level of participation from a broad cross-section of the community. It is envisaged that this program could cost up to $2.6 million over five years and incorporates activities including a television and radio awareness campaign, website, outdoor signage, newspaper lift-out, household information and awareness booklet, a road-show and educational displays, local government resource kit, sponsored events and displays at major SA events, public place recycling programs and finally, composting displays. This program would require an approximate staffing level of 7.1 FTE over five years with 2.1 FTE for the first year.
Silver – The Silver program targets moderate levels of participation from a broad cross section of the community and could cost approximately $885,000 over five years. Activities here would include a radio awareness campaign, website, outdoor signage, newspaper lift-out, household information and awareness booklet, educational displays, sponsored events and a public place recycling initiative. This program would require an approximate staffing level of 5.1 FTE over five years with 1.25 FTE in the first year.
Bronze – The Bronze program targets moderate levels of participation from defined community target sectors. It is envisaged that the program could cost up to $320,000 over five years and it incorporates a radio awareness campaign for selected stations, website, newspaper lift-out, educational displays and composting displays. This program would require a staffing level of 3.9 FTE over five years with 0.9 FTE in the first year.
These three options allow the EPA to select an education and awareness programme to suit their budget and staffing levels. The Gold program is obviously the favoured option due to its comprehensive coverage, however URS has costed individual activities in this report making it possible for the EPA to ‘pick and choose’ activities (outside of the scope of the recommended program options) to suit budgetary and other requirements.
ES-4 Introduction SECTION 1
1 Introduction
1.1 Introduction
URS Australia Pty Limited (URS) was commissioned by the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and the Waste to Resources Committee (WRC) in October 2002 to prepare a community education and awareness strategy for waste management in SA to assist the State Government in formulating the State Waste Strategy.
The scope of works required that the Strategy be based upon research into:
• The directions of the State’s Waste Strategy
• Current community education and awareness programs which deal with waste management that are being implemented in SA
• Benchmarking Interstate and International best practice
• Analysing of behavioural changes required to make Zero Waste a reality
• Identifying methods to raise the community's awareness and understanding of, as well as their access to information on waste management
The key outcome required by the State Government is to have South Australians participate in its Zero Waste strategy. This strategy relates to the management of waste by avoidance, reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery, as outlined below. To this end, the Waste to Resources Committee has indicated that a community education and awareness strategy, focusing on households, is a priority to help increase participation rates in the most preferred methods of waste management.
Avoid Reduce Reuse Recycle Recover Treat Disposal
The focus is on influencing South Australian consumer purchasing decisions so that they avoid waste- generating consumables and encouraging South Australians to reduce their generation of waste by initially utilising, reusing items more than once, and recycling materials to produce other new products. A strategy of this nature needs to have linkages with existing activities being undertaken by local government and specific waste education organisations so that there is co-ordination and co-operation towards the overall Zero Waste vision.
1-1 Introduction SECTION 1
1.2 Strategy Development Process
The specific aim of the Strategy is to facilitate and support a greater awareness and appreciation of waste avoidance, reduction, reuse, recycling, and recovery by identifying:
• The different community sectors that should be targeted
• The most useful forms of media to relay messages to the community
• The core messages
• Criteria for measuring success of the program
• An estimated timeframe for implementation
In order to achieve these broad aims, there are several stages that URS carried out in order to produce a useful and realistic strategy. First, URS looked at exactly what is already being done in terms of community education and awareness by various Councils and organisations in order to determine potential overlaps, potential conflict, opportunities for integration and to simply acquire useful information and recommendations. A review of key interstate and international programs followed, the results of which are presented in Sections 4 and 5.
URS then considered the behavioural changes required to change the waste culture in South Australia to recycling being a useful, positive and regular part of the household regime. Identifying community sectors and key community target groups followed on from this phase of the strategy. These are reported in Sections 6 and 7.
Key awareness raising and educational material were then recommended through determining key messages that can be communicated across the whole of South Australia, regardless of council boundaries and waste management facilities, followed by targeted educational material. Forms of media were also investigated as well as sources of information and delivery options. Sections 8 and 9 detail these findings.
Finally, URS designed a strategy that makes recommendations for awareness raising and education activities, recommendations for implementation, timelines and methods for measuring the success of the strategy implementation. The strategy is presented in Section 3.
1-2 Working Towards a Zero Waste SA SECTION 2
2 Working Towards a Zero Waste SA
2.1 Recent Waste Reforms in SA
The State ALP’s 2002 election promise was to deliver a new legislative framework under which the Government could work with the private sector and local governments to drive waste reduction in SA. The proposed reforms included:
• Establishing a local government waste management group to improve co-ordination of services and economies of scale
• Establishing new transparent financial arrangements and increase the waste disposal levy to fund reforms
• Implementing additional legislative changes
• Developing and implementing a State Waste Strategy
The EPA and the WRC are currently responsible for policy development and research at State level regarding waste minimisation, recycling and waste management in South Australia. On the 22nd January 2003, the State Government announced the formation of a new waste management body - Zero Waste SA. The aim of this body is to work with the community, local government, and the recycling and waste disposal industries to develop an integrated waste reduction strategy for South Australia.
The SA Local Government Association (LGA) is advocating the voluntary formation of regional waste groups by councils and for these groups to prepare regional waste management plans to implement the State Waste Strategy within a regional context. The LGA has also officially established a new committee on ‘Waste – Future Policy Directions’. This new body will provide a mechanism for local government in South Australia to deal with waste issues in a coordinated and unified manner.
The future of these reforms provide a platform for creating the organisational frameworks, partnerships with regional and local council, and funding platforms to deliver a quality community education and awareness strategy in SA.
2.2 The Opportunity for a Zero Waste SA
Statistics regarding the amount of kerbside waste sent to landfill in Australia are well publicised, as are the analogies. Australians are the second highest producers (behind the United States) of waste, per person, in the world with each of us sending almost 690 kilograms of waste to landfill each year (12).
Environmentally and socially acceptable locations for landfill facilities in South Australia are limited and their development is considered inappropriate in metropolitan areas because of their negative environmental effects, such as odour, dust, rubbish and vermin, but also due to widely publicised campaigns against the siting of facilities in the vicinity of residential areas or towns. These issues become even more important adjacent to waterways, the coast, and areas of native vegetation.
2-1 Working Towards a Zero Waste SA SECTION 2
A 2002 audit of kerbside waste in SA, conducted for the EPA, found that much of the material being sent to landfill consists of unrecovered recyclables such as paper, cardboard and plastics, or compostable materials, as demonstrated in the figure below (22). This figure indicates the significant opportunity that is available to work towards a Zero Waste strategy in SA.
Figure 1: Outcomes of the Kerbside Waste Audit 2002.
Waste Audit 2002
Compostable Organics 52%
Recyclable Paper/ Cardboard 14%
Other Waste Recyclable 27% Glass Recyclable CDL 4% 3%
The current level of waste disposal may not be sustainable in the medium to long-term and solutions are needed not only to implement more sustainable waste treatment and disposal facilities, but also to change the general ‘consumer’ culture in Australia through community education and awareness. The best way to do this is by creating an understanding and a desire for the community to think about their actions and then change their behaviour.
The waste hierarchy is used throughout Australia to outline the preferred order of waste management practices from most preferred (avoidance, reduction, reuse, recycle and recover) to least preferred (treatment and disposal). Waste avoidance, reduction, reuse and recycling are important in Australia to ensure the preservation of our eco-systems, social fabric, economy and land. It is no longer acceptable for society to believe that treatment and disposal of waste are acceptable if we are to achieve a sustainable way of life.
2-2 Working Towards a Zero Waste SA SECTION 2
Based on Kerbside Waste Audit 2002 information (22), a reduction of waste going to landfills of at least 74% could readily be achieved by changing our behaviour patterns. This would put SA well on track to a Zero Waste outcome. Changing our attitudes to avoid consumables will help further reduce the balance of 27% of other wastes going to landfill.
Figure 2: Components of Zero Waste SA
Avoidance Reduction Reuse Recycle Recovery
ZZZeeerrrooo WWWaaasssttteee SSSAAA
Many local councils are implementing and improving recycling facilities and educating their communities about their recycling services and facilities available. Regional Waste Management Authorities and industry have also integrated education services into their normal waste and recyclables collection and treatment services. The regional and local initiatives provide a positive platform from which the State can progress towards the Zero Waste vision.
There have been some negative perceptions and publicity about some parts of the waste industry in recent years, where issues have arisen because of inadequate facilities and funding to deliver on the initiatives.
A state-lead strategy is necessary to rebuild community confidence in waste management in SA and to try and increase and maintain community enthusiasm in working towards a Zero Waste target. Funds raised by the increased Waste Depot Levy will be made available to support waste initiatives that focus on waste avoidance, reduction, recycling, reuse, and recovery. A state role is required to help raise the community awareness of ‘why’ and 'how' to manage waste (avoid, reduce, reuse, recycle and recover) and to educate the community on issues that are common across the whole of South Australia, regardless of available waste services and facilities or council area.
2-3 The Waste Education and Awareness SECTION 3 Strategy
3 The Waste Education and Awareness Strategy
3.1 The Waste Education and Awareness Strategy
The Waste Education and Awareness Strategy is a community education and awareness strategy designed by URS to help support the State Waste Strategy in its commitment to work towards a vision of zero waste. The desired outcomes of implementing the Strategy are:
• Increased participation in kerbside recycling
• Reduced contamination in recyclables
• A reduction in the quantity of garbage placed out for collection
• Increased participation in green organics and composting
3.2 Integration with the State Waste Strategy
Figure 3 indicates the integration required between the State Waste Strategy and a community education and awareness strategy.
Fundamental to the Strategy is the need for it to be given purpose. The State Waste Strategy (SWS) when finalised will set the overall objectives and provide the necessary programs that are required to achieve the zero waste vision against which specific action plans can be designed and developed. The Community Education and Awareness Strategy should become a program within the overall State Waste Strategy. At this stage we have assumed the key programs will relate to household reduction of waste, market development for recycled products, commercial, industry and government reductions in waste, resource recovery and waste management, organics recovery and public place and events recycling. From programs such as these we could expect action plans to be developed that consider issues such as:
• Kerbside recycling campaigns
• Home composting campaigns
• Media training for regional and local based officers (for EPA and Council)
• Grants for community initiatives
• Provision of public place recycling equipment
• Mobile education
• On-line education
3-1 The Waste Education and Awareness SECTION 3 Strategy
Figure 3: The Waste Education and Awareness Strategy Wheel
The exact nature of the action plans need to be tailored to the overall State Waste Strategy and as such, at this stage, URS has taken a generic view of what could eventually be achieved.
The Waste Education and Awareness Strategy consists of the following key components:
• Branding/Promotional Theme
• Zero Waste Education Program
• Zero Waste Awareness Program
• Performance Management
A Branding and promotional theme for The Community Awareness and Education Strategy needs to be created. The brand needs to be applied to each program to give similar but distinctive images – eg: “Buy Recycled” could be a branding applied to market development programs designed to target increased purchasing of recycled products. Branding is an important mechanism by which the community can recognise how their decisions are effecting change.
As part of the Branding investigations, key messages need to be developed that are simple, clear and personalised. Key messages should relate waste management to environmental issues, confirm that local
3-2 The Waste Education and Awareness SECTION 3 Strategy
action can make a difference, confirm the “do” and “don’ts” of waste management, and keep exposing issues and messages. More than anything, key messages must deliver action and not words, and as such they must be backed up by real things making a real difference.
Key messages and the branding program will need to consider the target audience. Sectors of particular interest include the female head of the family who has most influence in recycling and buying recycled, school-aged children, who can teach other members of the family sustainable waste management practice (including their parents), the under 55 age group; the majority of whom do not compost, and youth, who require some form of ‘role model’ to influence their behaviour.
Zero Waste Education Programs aim to increase the community’s knowledge, and improve attitudes and practices towards zero waste through avoidance, reduction, reuse and recycling. Zero Waste Education needs to be provided through an integrated system of state, regional, and council waste education strategies. The State Strategy is seeking to build and improve existing community awareness and education investments already made by local government, and regional and private sectors so as to compliment and integrate them. The State is well suited to build the best practice model for Zero Waste Education and to then support its implementation at the regional and local level through funding assistance and assistance with local strategy development.
Zero Waste Awareness Programs need to be linked to the overall State Waste Strategy programs with the aim being to increase general community awareness of waste issues. Awareness initiatives will provide support through campaigns, production and distribution of information, and via advertising and media promotions and activities. The Strategy has designed activities that are very much about engaging the community to work towards a Zero Waste SA, creating a wide array of information and resources to help the community, and facilitating access to these across the State including more remote areas and to people with non-English speaking backgrounds.
Assessing Performance is integral to ensuring that the Strategy is successful and that returns for funding can be measured. The establishment of key performance indicators for the State’s Waste Strategy, individual programs and the Waste Education and Awareness Strategy need to be measured. The opportunity to use existing waste audits, kerbside audits and community attitude surveys, annually, represent significant tools for monitoring progress and measuring performance.
3.3 Roles and Responsibilities
This strategy takes into account the appropriate role of State, regional waste bodies, individual councils, and industry in education and awareness and potential opportunities under future waste and resource management legislation reforms. There is also opportunity to integrate with future Commonwealth initiatives (comparative examples include the successful Clean up Australia campaign and the Keep Australia Beautiful campaign, although these were both focused on litter control).
Councils in South Australia currently offer varying levels of kerbside and general recycling services. As a result of this it is not beneficial for the EPA to attempt to recreate what is currently being undertaken by existing waste education centres (reinforcing the importance of trying to achieve consistency of services
3-3 The Waste Education and Awareness SECTION 3 Strategy
across South Australia). There is certainly scope for the EPA to implement a broad ‘awareness’ strategy that focuses on educating the community about why recycling is so important and communicating some of the broader waste and recycling issues that are relevant throughout the state (for example, composting, recyclable contamination, issues associated with plastic bags etc). These broad awareness and education messages can then be followed-up ‘on the ground’ by more detailed site-specific information produced by councils and existing waste education organisations. There is also a role for the EPA to support the local development of educational strategies and it can do this by benchmarking practices and bringing together best practice education models and by funding the development of local strategies and initiatives. There is also a role the EPA could play in the education of industry participants to improve the integrity of waste management in SA as perceived by households, for example quality composting. There could be an additional role for the EPA to provide educational tools for rural and remote areas that may not have easy access to other educational initiatives. The use of publicised online interactive education (such as Recycle City (www.epa.gov/Recycle City/) used by the USA EPA) would be useful here.
The level of commitment and knowledge of the various organisations that have an existing role in education and awareness, such as Solo, NAWMA and KESAB, is significant and should be complemented. These organisations, as well as councils and other waste management organisations are already implementing a range of education programs and initiatives that are relevant in the particular areas that they service (with the exception of KESAB, which has a broader state-wide focus).
Rather than reinventing the wheel, it would be advantageous for the EPA to leave the detailed waste education to these groups and organisations and to focus on broader education and awareness issues. There is, however, a definite opportunity for the EPA to form linkages and partnerships with various organisations, including industry (the recycling and waste management industry), especially in relation to funding of education programs and awareness campaigns and implementation of joint initiatives.
The key goal of waste minimisation education in relation to kerbside collections is generally to minimise the amount of garbage being sent to landfill. This means undertaking education and awareness to achieve a range of outcomes including:
• Reduced contamination of recyclables
• Lower quantities of both garbage and recyclables because of increased ‘reducing and reusing’
• Increased composting, worm farming and mulching for dealing with food and garden waste materials on-site
• Increased diversion of materials from the garbage stream to resource recovery and drop-off centres
These desired outcomes are well within the scope of an awareness and broad education strategy for the EPA. They are outcomes that are relevant throughout the state, and messages and activities associated with promoting these outcomes can occur state-wide without inciting confusion and cross-boundary issues.
3-4 The Waste Education and Awareness SECTION 3 Strategy
3.4 Activities and Tools
The Strategy consists of a number of feasible Activities (as outlined in the following table) based on information collected during interviews, research into other state, interstate and overseas strategies, consideration of desired behavioural changes, information on community groups and key messages, and recommendations on media and delivery options. The EPA will need to further develop and implement these activities over time and consider issues such as funding arrangements, staffing levels and consultation with existing organisations. Some of these activities will be more viable and cost-effective than others and URS has given some guidance in these in Section 3.6 and 3.7.
Activities will become most effective when they are designed to suit the context and location by targeting certain community sectors with relevant messages at appropriate venues. For example, key messages regarding green organics contamination, composting and worm farms could be promoted at gardening shows, nurseries and garden shops. Messages regarding plastic bags could be targeted to shoppers at supermarkets and shopping centres.
Timeframes are an important consideration in the planning and implementation of the activity options. One option is to fit all options within one campaign timeframe, say six months to one year, to fit in with a television advertising campaign option. However, many of the activity options can be carried out within varied timeframes determined by the EPA, or as once-off activities.
It should be noted that the first six options listed in the following table are essentially ‘tools to support activities’, rather than activities in themselves. The following table is a summary of all the recommended education and awareness activity options (which are further described later in this Section). The activity priority column indicates the importance of the particular activity if the EPA wished to implement individual activities only (in other words, not part of a holistic program). Priorities are ranked in descending order, with 1 = a high priority activity.
3-5 The Waste Education and Awareness SECTION 3 Strategy
Table 1: Summary of Recommended Education and Awareness Activities
Activity Time- Estimated Target Issues Points to Consider EPA Further Activity frame / Costs Audience Addressed Implementation Consideration Priority Duration Recommended Recommended before Implementation
Promotional Ongoing Low (25K) for State-wide A promotion To be used for N/A Theme advertising component of familiarity and
company to other linking programs ! develop and activities and initiatives. promote theme
State Ongoing N/A State-wide A promotion To be used for N/A
Residential component of marketing and ! Waste Profile other promotion of activities waste issues.
Marketing Ongoing Low (10K) for State-wide A promotion To be used to N/A and development component of demonstrate that Promotion of of marketing other recycling does
Products plan (would activities work and to ! made from need to link provide examples Recycled in to broader of tangible Materials advertising outcomes. campaign)
List of Ongoing In-house State-wide A promotion To be used to N/A Popular cost as part component of reinforce what Products that of program other products and ! can be activities materials can be Recycled recycled.
Community Ongoing Costs State-wide A promotion To be used to get N/A Volunteer depend on but component of people to think Programs management targeted at other about waste
time households activities reduction and to ! that do not show them how currently easy it is to participate participate in in recycling recycling.
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Activity Time- Estimated Target Issues Points to Consider EPA Further Activity frame / Costs Audience Addressed Implementation Consideration Priority Duration Recommended Recommended before Implementation
Using Well- On an ‘As Low (10K to Based on A promotion Help to N/A Known Needs’ 30K) + costs the component of communicate key ‘Personalities’ basis with of other particular other messages. for Promotion other activities activity activities To be seen ‘doing ! activities the right thing’.
To promote and invoke recognition.
Television Three High (300K State-wide Broad Would need to be 3 Awareness month to 500K) coverage awareness followed up with Campaign period issues with detailed links to information to promotional make it theme worthwhile.
Very expensive. ! Ads need to be constantly updated to remain interesting.
Would need to be part of a broader campaign.
Radio 12 month Low to State-wide Broad Wide coverage of 1 Awareness package Medium cost including awareness different Campaign with daily (10K to 60K) many issues and audiences air-time target state-wide including ethnic groups educational groups via ethnic messages community radio ! stations.
Potential to run competitions.
Relatively inexpensive.
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Activity Time- Estimated Target Issues Points to Consider EPA Further Activity frame / Costs Audience Addressed Implementation Consideration Priority Duration Recommended Recommended before Implementation
Website Ongoing Low (10K to State-wide Broad Central website 1 25K) but awareness linked to the excluding issues and promotional people who state-wide theme with links do not educational to industry, ! have messages. service providers access to a and waste Statistics and computer education data. organisations Links to other sites.
Local Ongoing Low to State-wide Broad A resource kit to 3 Government medium (10K via council awareness help councils Waste to 60K) and state- implement their Awareness wide own programs. Resource Kit messages. Integrated through Detailed linkages to education via promotional ! council. theme.
Could include Includes a range a New of materials and Residents information. Information Kit.
Awareness Fit in with Medium (30K State-wide Broad Wide coverage. 2 Raising initial to 60K) including awareness Can also target Outdoor timeframe many issues with specific areas and ! Signage of target links to community campaign groups promotional sectors. theme
Promotional Ongoing Low to Various Broad Needs to be 2 Displays at medium (10K audiences awareness supported by Major Events to 60K depending issues and public place depending on major state-wide recycling. on event. educational Good opportunity ! promotional messages. Could to raise awareness material) include of different many groups. target groups.
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Activity Time- Estimated Target Issues Points to Consider EPA Further Activity frame / Costs Audience Addressed Implementation Consideration Priority Duration Recommended Recommended before Implementation
Public Place Ongoing / Initial State-wide General Enforces recycling 2 Recycling long term expenditure awareness of as an activity that then linking recycling occurs into existing everywhere. waste Highly visible. management Stickers or posters services ! can link bins to the promotional theme.
Could target key community sectors by placing bins in certain locations.
Educational Ongoing Low to Community Broad Manned displays 2 Displays medium (10K members awareness at shopping to 60K at various and state- centres and at depending locations wide Rundle Mall using ! on education various visual promotional issues. techniques to material) raise awareness
Newspaper- Once-off Low to State-wide Broad Opportunities for 1 Lift-out Medium (20K (all readers awareness sponsorship by to 50K) of the issues and industry. Advertiser) state-wide Good awareness educational raising messages. opportunity. ! Statistics and Wide coverage. data as Link to necessary. promotional theme and overall campaign.
3-9 The Waste Education and Awareness SECTION 3 Strategy
Activity Time- Estimated Target Issues Points to Consider EPA Further Activity frame / Costs Audience Addressed Implementation Consideration Priority Duration Recommended Recommended before Implementation
Free-call Line Ongoing / Low to State-wide General and Number would 3 Long term medium (10K detailed need to be to 60K) information marketed and about waste promoted and reduction, could be printed reuse and on all awareness recycling, and education ! taking into material. account Manning issues location and would need to be council area clarified and cooperation would be required from all councils.
‘Responsible’ Ongoing Medium (30K Shoppers A guide to Would require 3 Shopping (would to 60K) shopping, research into Guide require providing various updating) advice on supermarket avoidance of brands and
over- practices. ! packaged Would need to goods and ensure that there the purchase is enough product of recyclable choice available in goods or shops. packaging.
Household Once-off Medium to State-wide Broad Would need to 2 Information high (50K to households awareness contain simple and and 200K) issues and positive messages Awareness depending state-wide with graphics and Booklet on content educational promotion of the and type messages website and any including other relevant ! shopping tips activities. and other Would be linked to relevant the promotional household theme and information. overarching campaign.
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Activity Time- Estimated Target Issues Points to Consider EPA Further Activity frame / Costs Audience Addressed Implementation Consideration Priority Duration Recommended Recommended before Implementation
Promotion of Fit in with Low (under State-wide Promote Composting and 2 Composting initial 10K) composting worm-farm timeframe as an easy displays could be
of household implemented at ! campaign activity with locations such as many out the front of advantages the hardware and garden centres
National Ongoing Medium to Nationally National Lengthy and 3 Awareness high (50K to awareness detailed
250K) raising organisation. May ! related to not be practicable waste issues at the current time.
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3.4.1 The Promotional Theme/Brand
As outlined previously, a general waste minimisation promotional theme can be used as a tool to link different programs and initiatives. A promotional theme can appear on all promotional material (such as posters, banners, stickers, advertising etc) and if used widely can help to:
• Raise the profile of waste reduction and recycling as activities that occur everywhere
• Reinforce waste minimisation actions across the range of sectors and activities
• Provide a level of awareness that links various programs and activities
• Aim to make it socially desirable to participate in waste minimisation and socially unacceptable not to
The promotional theme can be used through local media, on prepared awareness raising and education materials and information and in association with all local waste minimisation programs and activities, as discussed in the options below. Examples would include using the theme on stickers for wheelie bins and recycling bins and crates, on shopping bags and hats where incentive giveaways are used and to give local events a theme.
3.4.2 A State Residential Waste Profile
As a starting point it could be useful for the EPA to consider a number of ways to help promote waste issues in South Australia. Initially, a residential waste profile could be developed which would demonstrate approximately how much garbage each household in the state produces (results of the 2002 kerbside audit would contribute to this). EcoRecycle’s Waste Wise program recommends doing this for council initiatives but this can also be applied to the state context. This would help people understand the type and amounts of waste they are generating and disposing of. A typical waste profile for South Australia could show how much waste is:
• Food waste
• Garden waste
• Potentially recyclable material
• General household waste
The annual waste audit should be able to provide this type of information for council areas and an average could then be determined to produce a state profile. It could then be displayed as a colourful pie-chart as displayed in Section 2.2.
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3.4.3 Marketing and Promotion of Products made from Recycled Materials
The major message that was common to all interviews with waste education organisations (summarised in Section 4.4) is that recycling does actually work. The community needs to be made aware of products, which are constructed, from recycled materials. It is possible that an advertisement could show examples of such products followed by the recycled materials that were used to construct it. This would demonstrate the positive issues behind recycling. Items developed from recycled materials could also be distributed at major events and at education displays as discussed in the options below.
3.4.4 List of Popular Products that can be Recycled
The EPA could put together a list of products that can be recycled but that currently aren’t often recycled – for example pizza boxes, which could be used in the activities recommended below.
3.4.5 Implementing a Community Volunteer Program
As discussed in Section 9.3.3, this program (which is a tool to support the delivery of initiatives and activities) would involve members of the community undertaking training and then initiating waste minimisation activities and face-to-face communication and awareness raising within their local communities. Examples of community members who may be interested in helping implement this activity could be:
• Boy Scouts and Girl Guides
• Community Service Clubs
• High School Students
• Community volunteers who are interested in environmental issues and have some time to spare
• Local environment groups
Volunteers could visit households that do not participate fully in recycling and talk to them (in a friendly manner) about the advantages of waste reduction and recycling and demonstrate how easy it is to participate.
3.4.6 Using Well Known ‘Personalities’ for Promotion
One example of a type of promotional activity is to engage the support and services of a community leader or well-known identity to help communicate key messages and to be seen ‘doing the right thing’. As an example, Landcare Australia recently involved Louise Sauvage (Australian Paralympian) for one of their campaigns. A Landcare Australia media release had Louise Sauvage calling on the Australian community to rethink the amount of rubbish they dump in landfill and quoting:
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• “We do care, but we don’t care enough – we are still throwing too much away.”
• “The amount of rubbish thrown into landfill sites each year is enough to cover the entire state of Victoria.”
• “The good news is Australians are getting better at recycling. Many local councils are now very proactive in encouraging local community recycling programs.”
This sort of campaign uses a well-known local Australian to deliver certain messages, whilst still staying positive and encouraging those people that are already actively participating in waste reduction and recycling.
This type of activity could be linked to many other options listed here, such as television and radio campaigns, promotional events, the website, newspaper lift-out, the household booklet and outdoor signage. South Australians are very fond of sporting identities, particularly footballers, and for many key target community sectors, seeing a sporting role model ‘doing the right thing’ could potentially influence other people’s attitudes and behaviour.
3.4.7 Television Awareness Campaign
A television advertising campaign would be the most expensive awareness and education activity option for the EPA to implement at between $300,000 and $500,000. This is due to general costs associated with obtaining television advertising space but also because the advertisements would need to be implemented over a three to six-month timeframe at the very least. This option would have the advantage of reaching a wide audience throughout the state and could cover broad awareness issues and broad state-wide messages. The television advertising could be linked, through a promotional theme, back to the overarching campaign. Disadvantages of this option are, however, mainly in relation to costs associated with time slots and production and the need for the advertisements to stay interesting by changing them over time.
Measuring the success of a television campaign could only be undertaken via market research, behavioural observations and through generation of data related to recyclables generated from the waste stream, in association with the whole awareness and education campaign.
There is also an opportunity for advertising or presenting on relevant South Australian television shows such as Fishing SA, the Home Show and gardening shows. Messages and material would need to be targeted to the appropriate community sectors that watch these shows, which may be a disadvantage as these groups may not be target sectors as identified earlier in this strategy. Obtaining this television option would be cheaper than an advertising campaign.
3.4.8 Radio Awareness Campaign
A radio advertising campaign would be of low to medium cost ($10,000 to $60,000) and could be implemented as part of a 12 month package with daily airtime. A wide and varied audience could be
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obtained with different community groups being targeted by different radio stations. Broad awareness issues and state-wide messages could be covered.
Using radio advertising is particularly useful for targeting ethnic communities due to Italian, Greek and Vietnamese radio stations in Adelaide. Solo have found particular success in the West Torrens council area by advertising on the local Greek radio station (which, as an aside, cost under $100 a month for almost daily airtime).
The disadvantages of radio mainly lie in the lack of visual information, however, there are many advantages associated with advertising on radio as follows:
• High cost benefit
• Wide coverage of a range of different audiences by including a range of different radio stations, including some of the target groups identified in Section 7, such as senior citizens, youth, rural and regional communities, ethnic communities and full time workers, which all listen to particular radio stations that best appeal to them
• Potential to use popular radio ‘identities’ such as the SAFM and Triple M morning crews to promote messages
• Potential to run competitions over radio to raise awareness of the issues
Success would need to be measured as part of the overarching campaign.
3.4.9 Website
An opportunity exists for the development of a central website that incorporates a range of information about Waste reduction, reuse and recycling including:
• State statistics on the amount of waste and recyclables generated each year (linked back to measurements that are easily understandable)
• The amount of waste going to landfill that could actually be recycled
• The residential waste profile
• Why recycling and waste reduction is so important
• The environmental, social and economic benefits of waste reduction, reuse and recycling
• Potential ways of reusing certain waste products
• What happens to recyclables and what kinds of products can be made from them
• General messages about what can and can not be recycled
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• Other messages regarding green organics, composting etc
• Links to other waste management organisations and companies
• Links to Council waste education websites
• Smart shopping tips for buying less packaging
• How a little effort can go a long way
The website would incorporate the promotional theme and could be marketed and promoted via the other options discussed in this section, such as the newspaper lift-out, household booklet, signage, radio campaign, educational displays etc. The internet site could be managed and maintained by the EPA. The website would have an ongoing timeframe and would be of relatively low cost to implement and maintain (approximately $10,000 to $25,000 over a five year period).
There is an opportunity to build a more exciting and interactive web site for SA that will set it apart on a world scale by promoting online education. A concept of Recycle City or GreenCity could be included on the web site, in other words, a game which involves players implementing waste management practices for a city where they make purchasing decisions over consumables being used by its residents and decisions over volumes of waste being recycled in a manner that teaches them the outcomes from their actions - the concept links to the principles of avoidance, reduction, reuse, recycle and recovery and also builds in the negative features of treatment and disposal of waste.
Other websites that the site could provide links to include:
• General recycling companies in South Australia
• Paper and cardboard recycling companies/organisations
• Beverage container recycling companies
• Other recycling awareness and education websites
3.4.10 Local Government Waste Awareness Resource Kit
Although it is believed that detailed waste reduction and recycling education is not practicable for the EPA due to the variety of council services across the state, there is scope within the education and awareness campaign for the EPA to potentially develop a Local Government Waste Awareness Resource Kit. This kit would aid councils in the development of their own waste education and awareness programs and would be linked back through the promotional theme to the general state-wide strategy. The EPA in New South Wales has recently developed a similar concept for their litter (Don’t be a Tosser) initiative.
This resource kit could incorporate a range of different materials, including:
• Banners for public events promoting the waste reduction and recycling theme
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• Posters for awareness raising
• Multicultural ads for newspapers, in Italian, Greek and Vietnamese
• Sample media releases that councils could use in their local publications
• Stickers with the promotional theme, for wheelie bins, recycling crates, car bumpers etc
• Newspaper advertisements providing awareness raising information, such as why recycling is so important and even some of the broad state-wide education messages
• Brochures and flyers with educational information
• Fact Sheets covering broad, state-wide issues such as the benefits of recycling and waste reduction, outlining where recyclables go and what becomes of them, composting, miscellaneous recycling issues, hazardous household waste, etc
• Cinema advertisements
• Radio advertisement text for local community radio stations
The kit could be designed so that councils and organisations could choose which themes are most relevant to their local areas, which activities they wish to implement, and what campaign priorities they are interested in. Material could also be designed to take a number of council, and other, logos and information. The kit would make it easier for councils and other relevant organisations to think about waste education issues and implement local programs that are relevant to specific areas and issues, without having to go through the exercise of researching, designing and funding a new initiative. In this way, councils throughout South Australia could be working towards common waste education and awareness goals, despite having varying waste, service and community issues.
It would also be possible to try and link the resource kit with existing successful programs such as those managed and implemented at Solo, KESAB and NAWMA.
A ‘New Residents Information Brochure’ could also be included as part of the Waste Awareness Resource Kit. This brochure would be targeted at new residents to suburbs or towns in South Australia and could include the following information:
• Background information on the importance of recycling and waste reduction
• What happens to waste and recyclables in the local area
• Key state-wide messages about what, and what not, to recycle
• Detailed information (filled in by council or waste management organisations), including how to manage recyclables in a particular area, when to put bins out, what can and can not be recycled etc
• Where to go for further information
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• Ways of becoming more waste-friendly, for example composting
This brochure could be distributed to new residents through a range of channels, including real estate and rental companies.
NAWMA have had a high level of success with their New Residents Information Brochure in the Salisbury, Playford and Gawler areas. This brochure is simple, easy to understand and provides all the necessary information about how, when and why to recycle.
The Waste Awareness Resource Kit would be of low to medium cost ($10,000 to $60,000 at the most depending on printing volumes and levels of hard copy material), would be updated over an Ongoing timeframe, and would cover a range of community sectors throughout South Australia, including the following target sectors: Housing Trust tenants and flat and unit dwellers (due to the high rate of turnover here), and new residents in general.
Success in the form of increased participation would need to be measured as part of the overarching campaign.
3.4.11 Awareness Raising Outdoor Signage/Advertising
Outdoor signage would need to fit in with the timeframe of the overarching campaign and would be of medium cost ($30,000 to $60,000). Audiences would be wide, however key community sectors listed in Section 7 could also be targeted, for example:
• Awareness raising signage could be placed around South Australia on billboards, buses, bus stops, garbage trucks, etc.
• Signage promoting particular messages relevant to key community sectors could be placed:
– At recreational/holiday/tourist locations in rural and regional areas
– In suburbs and areas that have a high proportion of ethnic community members
Signage would be linked back to the promotional theme and would advertise broad awareness issues and messages in a simple and positive way. The advantages associated with this form of awareness raising activity are mainly that outdoor signs are obvious, they can target the whole state or just certain community groups and signage companies will manage installation and maintenance and can recommend the best and safest locations for signs.
Success would need to be measured as part of the overarching campaign.
3.4.12 Sponsored Promotional Events and Displays at Major Events
South Australia hosts a number of major sporting and recreational events throughout the year and there is an opportunity to take advantage of the associated large crowds by either sponsoring certain events or by having manned displays at the events. The displays could focus on awareness raising and broad state-
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wide messages and could distribute a range of promotional material such as hats, material shopping bags, magnets, and products made from recycled materials. Potential events could include:
• Major sporting events, including cricket, Australian rules football, soccer and basketball matches
• The Royal Adelaide Show
• The Caravan and Camping Expo
• The Home Show Expo
• Womadelaide musical festival
• The 4WD and Adventure show
• The Adelaide Fringe Festival
• Clipsal 500 Adelaide
• The Glenelg Jazz Festival
• The Big Day Out
Displays at these, and other, events would also help target some of the key target community sectors including, ethnic communities, holidaymakers, youth and senior citizens as well as many other community sectors around the state. Costs associated with such displays would be low to medium ($10,000 to $60,000) depending on the amount of promotional material developed to distribute.
Displays could be managed in conjunction with public place recycling bins as discussed below and success could hence be measured by the amount of recyclables collected.
3.4.13 Public Place Recycling Facilities
Public place recycling is an important concept that could be further developed in South Australia. Recycling bins could be located at a range of locations such as:
• Shopping centres
• Sporting events and venues
• Festivals
• Recreation areas
• Schools and Universities
• Railway stations
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• Nightclubs and pubs (especially important considering the number of glass bottles sold at these locations).
• Caravan parks
• Camping areas
Public place recycling bins have an important education role that extends beyond the benefits of recovering and recycling the materials. It is highly visible and it helps to reinforce recycling as an activity that happens everywhere.
Colourful labels or stickers that advertise the promotional theme of the strategy, as discussed earlier can be placed on the recycling bins for comparatively low costs (Less than $5,000). This will help link the public place recycling bins to other initiatives and the broad overarching program.
Public place recycling bins would be visible throughout locations in South Australia and could also help to target some of the key target community sectors including, youth, holiday-makers and full-time workers.
In order to implement public place recycling it is important to assess what is already happening, prioritise possible locations, assess bin types, promote the program to managers, councils, traders, events organisers etc, develop the promotional material and then implement and monitor the program.
Public place recycling facilities would need to be implanted over the long term to ensure credibility and could link in with existing council waste management services. Initial expenditure would be required to purchase the bins and print posters, however there would be definite social, environmental and other economic benefits from implementing this initiative. Success would be measured, in part, by the amount of recyclables collected during the event.
3.4.14 Educational Displays
Educational Displays would not have to only be implemented at public events and festivals. Manned displays could also be set up at shopping centres and other key locations such as Rundle Mall. Education would be in the form of face to face discussion about recycling and waste reduction and there is the opportunity to implement more visual forms of awareness. For example, a display at Rundle Mall could include a number of bins showing the amount of rubbish one person throws away each week and the proportion of the rubbish that could have been recycled. These displays would provide people with awareness raising material (items made from recycled material such as rulers made from plastic bags, and other material such as hats and stickers) with the promotional theme on them and with more detailed information with state-wide education messages.
Road shows could be used in conjunction with the educational displays and are a more expensive option for promoting information around the state. Road shows have been used extensively in the United Kingdom and have been successful in achieving increased awareness of various waste issues (31). Road
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shows are an expensive activity option due to associated costs involved with purchasing and modifying vehicles, petrol and education, awareness and promotion material.
Costs associated with educational displays would be low to medium ($10,000 to $60,000) depending on the amount of promotional material developed to distribute and the potential audience would be quite wide. Displays could be implemented initially to link in with the overarching campaign. The costs of initiating a road show program with the educational displays would increase costs significantly due to the need to purchase a vehicle.
3.4.15 Newspaper Lift-Out
Earlier in 2002 the Government of South Australia implemented the ‘Save the Murray’ initiative to raise awareness of issues related to the health of the River Murray. This campaign included a series of successful lift-outs from the Advertiser that provided interesting information and graphics about the Murray.
A newspaper lift-out could also be developed as a one-off activity to launch the start of a broader waste awareness campaign. The lift-out could be linked to the promotional theme and would provide information about waste reduction and recycling in South Australia. The following issues could be covered in the lift-out:
• State statistics on the amount of waste and recyclables generated each year (linked back to measurements that are easily understandable)
• The amount of waste going to landfill that could actually be recycled
• The residential waste profile
• Why recycling and waste reduction is so important
• The environmental, social and economic benefits of waste reduction, reuse and recycling
• What happens to recyclables and what kinds of products can be made from them
• General messages about what can and can not be recycled
• Other messages regarding green organics, composting etc
• How a little effort can go a long way
A promotional theme sticker could also be included as an insert with the lift-out. Costs associated with this option would be medium ($30,000 to $60,000, although News Limited does offer free advertising space for waste management issues – this would need to be further investigated) and a wide audience (including all the key target sectors) would be covered due to the popularity of the Advertiser/Sunday Mail around the state. There would also be opportunities for sponsorship of the lift-out in association with the EPA. For example, by helping fund the lift-out and stickers, various waste management, recycling and
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composting companies could get there logos and details printed on the lift-out. The document could also provide direction to a website. The lift-out could either go in the Advertiser during the week or on Saturday, or in the Sunday Mail. Discussions with the Advertiser have shown that the Sunday Mail has the greatest readership level (The weekday Advertiser averages 571,000 readers a day, the Saturday Advertiser averages 744,000 readers and the Sunday Mail averages 798,000).
Information based on the lift-out could also be printed in Messenger Newspapers and through the Country Press Association. This would aid in further targeting some of the community target sectors.
3.4.16 Free-call Line
There is the potential to set up a freecall info line, along the lines of what has been implemented by EcoRecycle Victoria. This service could provide people with waste reduction, reuse and recycling information, pertinent to the council area that they reside within. Costs associated with setting up this service would be low to medium ($10,000 to $60,000) depending on manning arrangements and marketing and promotion of the number. The number could be printed on all other information/options recommended in this section and, as such, could potentially reach a wide audience.
The success of this initiative would be measured as part of the overall campaign, but also by the number of phone calls received.
3.4.17 A ‘Responsible’ Shopping Guide
A shopping guide would be a useful state-wide resource to encourage people to make positive environmental decisions when shopping and try to purchase less packaging and waste. Responsible shopping includes:
• The avoidance of over-packaged products
• The avoidance of products provided in non-recyclable packaging
• The purchase of recycled goods
• The purchase of goods provided in recycled packaging
• The re-use of carrier bags for shopping
These points sound good ‘on paper’, but would in fact require a certain amount of work to be undertaken before hand. This would include liaising with supermarket and shopping centre managers to discuss the issues of product identification and signage, significant waste education on behalf of the purchaser, and/or a comprehensive shopping booklet, which would provide all the information needed for consumers to make educated and responsible decisions about products and shopping behaviour.
This was achieved quite successfully several years ago with the introduction of the ‘Buy Australian’ campaign. A booklet was circulated to all households listing all companies and products, which were
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made in Australia by Australian companies. After this campaign was launched, people were seen shopping in supermarkets with the booklet in an attempt to support Australian products.
Whether a waste-smart shopping guide would be as successful as the ‘Buy Australian’ campaign is not known at this stage, however it is an option of medium expense ($30,000 to $60,000 depending on circulation) that, if successful, could see the introduction of more responsible shopping. The shopping guide would, of course, have to be introduced as part of a wider campaign that raises awareness about the impacts associated with too much packaging.
3.4.18 Household Information and Awareness Booklet
The EPA could potentially develop a booklet or brochure for all households in the state that covers the following information:
• Why recycling and waste reduction is so important
• The environmental, social and economic benefits of waste reduction, reuse and recycling
• Potential ways of reusing certain waste products
• What happens to recyclables and what kinds of products can be made from them
• General messages about what can and can not be recycled
• Other messages regarding green organics, composting etc
• Smart shopping tips for buying less packaging
• How a little effort can go a long way
The brochure could be printed on recycled paper and could be delivered to all households in South Australia as a one-off activity. It would need to contain simple messages, graphics and/or photos and provide direction to further information such as a website, contacting the local council, or contacting the EPA.
Costs associated with preparation, printing and delivering would be medium to high ($50,000 to $300,000 depending on the quality, number of pages, number of photos etc of the brochure) and it would target the whole of South Australia.
Success would need to be measured as part of the overarching campaign (as outlined in Section 3.8).
3.4.19 Promotion of Composting
One of the major principles of environmental education outlined by EcoRecycle Victoria’s Waste Wise program is that putting ideas into practice facilitates and enhances learning. There may be opportunities for the EPA to sponsor or support other organisations to undertake activities such as composting and
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worm farm displays in prominent locations such as hardware stores, garden centres and shopping centres and at special events.
Waste Wise Victoria (9) have found that the most effective composting program elements are:
• Subsidised bin distribution • Reduced fees for garbage collection • Master composter training (similar to volunteer recycling coordinator programs discussed previously)
• School programs • Educational workshops • Booklets • Inserts in rates notices • Demonstration sites and portable displays
• Bin distribution at cost • Newspaper advertisements Composting displays would be relatively inexpensive to implement (under $10,000) and could be undertaken within the scope of the overarching campaign.
3.4.20 Partnerships with Interstate Agencies for National Awareness
To obtain the highest level of waste awareness, there is the opportunity to consider forming partnerships or linking in with other agencies and organisations around the country to implement a national awareness initiative that would mainly raise awareness about waste reduction, reuse and recycling. This would be a fairly expensive option for the EPA (potentially between $50,000 and $250,000 depending on federal input and industry sponsorship), however it may be worth raising within existing national waste education networks and considering for the future.
3.5 Activities for Community Sectors
Of these recommended activities, some options could be undertaken in isolation from others, whilst some could not. For example, the Household Information and Awareness Booklet, the website, public place recycling, and the newspaper lift-out could potentially be undertaken as awareness raising and educational activities on a single basis. The television and radio campaigns and awareness-raising signage, however, could not. These activities would need to be followed up with more detailed information or they would be almost meaningless.
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The following matrix demonstrates which activity options may be of particular relevance to the target community sectors:
Table 2: Activity and Community Sectors Matrix
Activity Flat / New Ethnic Renters Inc. Rural / Full Time Holiday Youth Senior Households Unit Res. Res. Comms. SAHT Regional Workers Makers Citizens not Comms. Recycling
Promotional !!! ! ! ! !!! ! Theme
State Residential !!! ! ! ! !!! ! Waste Profile
Marketing and Promotion of Products !!! ! ! ! !!! ! made from Recycled Materials
List of Popular Products that !!! ! ! ! !!! ! can be Recycled
Community Volunteer !!! ! ! " ! " !! Programs
Using Well- Known !!! ! ! ! !!! ! Personalities’ for Promotion
Television Awareness !!! ! ! ! !!! ! Campaign
Radio Awareness !!! ! ! ! !!! ! Campaign
Website !!" !!!""" !
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Activity Flat / New Ethnic Renters Inc. Rural / Full Time Holiday Youth Senior Households Unit Res. Res. Comms. SAHT Regional Workers Makers Citizens not Comms. Recycling
Local Government Waste !!! ! ! ! ""!! Awareness Resource Kit
Awareness Raising !!! ! ! ! !!! ! Outdoor Signage
Promotional Displays at !!! ! ! ! " !! ! Major Events
Public Place !!! ! ! ! !!! ! Recycling
Educational !!! ! ! ! !" !! Displays
Newspaper !!! ! ! ! ""!! Lift-out
Free-call Line !!! ! ! ! ""!!
‘Responsible’ Shopping !!! ! ! ! ""!! Guide
Household Information and !!! ! ! ! ""!! Awareness Booklet
Promotion of !!! ! ! ! ""!! Composting
National !!! ! ! ! !!! ! Awareness
3-26 The Waste Education and Awareness SECTION 3 Strategy
3.6 Implementation Plans
The Waste Education and Awareness Strategy consists of several elements that could be implemented in many different ways, depending on funding and resources that can be allocated to it. In recognition of this, URS has designed three programs that will achieve the key objectives of the Waste Education and Awareness Strategy in varying time frames and with varying degrees of success.
Each alternative includes the objectives of the option, the target, how the success of the program will be measured and evaluated, and discussion about the branding of the program. The three options are displayed in table form and outline:
• The education and awareness activities to be implemented as part of the program
• Priorities
• Awareness raising and education material
• Advantages and opportunities of the program
• Information Dissemination and Delivery Options
• Education and Awareness Tools to Support Activities
• Implementation Timelines over a five year period
• Particular Community sectors Targeted
• Funding opportunities
• Measuring success of the activity
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Table 3: Gold Program Option
The Gold Program targets high levels of participation from a broad cross section of the community in working towards a Zero Waste target, significant reductions in waste diverted to landfill and particularly recyclables and contamination of recyclables within the first 5-year period. To achieve the "high" levels envisaged, the program requires resources and funding to conduct a long term and high frequency multi-media campaign as well as co-ordination through a centralised unit responsible for implementing the strategy elements. It is envisaged that this program will cost $2.45 million (refer to Section 3.7.1) over 5 years (equating to $1.77 per head of population in SA) funded by cross- governmental funding and industry sponsorship.
The program envisages integration with the State Waste Strategy programs relating to such matters as household reduction, public event recycling, market development, organics recovery by providing for a range of community trials, community forums, kerbside recycling campaigns, Buy Recycled campaigns, Home Composting campaigns, and building integrity in education through best practice workshops and training, on line education through the creation of the Recycle City concept. Fundamental to this concept is the need to generate private funding sources that could include the use of a business zero waste accreditation system to generate funds that then allow greater household and other programs. The Gold seeks to target households at home, work, school, at play, and in the car and it seeks to target the range of ethnic and community sectors.
Program Activity Description Implementation Provisions
Education and Aims Awareness Raising and Advantages and Information Dissemination Education and Implementation Timelines Particular Community Funding Opportunities Measuring Success Awareness Education Material Opportunities and Delivery Options Awareness Tools to Targeted Activities to be Support Activities Implemented
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Television To raise maximum Awareness raising material Wide coverage and As part of the general media South Australian Yes - Possible -(if year Possible -(if Possible -(if Possible -(if Whole State, as well as all EPA funding – potentially in Overall success to be measured in awareness level of awareness only. recognition factor with links campaign via appropriate ‘personality’ for general 1 is successful years 1 and 2 previous years are previous years are target community sectors. partnership with industry conjunction with media campaign, campaign about waste issues to other activities via the television stations awareness on television 3 month initial then campaign are successful successful then successful then sector through waste audits, council and to target as wide promotional theme/brand. (commercial SA stations, advertisements. advertising period will be reviewed then campaign campaign will be campaign will be surveys, market research. an audience as including regional channels, (starting around to maintain will be reviewed reviewed to reviewed to possible. for example WIN TV). Marketing of products December / January to interest – may to maintain maintain interest – maintain interest – Success of television alone to be made from recycled incorporate the holiday incorporate the interest – may may incorporate the may incorporate measured by a market research materials. period) with possible production of incorporate the production of the production of exercise that questions whether review and extension. different production of different different television advertising positively advertisements) different advertisements) advertisements) Use of the State residential Implementation for affected respondent’s attitude, advertisements) waste profile to raise more than one year to behaviour and participation. awareness. depend on success and evaluation review. Advertisements to refer to website/booklets/education displays and roadshows.
Radio awareness To raise awareness Awareness raising material Wide coverage and As part of the general media South Australian Yes - Possible - Possible - Possible - Possible - Whole State, as well as all EPA funding – potentially in Overall success to be measured in campaign about waste issues and limited broad recognition factor with links campaign via appropriate ‘personality’ for general (depending on (depending on (depending on (depending on target community sectors. partnership with industry conjunction with media campaign, and recycling in education messages. to other activities via the radio stations (commercial awareness on radio success of year success of success of previous success of previous sector and radio station through waste audits, council particular and to 12 month initial communicate some of promotional theme/brand. stations – SAFM, Triple M, advertisements. advertising period 1 and with either previous years years and with years and with funding surveys, market research. the broad state-wide Mix as well as local ethnic (starting around down-grading or and with either either down-grading either down- messages to the and community stations). Discussions/advertising by December/January to campaign review down-grading or or campaign review grading or Success of radio alone could be community. popular ‘morning crews’ of incorporate the holiday to maintain campaign review to maintain interest) campaign review to measured by a market research commercial radio stations period) with daily interest) to maintain maintain interest) exercise that questions whether (high impact due to size of airtime and possible interest) radio advertising positively affected audience). review and extension. respondent’s attitude, behaviour Implementation for and participation. Use of the State residential more than one year to waste profile to raise depend on success. To awareness. be implemented with the television campaign. Advertisements to refer to website/booklets/education displays and roadshows.
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Program Activity Description Implementation Provisions
Education and Aims Awareness Raising and Advantages and Information Dissemination Education and Implementation Timelines Particular Community Funding Opportunities Measuring Success Awareness Education Material Opportunities and Delivery Options Awareness Tools to Targeted Activities to be Support Activities Implemented
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Website To provide an Full awareness raising and Central website drawing As part of the general media Use of the state residential Yes – Yes - Yes - Yes - Yes - Whole State, as well as some EPA funding with external Overall success to be measured in interactive and central broad education material. together all activities campaign – stand alone page waste profile to raise target community sectors. funding from conjunction with media campaign, information and through the promotional (ie not part of the EPA awareness. To be set up before the Maintenance and Maintenance Maintenance and Maintenance and industry/relevant companies through waste audits, council education internet site theme/brand with links to website, but with links to television and radio updating and updating updating updating that would like to be surveys, market research. for use by industry and other relevant EPA’s site). Marketing of products campaign are incorporated into the government, industry, sites. made from recycled commenced. website (either by links or Success of website alone could the community and materials. direct promotion). only be measured by number of school children. Will provide direction to hits (visits) and by a market more detailed site-specific Potential use of South research exercise that questions information. Australian ‘personality’ for whether respondents had seen the promotion and recognition. website and whether it had contributed to a change in attitude, behaviour and participation.
Outdoor signage To raise awareness Awareness raising material Wide coverage and As part of the general media General awareness Yes – Possible - Possible - Possible - Possible - Whole State, as well as all EPA funding only due to Overall success to be measured in of waste issues. only. recognition factor with links campaign. Implemented statements and/or graphics (depending on (depending on (depending on (depending on target community sectors (for nature of signage conjunction with media campaign, to promotional theme/brand. along arterial roads only, but potential to use To be set up to coincide success of year success of year success of year 1) success of year 1) example signage in ethnic (awareness rasing only) through waste audits, council Opportunities for signage in throughout the state where SA ‘personality’ for with media campaign. 1) 1) community areas, Housing unless a partnership with surveys, market research. different languages in ethnic permitted. endorsement. Implementation for Trust areas, Holiday industry has been set up for community areas. more than one year to destinations etc). the whole campaign. Success of signage alone could depend on success. only be measured by a market research exercise that questions whether respondents had seen the signs and whether the signs had influenced a change in attitude, behaviour and participation.
Newspaper lift-out To provide a once-off, Full awareness raising and Wide coverage and As part of the general media Use of the state residential Yes - No - Possible No - Possible updated Whole State, as well as all EPA funding with external Overall success to be measured in highly visual broad education material. recognition factor with links campaign in association with waste profile to raise updated repeat repeat target community sectors. funding from conjunction with media campaign, education and to promotional theme/brand. News Limited and potentially awareness. Once-off activity to industry/relevant companies through waste audits, council awareness initiative Implement in Saturdays industry sector. coincide with launch of that would like to be surveys, market research. that is marketed and Advertiser or the Sunday Marketing of products the media campaign. incorporated into the lift-out. promoted in the Mail. made from recycled Rebates may be available Success of lift-out alone could only newspaper. materials. from News Limited. be measured by a market research Opportunities for exercise that questions whether sponsorship by industry. respondents had seen the lift-out May be opportunities for and whether it had influenced a advertising cost rebate change in attitude, behaviour and through News Limited. participation.
Could include a bumper sticker similar to the Save the Murray campaign.
Household To raise awareness Full awareness raising and State-wide delivery. Booklet Produced by the EPA and Use of the state residential Yes - No - No - No - No - Whole State, as well as all EPA funding with potential Overall success to be measured in information and of waste issues and broad education material. would be linked through the delivered either by the EPA or waste profile to raise target community sectors cooperation from local conjunction with media campaign, awareness especially to promotional theme/brand. in conjunction with councils. awareness. Once-off activity to be (would be delivered to all government. through waste audits, council booklet communicate broad Would contain simple Potential to use community implemented households throughout surveys, market research. state-wide education information with graphics volunteer program for Marketing of products approximately 4 weeks state). messages and and be printed on recycled delivery. made from recycled after the launch of the Success of booklet alone could provide direction for paper. Would advertise the materials. media campaign. only be measured by a market more information. website. research exercise that questions whether respondents had received and read the booklet and whether it had influenced a change in attitude, behaviour and participation.
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Program Activity Description Implementation Provisions
Education and Aims Awareness Raising and Advantages and Information Dissemination Education and Implementation Timelines Particular Community Funding Opportunities Measuring Success Awareness Education Material Opportunities and Delivery Options Awareness Tools to Targeted Activities to be Support Activities Implemented
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Road show and To provide mobile Full awareness raising and Educational displays could Sponsored and managed by Use of the state residential Yes – Yes – Yes – Yes – Yes – Whole State, as well as some EPA funding with external Overall success to be measured in Educational education at key broad education material. be undertaken in the EPA in association with waste profile to raise target community sectors. funding from conjunction with media campaign, displays locations around conjunction with the industry or business funding. awareness. To especially coincide To especially To especially To especially To especially industry/relevant companies through waste audits, council South Australia in a roadshow, which would Roadshow could carry with certain events and coincide with coincide with coincide with certain coincide with that would like to be surveys, market research. highly visible manner travel to key areas such as advertising of sponsors (along Marketing of products festivals as well as certain events certain events events and festivals certain events and promoted through the that invokes shopping centres, the lines of the SAFM ‘Black made from recycled visiting general and festivals as and festivals as as well as visiting festivals as well as roadshow. recognition. recreational areas (beach, Thunders’). materials. locations. well as visiting well as visiting general locations. visiting general parks), holiday areas general general locations. (Goolwa, Victor Harbor, locations. locations. Yorke Peninsula etc).
Would incorporate promotional material (hats, stubby holders, products made from recycled materials) and educational information (such as stickers or brochures etc).
Would be linked through the promotional theme/brand.
Local government To provide a way for Full awareness raising and A resource kit to help Created by the EPA with N/A Yes – Yes – Yes – Yes – Yes – Households via councils. EPA in association with Success to be measured through waste awareness enhancing broad education material councils raise awareness opportunities for Councils to local government. discussions with councils and and education coordinated as well as detailed council and educate about waste add their own council-specific Timelines determined Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing outcomes of council surveys. resource kit education and education material. issues. information. with LGA maintenance and maintenance maintenance and maintenance and awareness across the updating and updating updating updating state. Would include a New Residents Information Kit. Would introduce a degree of consistency in education across the state.
Sponsored events To raise awareness Awareness raising material Would target a range of EPA in association with General awareness Yes – Yes – Yes – Yes – Yes – Whole State, as well as some EPA funding with external Success of promotion activities at and displays at of waste and only interests and audiences. industry and businesses. statements and/or graphics target community sectors that funding from major events could only be major SA events recycling issues and only, but potential to use Consider funding for Consider funding Consider Consider funding for Consider funding relate to the major event (for industry/relevant companies measured by participation in to promote key Would include promotional SA ‘personality’ for four major events a for four major funding for four four major events a for four major example, the youth sector that would like to be associated public place recycling awareness raising material (hats, stubby endorsement. year events a year major events a year events a year through having a display at included in the promotion and by response of attendees at messages. holders, relevant products year the Big Day Out, ethnic activities. events. made from recycled groups through having materials, for example, displays at ethnic festivals water bottles and hats could such as Glendi, holiday be circulated at events like makers through having a the Big Day Out and display at the Caravan and Womad). Camping show)
Should be undertaken in conjunction with public place recycling.
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Program Activity Description Implementation Provisions
Education and Aims Awareness Raising and Advantages and Information Dissemination Education and Implementation Timelines Particular Community Funding Opportunities Measuring Success Awareness Education Material Opportunities and Delivery Options Awareness Tools to Targeted Activities to be Support Activities Implemented
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Public place To raise awareness Awareness raising To be undertaken in Organised by the EPA in N/A Yes – Yes – Yes – Yes – Yes – Potentially State-wide, as EPA funding in association Success could only be measured recycling of waste and material. association with sponsored conjunction with relevant well as some target with events organisers and based on participation rates, in recycling issues. events and displays at SA council or organisation. For Initially to coincide with Initially to Initially to Initially to coincide Initially to coincide community sectors that relate possibly councils and other words, the quantity of events. example, placing public place major events. coincide with coincide with with major events, with major events, to the major event where industry. recyclables collected in the bins. recycling bins at major events major events, but major events, but opportunities but opportunities public place recycling is Enforces recycling as an would need to be undertaken opportunities but opportunities exist for exist for implemented (for example, activity that occurs in conjunction with event exist for exist for implementation at implementation at the youth sector through everywhere. organisers. implementation implementation key locations across key locations having a display at the Big Highly visible. at key locations at key locations the state depending across the state Day Out, ethnic groups Potential trials of public place across the state across the state on discussions with depending on through having displays at Stickers or posters can link recycling in Rundle Mall depending on depending on councils discussions with ethnic festivals such as bins to the promotional would need to be done in discussions with discussions with councils Glendi, holiday makers theme/brand. association with the City of councils councils through having a display at Could target key community Adelaide. the Caravan and Camping sectors by placing bins at show) certain festivals/location.
Composting To raise awareness Education Composting displays could Managed by the EPA and Use of the state residential Yes – Possible – Possible – Possible – Possible – Adelaide and regional EPA funding Overall success to be measured displays about the advantages be held at relevant events implemented by volunteers. waste profile to raise centres initially. based on composting bin sales of composting and to and locations such as awareness and show how Three month trial Dependant on Dependant on Dependant on Dependant on during the three month trial and for educate the garden shows and at much waste could be program over success of initial success of initial success of initial success of initial three months after the trial. community as to how nurseries and hardware saved by composting. Spring/Summer period three-month trial. three-month three-month trial. three-month trial. to go about shops. This would help at key garden centres trial. composting. target sectors of the and garden shows in community that may be Adelaide and regional interested in composting. centres.
Implementation over subsequent months and years dependant on relative success and community interest
3-31 The Waste Education and Awareness Strategy SECTION 3
Table 4: Silver Program Option
The Silver Program targets moderate levels of participation from a broad cross section of the community in working towards a Zero Waste target, modest reductions in waste diverted to landfill and particularly recyclables and contamination of recyclables within the first 5-year period. The program requires resources and funding to conduct a long term and medium frequency multi-media campaigns, co-ordination through a centralised unit responsible for implementing the strategy elements. It is envisaged that this program will cost $885,000 (refer to Section 3.7.2) over 5 years (equating to 60 cents per head of population in SA) funded by cross-governmental funding and industry sponsorship.
Program Activity Description Implementation Provisions
Education and Aims Awareness Advantages and Information Education and Implementation Timelines Particular Funding Measuring Success Awareness Raising and Opportunities Dissemination and Awareness Tools to Community Opportunities Activities to be Education Delivery Options Support Activities Targeted Implemented Material
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Radio awareness To raise awareness Awareness raising Wide coverage and As part of the general Discussions/advertising by Yes - Possible -(depending Possible -(depending on Possible -(depending on Possible -(depending on Whole State, as well EPA funding – Overall success to be measured in conjunction about waste issues campaign material and recognition factor with media campaign via popular ‘morning crews’ of 12 month initial on success of year 1 success of year 1 and success of year 1 and success of year 1 and as all target potentially in with media campaign, through waste audits, and recycling in limited broad links to other activities appropriate radio commercial radio stations and with either down- with either down-grading with either down-grading with either down-grading community sectors. partnership with council surveys, market research. particular and to advertising period communicate some education material via the promotional stations (commercial (high impact due to size of (starting around grading or campaign or campaign review to or campaign review to or campaign review to industry sector and of the broad state- theme/brand stations – SAFM, Triple audience). December/January to review to maintain maintain interest) maintain interest) maintain interest) radio station funding Success of radio alone could be measured by a wide messages to M, Mix as well as local incorporate the holiday interest) the community. market research exercise that questions whether ethnic and community period) with daily Use of the State residential radio advertising positively affected respondent’s radio stations) airtime and possible waste profile to raise attitude, behaviour and participation. review and extension. awareness. Implementation for more than one year to Advertisements to refer to depend on success. website/booklets/education displays and roadshows.
Website To provide an Full awareness Central website As part of the general Use of the state residential Yes – Yes - Yes - Yes - Yes - Whole State, as well EPA funding with Overall success to be measured in conjunction interactive and raising and broad drawing together all media campaign – stand waste profile to raise To be set up before the Maintenance and Maintenance and Maintenance and Maintenance and as some target external funding from with media campaign, through waste audits, central information education material. activities through the alone page (ie not part awareness. radio campaign is updating updating updating updating community sectors. industry/relevant council surveys, market research. and education promotional of the EPA website, but commenced companies that would internet site for use theme/brand with links with links to EPA’s site). like to be incorporated by government, to industry and other Marketing of products into the website Success of website alone could only be measured industry, the relevant sites. made from recycled (either by links or by number of hits (visits) and by a market community and materials. direct promotion). research exercise that questions whether school children. respondents had seen the website and whether it had contributed to a change in attitude, behaviour and participation.
Outdoor signage To raise awareness Awareness raising Wide coverage and As part of the general General awareness Yes – Possible (depending Possible (depending on Possible (depending on Possible (depending on Whole State, as well EPA funding only, as Overall success to be measured in conjunction of waste issues. material only. recognition factor with media campaign. statements and/or on success of year 1) success of year 1) success of year 1) success of year 1) as all target a result of nature of To be set up to with media campaign, through waste audits, links to promotional Implemented along graphics only. community sectors signage (i.e. coincide with media council surveys, market research. theme/brand. arterial roads throughout (for example signage awareness-rasing campaign. the state where in ethnic community only) unless a Implementation for permitted. areas, Housing Trust partnership with Success of signage alone could only be more than one year to Opportunities for areas, Holiday industry has been set measured by a market research exercise that depend on success. signage in different destinations etc) up for the whole questions whether respondents had seen the languages in ethnic campaign. signs and whether they had influenced a change community areas. in attitude, behaviour and participation.
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Program Activity Description Implementation Provisions
Education and Aims Awareness Advantages and Information Education and Implementation Timelines Particular Funding Measuring Success Awareness Raising and Opportunities Dissemination and Awareness Tools to Community Opportunities Activities to be Education Delivery Options Support Activities Targeted Implemented Material
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Newspaper lift-out To provide a once- Full awareness Wide coverage and As part of the general Use of the state residential Yes - No - Possible updated repeat No - Possible updated repeat Whole State, as well EPA funding with Overall success to be measured in conjunction as all target off, highly visual raising and broad recognition factor with media campaign in waste profile to raise Once-off activity to external funding from with media campaign, through waste audits, community sectors education and education material. links to promotional association with News awareness. coincide with launch of industry/relevant council surveys, market research. awareness initiative theme/brand. Limited and potentially the media campaign. companies that would that is marketed and industry sector. like to be incorporated promoted in the Marketing of products into the lift-out. Success of lift-out alone could only be measured newspaper. Implement in Saturdays made from recycled Rebates may be by a market research exercise that questions Advertiser or the materials. available from News whether respondents had seen the lift-out and Sunday Mail. Limited whether it had influenced a change in attitude, behaviour and participation.
Opportunities for sponsorship by industry. May be opportunities for advertising cost rebate through News Limited. Household To raise awareness Full awareness State-wide delivery. Produced by the EPA Use of the state residential Yes - No - No - No - No - Whole State, as well EPA funding with Overall success to be measured in conjunction information and of waste issues and raising and broad Booklet would be linked and delivered either by waste profile to raise Once-off activity to be as all target potential cooperation with media campaign, through waste audits, awareness booklet especially to education material. through the the EPA or in awareness. implemented community sectors from local council surveys, market research. communicate broad promotional conjunction with approximately 4 weeks (would be delivered to government. state-wide education theme/brand. Would councils. Potential to after the launch of the all households Marketing of products Success of booklet alone could only be measured messages and contain simple use community media campaign. throughout state). provide direction for information with volunteer program for made from recycled by a market research exercise that questions more information. graphics and be printed delivery. materials. whether respondents had received and read the on recycled paper. booklet and whether it had influenced a change in Would advertise the attitude, behaviour and participation. website.
Educational displays To provide mobile Full awareness For the low cost Sponsored and Use of the state residential Yes – Yes – Yes – Yes – Yes – Whole State, as well EPA funding Overall success to be measured in conjunction education at key raising and broad program option, managed by the EPA in waste profile to raise as some target with media campaign, through waste audits, locations around education material. educational displays association with industry awareness. community sectors. council surveys, market research. South Australia. could be used at or business funding. locations such as shopping centres and Marketing of products recreational areas made from recycled (beach, parks), holiday materials. areas (Goolwa, Victor Harbor, Yorke Peninsula etc). Would incorporate educational information (such as stickers or brochures etc). Would be linked through the promotional theme/brand.
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Program Activity Description Implementation Provisions
Education and Aims Awareness Advantages and Information Education and Implementation Timelines Particular Funding Measuring Success Awareness Raising and Opportunities Dissemination and Awareness Tools to Community Opportunities Activities to be Education Delivery Options Support Activities Targeted Implemented Material
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Sponsored events To raise awareness Awareness raising Could target a range of EPA in association with General awareness Yes – Yes – Yes – Yes – Yes – Whole State, as well EPA funding with Success of promotion activities at major events and displays at of waste and material only. interests and industry and statements and/or Consider funding for Consider funding for Consider funding for four Consider funding for four Consider funding for four as some target external funding from could only be measured by participation in major SA events recycling issues and audiences. Could businesses. graphics only. four major events a four major events a major events a year major events a year major events a year community sectors industry/relevant associated public place recycling and by response to promote key include promotional year year that relate to the companies that would of attendees at events. awareness raising material (hats, stubby major event (for like to be included in messages. holders, relevant example, the youth the promotion products made from sector through having activities. recycled materials, for a display at the Big example, water bottles Day Out, ethnic and hats could be groups through circulated at events like having displays at the Big Day Out and ethnic festivals such Womad). as Glendi, holiday makers through having a display at Should be undertaken the Caravan and in conjunction with Camping show). public place recycling.
Public place To raise awareness Awareness raising To be undertaken in Organised by the EPA in N/A Yes – Yes – Yes – Yes – Yes – Potentially state-wide, EPA funding in Success could only be measured based on recycling material and conjunction with relevant as well as some association with participation rates, in other words, the quantity of of waste and association with Initially to coincide with Initially to coincide with Initially to coincide with Initially to coincide with Initially to coincide with limited broad council or organisation. target community events organisers and recyclables collected in the bins. recycling issues. sponsored events and major events. major events, but major events, but major events, but major events, but education material. For example, placing sectors that relate to possibly councils and displays at SA events. opportunities exist for opportunities exist for opportunities exist for opportunities exist for public place recycling the major event industry. implementation at key implementation at key implementation at key implementation at key bins at major events where public place locations across the locations across the locations across the state locations across the state would need to be recycling is Enforces recycling as state depending on state depending on depending on discussions depending on discussions undertaken in implemented (for an activity that occurs discussions with discussions with with councils. with councils. conjunction with event example, the youth everywhere. councils. councils. organisers. sector through having a display at the Big Day Out, ethnic Highly visible. groups through having displays at ethnic festivals such Stickers or posters can as Glendi, holiday link bins to the makers through promotional theme. having a display at the Caravan and Camping show). Could target key community sectors by placing bins at certain events.
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Table 5: Bronze Program Option
The Bronze Program targets moderate levels of participation from certain target sectors of the community in working towards a Zero Waste target, steady reductions in wastes going to landfills and particularly recyclables and contamination of recyclables over a long term, with a modest change in the first 5-year period. The program requires resources and funding to conduct a long term and low frequency multi-media campaign. It is envisaged that this program will cost $320,000 (refer to Section 3.7.3) over 5 years (equating to 22 cents per head of population in SA) funded by cross-governmental funding and industry sponsorship
Program Activity Description Implementation Provisions
Education and Aims Awareness Advantages and Information Education and Awareness Tools to Implementation Timelines Particular Funding Opportunities Measuring Success Awareness Raising and Opportunities Dissemination and Support Activities Community Activities to be Education Delivery Options Targeted Implemented Material
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Radio To raise Awareness Wide coverage and Via appropriate radio Discussions/advertising by popular Yes - Possible - Possible - Possible - Possible - Whole State, as well EPA funding – Overall success to be measured in conjunction (depending on (depending on (depending on (depending on as all target awareness awareness about raising material recognition factor with links stations. ‘morning crews’ of commercial radio 12 month initial advertising potentially in partnership with media campaign, through waste audits, success of year 1 success of year 1 success of year 1 success of year 1 community sectors. campaign – waste issues and and limited broad to other activities via the stations (high impact due to size of period (starting around with industry sector and council surveys, market research. and with either and with either and with either and with either selected stations recycling in education promotional theme/brand. audience) as well as other ethnic and December/January to radio station funding. down-grading or down-grading or down-grading or down-grading or only particular and to material. community radio stations. incorporate the holiday campaign review campaign review campaign review campaign review Success of radio alone could be measured by a communicate period) with daily airtime Radio stations would to maintain to maintain to maintain to maintain market research exercise that questions some of the broad and possible review and include one commercial Use of the state residential waste interest) interest) interest) interest) whether radio advertising changed respondent’s state-wide extension. Implementation station and local ethnic and profile to raise awareness. attitude, behaviour and participation. messages to the for more than one year to community radio stations community. depend on success. only. Advertisements to refer to website and education displays.
Website To provide a Full awareness Central website drawing As part of the general Use of the state residential waste Yes – Yes - Yes - Yes - Yes - Whole State, as well EPA funding with Overall success to be measured in conjunction central raising and broad together all activities media campaign – stand profile to raise awareness. To be set up prior to the Maintenance and Maintenance and Maintenance and Maintenance and as some target external funding from with media campaign, through waste audits, information and education through the promotional alone page (ie not part commencement of the radio updating updating updating updating community sectors. industry/relevant council surveys, market research. education internet material. theme/brand with links to of the EPA website, but campaign. companies that would site for use by industry and other relevant with links to EPA’s site) Marketing of products made from like to be incorporated government, sites recycled materials. into the website (either Success of website alone could only be industry, the by links or direct measured by number of hits (visits) and by a community and promotion). market research exercise that questions school children. whether respondents had seen the website and whether it had contributed to a change in attitude, behaviour and participation.
Newspaper lift- To provide a Full awareness Wide coverage and As part of the general Use of the state residential waste Yes - No - Possible updated No - Possible updated Whole State, as well EPA funding with Overall success to be measured in conjunction repeat repeat as all target out once-off, highly raising and broad recognition factor with links media campaign in profile to raise awareness. Once-off activity to coincide external funding from with media campaign, through waste audits, community sectors visual education education to promotional association with News with launch of the media industry/relevant council surveys, market research. and awareness material. theme/brand. Limited and potentially campaign. companies that would initiative that is industry sector. Marketing of products made from like to be incorporated marketed and recycled materials. into the lift-out. Rebates Success of lift-out alone could only be promoted in the Implement in Saturdays may be available from measured by a market research exercise that newspaper. Advertiser or the Sunday News Limited. questions whether respondents had seen lift-out Mail. and whether it had influenced a change in attitude, behaviour and participation.
Opportunities for sponsorship by industry. May be opportunities for advertising cost rebate through News Limited.
3-35 The Waste Education and Awareness Strategy SECTION 3
Program Activity Description Implementation Provisions
Education and Aims Awareness Advantages and Information Education and Awareness Tools to Implementation Timelines Particular Funding Opportunities Measuring Success Awareness Raising and Opportunities Dissemination and Support Activities Community Activities to be Education Delivery Options Targeted Implemented Material
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Educational To provide mobile Full awareness For the low cost program Sponsored and Use of the state residential waste Yes – Yes – Yes – Yes – Yes – Whole State, as well EPA funding Overall success to be measured in conjunction displays education at key raising and broad option, educational displays managed by the EPA in profile to raise awareness. as some target with media campaign, through waste audits, locations around education could be used at locations association with Industry community sectors. council surveys, market research. South Australia. material. such as shopping centres or business funding. and recreational areas Marketing of products made from (beach, parks), holiday recycled materials. areas (Goolwa, Victor Harbor, Yorke Peninsula etc).
Would incorporate educational information (such as stickers or brochures etc).
Would be linked through the promotional theme/brand. Composting To raise Education Composting displays could Managed by the EPA Use of the state residential waste Yes – Possible – Possible – Possible – Possible – Adelaide and EPA funding Overall success to be measured based on displays awareness about be held at relevant events and implemented by regional centres composting bin sales during the three month profile to raise awareness and show Three month trial program Dependant on Dependant on Dependant on Dependant on the advantages of and locations such as volunteers. initially. trial and for three months after the trial. how much waste could be saved by over Spring/Summer period success of initial success of initial success of initial success of initial composting and garden shows and at composting. at key garden centres and three-month trial. three-month trial. three-month trial. three-month trial. to educate the nurseries and hardware garden shows in Adelaide community as to shops. This would help and regional centres. how to go about target sectors of the composting. community that may be interested in composting. With implementation over subsequent months and years to be dependant on the relative success and/or community interest in the displays.
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3.7 Funding and Resource Plan
The following tables outline approximate funding and resources that would be required to implement the three option programs. It should be noted that funding is approximate and indicative only at this stage.
3.7.1 The Gold Program Funding and Resource Plan
Table 6: Gold Funding and Resource Plan
Approximate Costs Approximate Resources (FTE) Activity Yr 1 Yr 2 Yr 3 Yr 4 Yr 5 Total Yr 1 Yr 2 Yr 3 Yr 4 Yr 5 Total Television $1.3 awareness $500K $200K $200K $200K $200K 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.6 FTE million campaign
Radio awareness $60K $20K $20K $20K $20K $140K 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.25 FTE campaign
Website $15K $5K $5K $5K $5K $35K 0.2 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.4 FTE
Outdoor $40K $20K $20K $20K $20K $120K 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.25 FTE signage
Newspaper $40K $20K $20K $80K 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.25 FTE Lift-out
Household information $250K $250K 0.2 0.2 FTE booklet
Road show and $100K $40K $40K $40K $40K $260K 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 2.5 FTE educational display Local government $60K $5K $5K $5K $5K $80K 0.5 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.9 FTE resource kit
Sponsored displays at $30K $20K $20K $20K $20K $110K 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 1.0 FTE events
Public place $10K $10K $10K $10K $10K $50K 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.25 FTE recycling
Composting $5K $5K $5K $5K $5K $25K 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.5 FTE
7.1 FTE over 5 2.1 FTE 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 yrs $1.11 $2.45 for the FTE for FTE for FTE for FTE for Total $325K $345K $325K $345K (Average million million first the first the first the first the first of 1.4 year year year year year FTE per year)
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3.7.2 The Silver Program Funding and Resource Plan
Table 7: Silver Funding and Resource Plan
Approximate Costs Approximate Resources (FTE)
Activity Total Total Yr 1 Yr 2 Yr 3 Yr 4 Yr 5 (over 5 Yr 1 Yr 2 Yr 3 Yr 4 Yr 5 (over 5 Yrs) Yrs)
Radio awareness $60K $20K $20K $20K $20K $140K 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.25 FTE campaign
Website $15K $5K $5K $5K $5K $35K 0.2 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.4 FTE
Outdoor $40K $20K $20K $20K $20K $120K 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.25 FTE signage
Newspaper $40K $20K $20K $80K 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.25 FTE Lift-out
Household information $250K $250K 0.2 0.2 FTE booklet
Educational $20K $20K $20K $20K $20K $100K 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 2.5 FTE display
Sponsored displays at $30K $20K $20K $20K $20K $110K 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 1.0 FTE events
Public place $10K $10K $10K $10K $10K $50K 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.25 FTE recycling
1.3 0.95 0.95 0.95 0.95 5.1 FTE FTE FTE FTE FTE FTE over 5 for for for for for yrs Total $465K $95K $115K $95K $115K $885K the the the the the (average first first first first first of 1 FTE year year year year year per year)
3-38 The Waste Education and Awareness SECTION 3 Strategy
3.7.3 The Bronze Program Funding and Resource Plan
Table 8: Bronze Funding and Resource Plan
Approximate Costs Approximate Resources (FTE) Activity Yr 1 Yr 2 Yr 3 Yr 4 Yr 5 Total Yr 1 Yr 2 Yr 3 Yr 4 Yr 5 Total
Radio awareness $40K $10K $10K $10K $10K $80K 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.25 FTE campaign
Website $15K $5K $5K $5K $5K $35K 0.2 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.4 FTE
Newspaper $40K $20K $20K $80K 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.25 FTE Lift-out
Educational $20K $20K $20K $20K $20K $100K 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 2.5 FTE display
Composting $5K $5K $5K $5K $5K $25K 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.5 FTE
3.9 FTE 0.9 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 over 5 FTE FTE FTE FTE FTE yrs for for for for for Total $120K $40K $60K $40K $60K $320K (average the the the the the of 0.8 first first first first first FTE per year year year year year year)
3.8 Assessing Performance
For this education and awareness strategy to be sustainable and responsive, the level of success would need to be measured, however measuring performance must also have a purpose.
There could be an opportunity here to also use feedback and outcomes as an educational tool in itself. In the last couple of years the South Australian Catchment Water Management Boards installed trash racks in many of the creeks and waterways throughout the urban areas. One of the key activities that was undertaken to raise awareness about them was to install signage at many of the locations informing the community about how many tonnes of litter the trash racks stopped from entering the stormwater system and potentially being flushed out to sea.
It may be possible to develop some sort of feedback system or signage that lets people know approximately how many tonnes of kerbside waste were recycled instead of going to landfill each month (or to make it more interesting, how many truckloads, or how many Football Parks or Adelaide Ovals worth, or any other easily recognisable and understandable measurement). This would act as a form of encouragement to those members of the community who were already recycling and would hopefully trigger enthusiasm of those who were not.
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The concept of program evaluation is important in terms of:
• Methodology to measure performance, to determine whether particular approaches are working
• Providing feedback to the community
• Reassessing approaches and directions taken
• Measuring the relative efficiency of particular approaches or programs
3.8.1 Evaluation
The diagram below provides an outline of the various forms of evaluation. Outcomes – either by way of a change in attitude, intent, adoption or impact - represent the end product of a project, program or investment, and are often considered the most important criteria in performance evaluation. Outputs are tasks or actions completed or commitments fulfilled. Inputs may include financial, time or other resources.
Figure 4: Evaluation
Appropriateness Cost-Effectiveness
Objectives or desired Actual Stakeholder needs Inputs Outputs outcomes outcomes
Efficiency
Effectiveness
There are four levels of evaluation identified:
• Appropriateness - the extent to which defined goals align with community and Government priorities, values and needs.
• Effectiveness - the extent to which outcomes in practice achieve desired outcomes or objectives.
• Cost-effectiveness - the relationship between inputs and outcomes expressed in dollar terms.
• Efficiency - the extent to which the investments are minimised for a given level of outputs, or to which outputs are maximised for a given level of inputs.
For each form of evaluation, different criteria or measurements can be developed to assess different aspects of performance.
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3.8.2 Key Performance Indicators
Key Performance Indicators need to be applied at three levels:
• ‘Whole campaign’ level by measuring the overall achievement of key objectives such as avoidance, reduction, re-use, recycling and recovery
• ‘Program’ level, by creating key success factors for each program and measuring these
• Activities & Tools level, where possible, by identifying measurements that would reflect its success. For example, to get an indication of how successful public place recycling has been, count the number of recyclables collected over a certain timeframe and compare to existing data, or, to gain an indication of how successful composting promotion programs have been, simply count the number of compost bins sold, or to gain an indication of the success of a web site, one can measure the web page hits and time people are in the site.
Evaluation of waste minimisation needs to take place at several different levels, at the level of the overall strategy (ie the state level), at the local level (ie council or waste management organisation level), and at the sector level (ie in relation to programs in relation to particular target groups or sectors).
The success of the a whole campaign is arguably the most important aspect for measurement and to do this EcoRecycle Victoria’s Waste Wise program believed that there are five key indicators relating to minimising residential waste to landfill that could be used as a tool for measuring success (9):
1. The quantity of waste sent to landfill from the garbage collection.
2. The level of potentially recyclable material in the garbage stream.
3. The level of food waste in the garbage stream.
4. The level of green organics in the garbage stream.
5. The level of contamination in the recycling stream.
Due to the variation of council recycling services in South Australia, it may be necessary in some instances to measure the above indicators on a council-by-council or service provider-by-service provider basis and then collate all the results at the end to report back outcomes. Many councils in South Australia already measure the following:
• Participation rates in recycling services
• Tonnage of recyclables collected
• Diversion of materials from going to landfill
• Contamination rates
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In order to assess the effectiveness of the strategy and to plan and prioritise different approaches, Waste Wise Victoria recommend that the following indicators be used:
• The quantity of waste sent to landfill
• The quantities of recyclables collected from the residential kerbside system for participatory councils
• The quantity of green organics collected from the residential kerbside system for participatory council areas
• The quantity of material collected from the hard waste collection service for participatory council areas
• Participation rates for recycling collection, green organics collection and hard waste collection, via Council surveys
• Level of potentially recyclable material in the garbage stream
• Level of green organics and food waste in the garbage stream
• Level of contamination in the recycling stream
• The number of compost bins and worm farms sold
• Attendance at sessions on how to compost and worm farm
• The number and proportion of households claiming to compost
3.8.3 Systems to Measure
In order to undertake evaluation and monitoring exercises there would need to be adequate baseline studies in place, which outline current conditions. The South Australian McGregor Tan study (looking at community attitudes to waste and recycling) (20) may already be adequate for this although further market research would need to be undertaken to ensure relevance to the awareness and education program. Evaluation and monitoring surveys would also need to be undertaken to the same methodology to which all baseline studies were undertaken. It would also be necessary to make allowances for differences between attitudes and actions, as discussed earlier.
Physical data on waste and recycling would also need to be collated to the same baseline methodology to ensure statistical relevance. Certain councils currently collect this data, as do the EPA, Waste management organisations, service providers and participating landfill companies. Other organisations such as Peats and Jeffries may also have relevant data that could be used to measure the rate of contamination of green organics.
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Key studies that have been undertaken in the past that would have annual benefits to measure performance are:
• Waste Audit
• Kerbside Recycling Audit
• Community Attitudes survey
It will be important to measure the success of the whole program (all activities together) as well as individual activities, where possible, as this will indicate which activities should be continued and which ones may not be economically viable. For activities such as public place recycling at major events, success will be able to be measured by sorting and weighing recyclables that would otherwise have been diverted to the waste stream. In many cases, however, it will not be possible to measure individual activity success due to the inability to disassociate the influence of one activity from another. Overall program success can be measured in a number of ways including using the kerbside recycling audits, household surveys, council surveys, quantities of recycling collected and comparisons of quantities of waste diverted to landfill from year to year.
It would be advantageous for the education and awareness strategy/program to include a market research or community survey exercise to test exposure of the promotional theme, knowledge of issues promoted, and changes in attitude and participation, as well as the degree of influence of each individual activity.
An annual comparison against progress in other States could also be included so that on a per head basis the effectiveness of elements can be compared and lessons drawn.
3-43 Existing Programmes in SA SECTION 4
4 Existing Programmes in SA
4.1 Survey Technique
URS investigated existing community education and awareness programs being managed and undertaken by local government and other organisations with the aim of ensuring that the Waste Education and Awareness Strategy could avoid overlaps, deal with conflicts, and open up opportunities for integration. Information was collected anecdotally using telephone survey and meeting techniques.
URS conducted a telephone survey of rural, regional and metropolitan councils through the relevant staff representatives to assess the current level of local government activity in education and awareness raising programs regarding waste management and/or recycling1. The questionnaire is included as Appendix B and a detailed summary of the council responses is provided in this Section.
URS conducted meetings with key educators from other organisations undertaking community education and awareness activities related to waste management as listed below:
• KESAB – John Phillips
• Northern Adelaide Waste Management Authority (NAWMA) – Brian King and Theresa Dolman
• Wingfield Waste Management Centre – Waste Education Centre – Raya Gifford
• Local Government Association – Fiona Jenkins
• Solo Waste – Michael Moore
• Southern Region Waste Resource Authority – Marion Council
• Peter Shultz – waste education consultant
• South East Local Government Association - Ron Ellis
• Cleanaway – Peter Noble
• SITA – Stuart Hollingworth
• Recyclers of SA – Neville Rawlings
The questionnaire used in all meetings is included as Appendix E. A summary of outcomes of these meetings is outlined below.
1 In total 68 councils were contacted and 54 survey responses were obtained, equating to a survey response rate of 79%. All 18 metropolitan councils were contacted, and survey responses were obtained from 14 councils, equating to a survey response rate of 77%. All 50 regional and rural councils were contacted, and survey responses were obtained from 40 councils, equating to a survey response rate of 80%.
4-1 Existing Programmes in SA SECTION 4
4.2 Key Survey Findings
URS findings from Council Interviews were:
• The majority of metropolitan councils do undertake community education activities on recycling and waste management issues.
• Many rural or regional councils do not undertake education on waste management or recycling either because they do not provide recycling services or due to a lack of funds and resources.
• Councils’ resource educational activities through council staff roles. Many councils also work with their waste or recycling service contractors on providing educational materials and programs.
• Council education programs predominantly focus on ‘how’ to recycle and/or use council collection systems as opposed to detailed information on ‘why’ to recycle and 'what' happens to recyclable materials.
• Information in newsletters, brochures, and presentations at schools are common media for distributing educational messages on waste management and recycling.
• Providing educational information on internet sites is common for metropolitan councils. • Many rural and regional councils that offer recycling services have a significant increase in the tonnage collected over the Christmas/school holiday periods due to visitors - opportunity for holiday visitor programs on recycling.
• Councils do believe that the EPA has a role in education and awareness raising on waste minimisation and recycling
• Councils believe the EPA should focus on the broader education campaigns that promote messages across council boundaries, provision of generic educational materials, support and funding assistance, and facilitating greater consistency between council recycling services which would in turn aid education on recycling.
URS concluded from a review of Councils kerbside service
• It is difficult to communicate detailed recycling messages to the whole of the state when different councils have varying waste management practices; in other words, kerbside recyclables are collected by a variety of means and frequencies.
URS findings from Waste Education Organisation Interviews were:
• There is a need for a broad state-wide awareness and education strategy/initiative that covers general awareness of why recycling is important, the concept of reduce, reuse and recycle and an outline of where recycling goes and what it is turned into/used for. Councils and waste education organisations could then follow this up with locality specific educational material.
4-2 Existing Programmes in SA SECTION 4
• Recycling does actually work. The community needs to be made aware of products, which are developed from recycled materials.
• A ‘New Residents’ Waste Information Package’ (for home buyers and renters) has been found to be a useful tool for NAWMA and could be implemented throughout the state.
• Cinema advertising and a free-call number have been successful programs for NAWMA.
• Education and awareness needs to target people in the workforce who are not at home during the day.
• State-wide education is difficult when different councils have different facilities and recycling services and activities.
• Messages common to all areas need to be communicated (for example, plastic bags, green organics contamination, diabetes needles disposal).
• Television and radio would be the most effective tools for state-wide awareness and education.
• Mail-outs that are delivered with ‘junkmail’ are not effective ways to communicate and educate.
• Community radio stations are effective tools for communication to ethnic community groups. Solo has noted increased participation in recycling after advertising on Greek and Italian radio stations.
• Face-to-face discussions about recycling and waste reduction are effective tools for education.
• It is important to continually target the rental market due to the high turn over of residents.
• It is vital to refute the idea that recyclables are diverted to landfill.
• An effective central website would be a useful tool for education and awareness.
• There is an opportunity for the EPA to team up with other organisations to provide awareness raising material and information at special events in South Australia.
4.3 Council Kerbside Recycling Facilities
Potential key messages for community education and awareness needed to consider council services related to waste management, in particular kerbside recycling. The following maps demonstrate various known council kerbside recycling activities, sourced from the Kerbside Waste Audit 2002 (22).
The information that URS has relied on has been sourced from the Kerbside Waste Audit, discussions with Councils through the survey, and the “can smart” web site (3).
4-3 Existing Programmes in SA SECTION 4
Figure 5: Outer Metropolitan Council Kerbside Recycling Activities
DO
DO DO DO DO DO DO DO
Bin Split bin
Crate or bag
Green organics bin
No container provided
Weekly collection DO Fortnightly collection DO Drop-off only
4-4 Existing Programmes in SA SECTION 4
Figure 6: Metropolitan Council Kerbside Recycling Activities
Bin Split bin
Crate or bag
Green organics bin
No container provided
Weekly collection
Fortnightly collection DO Drop-off only DO
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In relation to council waste management services, it is interesting to note that in 1996 the council area with the highest rates of recovery of recyclables was Marion, whose residents were provided with a split bin system. In Marion, 35% of waste was diverted for recycling compared with 14% for the next best council, Mitcham. In 1997 the City of Burnside introduced a weekly waste collection service using a split bin system and in the first four months of operation the total quantity of waste going to landfill fell by 53%. The amount of recyclables collected increased by 160%. This confirms the high impact that council services and facilities have on the recycling practices of residents.
4.4 Detailed Analysis of Survey Responses
4.4.1 Survey Responses from Metropolitan Councils
The majority of metropolitan councils (12) do undertake community education activities on recycling and waste management issues. Many councils (7) indicated that they work in conjunction with their service providers on education and awareness raising and five council’s indicated that they manage their own education programs. Council service providers that are providing educational services within metropolitan Adelaide include Cleanaway, Solo Resource Recovery, the Northern Adelaide Waste Management Authority (NAWMA), East Waste, the Western Region Waste Management Authority and KESAB.
The most common focus of council education strategies is to provide general information on waste reduction and recycling as well as information specifically related to services provided by council such as details on how to use the service and collection dates. Other topics covered in some council education programs include awareness raising on home composting, preventing contamination of green organics, reducing plastic bag disposal (or reusing them) and raising awareness of new council services. The community groups targeted for education programs are mostly school students and general householders and, whilst outside the scope of this study, some councils target commercial businesses on recycling practices. Notably, one council area (West Torrens) also targets ethnic communities (Greek and Italian) in its area.
Councils use a range of media for their education campaigns, the most common being information on council internet sites, use of council newsletters and brochures and presentations at local schools. Other common education media includes advertisements in the Messenger News as well as mail-outs. Mail-outs are most commonly used for the annual distribution of collection service calendars to householders. Less common forms of media used include, stickers for bins, fridge magnets, competitions, exhibitions, use of a mascot, use of an education centre and presentations to community groups. Generally councils use a combination of different media forms to get messages across on recycling and waste management and to ensure that educational messages reach the majority of the local community.
To measure the success of education programs most councils review service statistics such as participation rates in recycling services, tonnage of recyclables collected, diversion of materials from going to landfill and contamination rates. Five councils indicated that they have undertaken household surveys to assess knowledge and participation in recycling services. Telephone and mail surveys are used
4-6 Existing Programmes in SA SECTION 4
as well as incorporating questions on waste management and recycling into general council community surveys. The focus of surveys undertaken is commonly on community satisfaction with recycling services rather than an assessment of community attitudes of recycling. Monitoring feedback from residents and Elected Members are other ways that councils measure the success of their services and education programs.
The majority of councils resource waste education activities through their staff. The officer responsible for overseeing waste management services is usually accountable for waste education. Only one council employed a part-time staff member to solely focus on waste education activities. It is also common for councils to fund waste education activities through their service provider such as NAWMA, Solo Resource Recovery, Cleanaway, East Waste and KESAB.
Councils consider that the EPA’s role in educating and raising awareness about waste minimisation, recycling and resource recovery, should focus on facilitating greater consistency between council recycling services which in-turn would allow for greater consistency in education programs across the State. Survey feedback also indicated that councils think the EPA’s focus should be on broader education campaigns that promote messages that can apply across council boundaries and to the majority of the South Australian community. Other roles suggested include, improving hazardous waste services, providing funding support for council programs, and facilitating end-markets, providing generic educational material and resources, developing policy and research.
The Metropolitan Councils survey analysis is included as Appendix C.
4.4.2 Survey Responses from Rural and Regional Councils
Over half of the regional and rural councils that responded do not undertake community education and awareness raising on waste management and recycling (22 councils). The common reasons for not undertaking education are either that kerbside recycling services are not provided by the council, that education is being taken care of by other organisations or lack of funding. Whilst many rural and regional councils do not provide kerbside recycling services, some councils advocate source separation and recycling at their landfill depots and this is the focus of their educational material.
Those rural and regional councils that do provide educational material (18 councils) predominantly focus on council waste and recycling service information as well as general information on waste minimisation and recycling. General information to the broad community is the key focus of educational material. Schools are also commonly targeted for education programs. No rural or regional councils have an officer dedicated to just waste and recycling education. Responsibilities for waste and recycling education and awareness raising are integrated with other staff roles such as Environmental Health or Engineering or shared across a few different staff members (this was common with small councils).
Use of council newsletters and brochures, mail-outs to householders (predominantly for yearly service calendars) and providing information with rate notices, were the most common methods of providing educational material to residents. Some councils also undertake presentations at schools. Use of the local
4-7 Existing Programmes in SA SECTION 4
newspaper, displays at council offices, information on council internet sites and public place displays, were less common avenues for distributing educational material.
Like metropolitan councils, rural and regional councils assess the success of education programs through reviewing service statistics and monitoring feedback from residents, Elected Members and council contractors. Only one council (Mt Gambier) had undertaken a household survey, which focused on green organics services.
Rural and regional councils suggested various support roles for the EPA including, the provision of generic educational materials, support and funding assistance to councils and regional council groups, to undertake broader state-wide education campaigns, to provide incentive schemes to reduce the cost of recycling, to advocate for industry to subsidise the cost of recycling and to facilitate end markets.
For many rural and regional councils that provide a recycling service, a greater tonnage is collected during the Christmas and school holidays due to a significant increase in visitor population.
The Regional and Rural Councils survey analysis is included as Appendix D.
4.4.3 Northern Adelaide Waste Management Authority (NAWMA)
NAWMA provides waste education services (including a waste education centre/facility) for a range of councils, including its member councils (who provide the majority of funding); Salisbury, Playford and Gawler, and its client councils; Clare and Gilbert Valley, Light, Mallala and Copper Triangle (Whyalla, Port Augusta and Port Pirie). NAWMA also provides education services for a range of other councils, schools and community groups who can attend the education centre free of charge and who do not necessarily have to fall within their own region.
The key areas of education provided by NAWMA relate to their own collection system and the kerbside recycling system. They provide residents with the knowledge of what can and cannot be recycled as well as how to reduce waste by considering levels of packaging when shopping. The education centre at NAWMA has a viewing room for people to watch recyclables being sorted and a number of hands-on activities to raise awareness and levels of education.
The key message promoted by the NAWMA waste education centre is to simply reduce the amount of waste generated in the first place and to then recycle effectively and correctly. Strategies implemented have shown to be successful, in that the actual rate of waste diverted to the waste stream has decreased and participation in recycling has increased. A range of media and promotional material is used to both raise awareness and educate, including a new residents’ information package which targets home owners, renters and Housing Trust residents, messenger newspapers, calendars, internet site, the education centre, promotional activities and days (for example a recent recycling expo), cinema advertising, school and community group visits and a free-call number for recycling enquiries. It is important to note that all publications, products and materials are paid for by industry.
NAWMA believe that the most effective form of media for waste education and awareness has been the cinema advertising, the education centre, the character ‘NAWMA’ and the annual calendar.
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Community sectors targeted for waste education and awareness are mainly school children and community groups (such as Rotary, Senior Citizen and Scout groups) and general households, although NAWMA is of the opinion that improvement is urgently needed for people in the workforce and renters (due to the high turn over of occupancy).
In terms of existing waste education and awareness and opportunities for improvement, NAWMA believe that there is a need for a state-wide initiative that covers general awareness of waste reduction and recycling and why it is so important. More importantly, however, they believe that actual collection strategies around South Australia need to be investigated and upgraded first because it is difficult to undertake waste education at the state level when different councils have different collection strategies. To this end, there may be a role for the Environment Protection Authority to promote the message about what exactly can and cannot be recycled, regardless of council boundaries (issues surrounding plastic bags is one example here, as well as contamination of green organics with plastics and glass, contamination of recyclables with diabetes syringes and management of household hazardous wastes). Television, radio and cinema advertising were thought to be the most useful education tools here.
NAWMA believe that there is a role for the EPA in ensuring that regional needs are met and coordinated and in ensuring that waste awareness in South Australia is raised and promoted, whilst education officers, centres and councils ensure that community educational needs are met. NAWMA are also of the opinion that, similar to the EcoRecycle program in Victoria, the Environment Protection Authority in South Australia could potentially fund regional waste education officers.
4.4.4 Solo Waste
Solo Waste officially provide education and awareness services to the City of West Torrens, however many other councils, schools and community groups also visit the education centre. The main scope of education strategies focuses on domestic waste, including recyclables, green organics, general/hard refuse and hazardous household waste.
Solo Waste’s key message is to ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’. The Waste Education Officer often visits shopping centres, schools and community events to raise awareness of this message and associated issues. More detailed key messages that Solo would like to see promoted are that recyclable materials do actually get recycled and that the system does actually work; community participation levels need to increase, however. Another of Solo Waste’s key messages related to the need to reduce contamination of green organics.
Different tools used to raise awareness and educate on waste management issues are newsletters, Messenger and Advertiser Newspaper advertisements, mail-outs to households (which were not very successful), the education centre, promotional activities, community awards program and educational videos and CDs. Promotional activities have included composting workshops, shopping centre displays, awards programs and open days. The centre also gives away items developed from recycled materials so that participants can actually see an example of the ‘end product’.
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One of the most successful media tools for education and awareness was apparently found to be advertisements on local Greek and Italian radio stations. The advantages of this are two-fold, awareness of waste reduction and recycling is raised and a key community sector (i.e. the Greek and Italian community) is involved in the education program. Participation in recycling in these areas has increased since radio advertising was introduced.
The Education Officer at Solo Waste was of the opinion that a television campaign would be the most useful tool for raising awareness of waste reduction and recycling in South Australia and that there are many broad issues and messages that could be covered. He also believed that industry would be more than willing to help fund the initiative, for example, Jeffries and Peats could be approached to fund an awareness of contamination in green organics program since they are the companies that would benefit from further improvements.
The Education Officer also believed that school visits are also very important and that in several years time the benefits of more direct school waste education will begin to show.
Major community sectors targeted in this program are Reception/Kindergarten children, lower primary school students, upper primary school students (apparently the most receptive of groups), the Greek/Italian community, teenagers, general households and, to some extent, residents in units and flats.
The Education Officer at Solo believed that there needed to be more integration in waste education and awareness in South Australia, as well as more consistent messages. Education was one of the main issues because a Marketing Centre study recently undertaken for Solo Waste in the West Torrens area found that, for example, the Greek community were among the most enthusiastic recyclers, however, they were also among the least educated in terms of waste management. He was also of the opinion that because of inconsistencies between different councils in terms of what can and cannot be recycled, it is therefore very difficult to implement a state-wide education program. He would urge that the EPA inform residents via popular media that they should be contacting their councils to determine what they can recycle. He also agreed that many messages that need to be communicated are industry based, for example, plastic bags can be taken back to supermarkets, lids should be removed from bottles, and pizza boxes can be recycled.
4.4.5 Local Government Association (LGA)
The Local Government Association represents and supports all councils in South Australia. The Association has a Policy Officer for waste management (of which education is one facet).
Whilst the waste management Policy Officer is not responsible for designing and implementing waste education strategies, they do provide feedback on education strategy drafts for councils and work on waste management plans.
The Policy Officer is of the opinion that councils require a broad waste awareness strategy at a State level that can be supported with educational material by them, at a local level. One of the most important issues to educate on would be the waste hierarchy. Rural councils also need to provide education relating to their
4-10 Existing Programmes in SA SECTION 4
own facilities and activities. Councils recognise the need for broad cultural change relating to waste reduction and recycling but also recognise that this is out of the scope of their services and should be addressed at a state level.
The Policy Officer believes that television and radio would be the most direct and successful ways of raising awareness. The EPA could the be responsible for the state-wide waste reduction and recycling awareness raising campaign with local government supporting them on the ground with educational material. Slogans on the side of trucks and in other key areas around the city may also be useful. For example, there is an initiative in New South Wales where rubbish trucks advertise ‘Red Yellow Green, Lets Keep It Clean’. The colours relate to the different colours of the bin system in that State.
In terms of opportunities for improvement, the Policy Officer believes there is an opportunity for the EPA to implement a potentially highly successful program with support from local government. There is a definite need for greater coordination, within the regions as well as within statutory authorities. The Local Government Association believes there is also the need for a state-wide waste management body, along the lines of EcoRecycle in Victoria.
4.4.6 Southern Region Waste Resource Authority
The Southern Region Waste Resource Authority represents the Councils of Onkaparinga, Marion and Holdfast Bay. They do not have any education services in place at the present time although this will change in the near future. Currently, member councils provide their own education services (such as residents’ kits, school recycling facilities, council newsletters and calendars. Marion Council staff (who were met with on behalf of the Southern Region Waste Resource Authority) said that they found a major issue to be diabetic’s needles in recycling bins, disposal of household hazardous wastes and contaminants such as plastic in organics bins. They also said that people need more education about why recycling is important and what it can achieve and thought that this was probably the responsibility of the State (i.e. the EPA).
It was believed that the rental market needed to be targeted as a key community sectors and that there needs to be general education and awareness raising material (with the message of reduce, reuse, recycle) that can be given to any residents, regardless of where they live in South Australia. Council staff believed that television would be the best medium for raising general awareness of common issues. Examples of awareness could include promoting the McLaren Vale wineries that currently use green organics on their vines and would use much more if it were not so contaminated with plastics. They were also of the opinion that industry could be contributing more funds to education and awareness in the form of partnerships.
4.4.7 Wingfield Waste Management Centre – Waste Education Centre
Wingfield waste education centre mainly services school groups from across South Australia, although they also target local council areas that use the site, including Port Adelaide Enfield, the City of Charles Sturt, Adelaide City Council, City of Playford and City of Salisbury. The scope of education strategies
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mainly relates to the environmental impacts of landfill and the implications of not recycling or trying to reduce waste. They also demonstrate exactly what can be recycled (appropriate to their council area). Key messages are ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’. Media used to deliver the education programs include, newspaper advertising, internet information, newsletters, the education centre, a video and site tours and they are looking at developing an information kit for teachers.
Community sectors targeted include schools as well as universities and community groups to a lesser extent. The Environment Officer at the centre believes that waste education and awareness should be a cooperative effort between State government, local government and other stakeholders such as industry. They believe that more education and awareness is required because they see trucks delivering recyclable material into landfill everyday. People get confused about what they can and cannot recycle and there is still the belief in some areas that recyclables go to landfill anyway. People need to know what happens to their recyclables and what products they are made into.
4.4.8 KESAB
KESAB work closely with all councils in South Australia through a wide range of programs and initiatives, including Tidy Towns and school programs. They have specific partnerships with the City of Adelaide and the City of Unley and support the Western Region of Councils. KESAB also work closely with Catchment Management Boards and other environmental stakeholders and in December 2002 re- opened the State-wide Recycling Centre. The major scope of waste education strategies is emphasising that personal action can make a difference, and from there they concentrate on specific details associated with waste reduction and recycling. KESAB maintain that recycling actions must be simple and inexpensive. They have had a high level of success with the Clean Site initiative and education centres and is of the opinion that success is linked to identifying strong points and further developing them as opposed to trying to cover too much information.
KESAB deliver their waste education programs via a range of tools including, newsletters and brochures, mail outs, use of education centres, promotional activities, signage (outdoor advertising), radio advertising and posters. Their most successful form of media for waste education has been outdoor advertising and radio advertisements and the key to these is simplicity and longevity.
Particular community sectors targeted for education purposes include primary schools and the building and construction industry, however other waste awareness programs are targeted at the wider South Australian context. KESAB believe that shortfalls regarding waste and recycling education are in relation to the lack of consistency throughout Adelaide and the State and the lack of funding for programs and initiatives.
KESAB believe that a potential role for the EPA should be in the fields of broad awareness raising, setting waste policy and strategies and providing funding and incentives. KESAB have also made the following recommendations:
• There are opportunities for the EPA to team up with KESAB to provide awareness raising material and information at special events in South Australia.
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• The EPA could support local government with initiatives such as New Residents’ Booklets.
• The key target audience is mainly families (or general householders) and if the EPA could encourage families to recycle just slightly more than they already are then that would make a significant difference overall.
• There is an opportunity for the EPA to think about school information packs.
• It is within the scope of the EPA’s role to provide a central web site with links to a range of other waste reduction, reuse and recycling organisations and companies.
• The EPA could introduce incentives for Councils to improve their recycling services.
4.4.9 Peter Schulz – Waste Education Consultant
Peter Schulz is a South Australian waste education consultant who was able to provide an opinion of several waste reduction and recycling issues from a ‘local’ context. Peter has undertaken work for a range of Councils and organisations, in particular Coorong, Campbelltown and Burnside. Peter focuses on the ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’ concept linking to the necessity to conserve natural resources and has a main audience of school groups and community groups. Peter believes that the best tool for waste education is to take a personal approach, directly talking with members of the community. Similarly to other organisations interviewed, Peter is of the opinion that the variation in council services throughout the state is a key constraint to a more integrated and successful state-wide waste education and awareness strategy.
4.4.10 South East Local Government Association
The South East Local Government Association (SELGA) has not undertaken any waste education and awareness activities or programs, however they are currently developing a Waste Management Strategy as part of a pilot program in South Australia. This strategy will incorporate community consultation and could possibly also incorporate recommendations related to changing public perceptions and attitudes to waste management.
SELGA believes that the EPA has a role in waste reduction, reuse and recycling awareness raising across the state, but not detailed education due to the range of different recycling services offered by various rural and regional councils. SELGA is also of the opinion that supermarkets should be targeted to reduce the amount of packaging they produce for household goods. They also believe that a series of incentives and awards could be used to help renew or instill a sense of pride in the State that could be used as a tool in having a community more aware of waste issues.
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4.4.11 Cleanaway
Cleanaway undertake community education on waste management and recycling on behalf of Port Adelaide and Enfield Council, Charles Sturt Council, Holdfast Bay Council and Tea Tree Gully Council.
Education provided by Cleanaway focuses on how to use waste collection and recycling services in the representative council areas. Cleanaway target all ratepayers for the distribution of information on recycling and waste collection services. Cleanaway also provide presentations on recycling to key community groups, including service clubs, schools and at strata group meetings. Cleanaway has found education and recycling projects based in schools to be very popular and successful. A range of other methods are used for disseminating information including printed material for all ratepayers, displays at shopping centres, and media releases.
Cleanaway has found education to be more successful when it is provided ‘face to face’ such as at strata group meetings. Cleanaway believes that to improve waste minimisation and recycling education in South Australia, central information resources are needed (such as central list of useful education websites) to assist contractor and council based staff with their education programs. Improved central resources will save time for staff with education responsibilities and minimise duplication in research being undertaken. Cleanaway also believe that the EPA should work with existing waste industry stakeholders and local government to deliver education. Funding assistance to improve council education programs would also assist to improve the current level of education being provided. Consistent issues that could be addressed through state-wide education include ‘ensuring no contamination of recyclable material’ and promoting ‘re-use ideas’.
4.4.12 SITA
SITA provides recycling and/or waste collection services for NAWMA, Barossa Council, Light Regional Council, Onkaparinga Council and Murray Bridge Council. SITA has provided education on behalf of these councils as part of service contracts involving the introduction of new recycling and/or waste collection services. Education provided by SITA for councils has predominantly focused on educating householders how to use new recycling or waste collection systems. In the case of recycling services, education is focused on explaining why the service is needed, the benefits of the service and how to use the collection system. All householders are targeted through distributing information in pamphlets and in local newspapers. SITA believes that overall waste minimisation and recycling education needs to focus on educating the community about why recycling is important, raising awareness on the State Government’s vision for waste minimisation and resource recovery (such as communicating State Government policies in a community friendly manner) and getting householders to recycle as much as possible (currently some smaller recyclable items are not being captured through recycling services). The State Government can also assist by having legislation and financial incentives that promote recycling. SITA believes that schools are an important group to focus on for providing successful community education. Education for the rental community also needs to be improved.
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4.4.13 Recyclers of SA
Recyclers of South Australia Incorporated represent Container Deposit Legislation Depot businesses throughout the State. Recyclers of South Australia are currently working with schools to raise awareness on recycling and improve the recycling of container deposit materials. This is a practical program involving the provision of container deposit recycling collection services for schools. The containers deposit will off-set the cost to provide the collection service. Recyclers of South Australia believe that the hands-on and practical nature of the program will ensure effective education. The Association plans to trail the program with approximately twenty to thirty schools prior to expanding the initiative. Recyclers of South Australia believe that the State Government and councils should help to raise awareness on the location of container deposit depots and other recycling facilities. Details on what recycling businesses collect and their location (on a council by council basis) need to be promoted. This would be particularly important for rural and regional areas where there is no kerbside recycling service provided.
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5 Best Practice
5.1 Key Findings
URS conducted research into interstate and overseas community awareness and eduction programs as a means of benchmarking worlds best practice and the applicability of these elements to the South Australian context.
Key conclusions by URS are:
• Waste Wise Victoria is one of the most successful initiatives in Australia. The key features of their approach are that the program is part of an integrated approach to waste and litter management, it aims to involve people and organisations from across the range of sectors within the community, it is focused on encouraging and assisting waste minimisation, rather than simply communicating information, and it uses a range of methods to reinforce the overall approach.
• International campaigns were found to be successful when they were sustained over a long period, when there was local/regional support, when they targeted the media and obtained their interest and support, and when approaches were both imaginative and energetic.
• It is recommended that both the Victorian Waste Wise Program and the UK Rethinking Rubbish initiative be further reviewed and assessed to assist in the development of educational and awareness raising material and activities. This is as a result of the applicability of both programs to the South Australian context and because of the similar goals and objectives.
5.2 Interstate Information
URS considered a variety of interstate programs and held discussions with relevant staff at News Limited and EcoRecycle Victoria (Waste Wise).
News Limited has a recycling education program, which focuses on the recycling of paper (particularly newsprint). They undertake a range of activities to raise awareness and have associated educational material that outlines exactly how paper is made and how it can be recycled.
We have focused our reporting on the EcoRecycle program in this report as this was considered to be an excellent program for the purpose of benchmarking how an SA community awareness and education program could be developed to assist a Zero Waste strategy.
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5.2.1 The Business of EcoRecycle & Waste Wise
EcoRecycle is a Victorian state statutory agency and has been empowered to be responsible for minimising the creation of waste, promoting the sustainable use of resources, and better managing the disposal of residual waste throughout Victoria.
In the 2000/2001 financial years the agency spent $1,683,127 (19% of the total EcoRecycle expenditure) out of budget allocation of $1,849,396 on Waste Wise Education (its community awareness and education strategy). This equates to 39 cents per head of population in Victoria being spent on Waste Wise related programs. This funded a major program of engaging the community through workshops, conferences, stakeholder survey, community attitudes surveys, and general consultations with industry and local and regional councils. The program has resulted in a 3-year business plan that seeks to effect long term and substantial changes in the way the Victorian community thinks about buying materials and how they use these materials.
The Victorian Waste Wise program is accepted around Australia as one of the more successful waste education and awareness strategies. It is highly publicised and promoted around Victoria and has had a high success rate in changing attitudes to waste management and developing comprehensive educational material. Community attitude surveys have indicated strong participation levels and support for programs. Over 200 businesses have been certified as Waste Wise, 190 additional teachers trained, 60,000 students participated in Waste Wise programs, and over 825 businesses were assisted through the program.
EcoRecycle has established a number of key Corporate Performance Indicators and these consider:
• Effectiveness of programs by measuring total waste diversion, waste disposal to landfills, average household diversion, tonnes of waste reprocessed/recycled, and the amount being invested in the development of the industry in terms of infrastructure and market development.
• Staff morale
• Productivity in terms of milestones achieved and budget/actual comparisons
• Relationships and public perceptions by measuring how beneficial stakeholders see EcoRecycles benefits, community attitudes to waste reduction importance as an issue, use of kerbside recycling, and recycling satisfaction
• Expenditure effectiveness
In the future, it may be worth considering any opportunities for South Australia to link in with Waste Wise Victoria, and potentially introducing “Waste Wise SA”.
5.2.2 The Waste Wise Programs
The key features of the approach taken in this program are that it:
• Is part of an integrated approach to waste and litter management
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• Aims to involve people and organisations from across the range of sectors within the community
• Is focused on encouraging and assisting waste minimisation, rather than simply communicating information; and
• Uses a range of methods to reinforce the overall approach
Waste Wise covers a range of sectors including schools, residents, the retail sector, community groups, business and industry, and construction and demolition. The program encourages local government and local community groups to develop their own waste education strategy based on materials and advice provided by EcoRecycle’s Waste Wise.
The table below provides a detailed review of the various programs run by EcoRecycle in the 2000/2001- year and the interrelationships with a community awareness and education strategy (12).
Table 9: Review of EcoRecycle Programs
EcoRecycle Objectives Key Performance Indicators Community Education & Successes Program Awareness Strategy Element Relationship
Household To ensure long Percentage of population that have Campaign promoting Secured $8.1M Waste Reduction term sustainability access to kerbside recycling involvement in kerbside from NCP work in kerbside plan & Recycling recycling in newspapers recycling Percentage of population covered by drop off facilities - used in kind Collected 312 Provide funding Newspaper advertising tonnes of and advisory Percentage of population that space, EcoRecycle household considers it an essential service services to local funded expansion into chemicals government non-English speaking Percentage of population participating Trials increased Implement best regularly papers. participation practice kerbside significantly Number of Councils receiving Covenant work plan recycling educational publications with funding from Improve community Commonwealth under Number of Councils receiving best education in waste practice program the NCP to run a Best minimisation and Practice Kerbside recycling Number of collection days for Recycling program - collection of household chemical waste Ensure safe seven workshops with disposal of residual Volume of hazardous waste diverted local government waste
Number of Councils that identify waste Trialled paper crate and recycling charges in rate notices collection services in Councils Number of accredited collectors and sorters
Number of councils that return local government survey
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EcoRecycle Objectives Key Performance Indicators Community Education & Successes Program Awareness Strategy Element Relationship
Market To develop new Percentage increase in volume of Buy Recycled Kit for Funded $884,288 Development markets for materials being recycled by type eg LGA's with model for new products recyclable materials steel, paper etc purchasing policy, 50 Group training Number of market development grants programs, guides programs awarded Employed business 5 Business Number of market development development consultant Forums projects commercialised to work with businesses Improved markets Launch of LGA buy recycled alliance for plastics eg Group training and increased price of Recycling Business Number of businesses that received baled PET from Forums business planning assistance $300 to $500 per tonne in 2000 to Percentage increase in vol. of materials %580-%620 in recycled 2001
Number of new products with recycled content at prototype stage
Number of new products with recycled content commercialised
Number of government agencies committed to buying recycled
Number of LGA’s part of Recycled Buyer Alliance
Litter Prevention To reduce litter and Percentage of people who see litter as Radio advertising Reduction in % of & Control increase community an issue campaigns to target Victorians who awareness of think litter is litter reduction in littering and its Percentage of people who think more problem from recreational and road impacts on or better bins or percentage of people 90% to 50% users during summer environment who think education is solution
Number of cooperative cross governmental initiatives
Funds provided for litter traps
Air time of litter related campaigns
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EcoRecycle Objectives Key Performance Indicators Community Education & Successes Program Awareness Strategy Element Relationship
Commerce, To reduce waste to Percentage reduction of waste to Production of Waste Industry & landfill landfills from C&I Minimisation Kit for Government industry sectors Increase Number of Waste Wise businesses sustainable Business sustainability resource recovery Number of regional industry projects course developed with from C&I funded by EcoRecycle TAFE - clean production Reduction in number of shopping bags issued Automotive industry least waste -waste minimisation program
Employment of Industry advisors to work with SME's on waste reduction
Brochure -Recycling is worth the effort in response to perceptions
Development of Code of Practice for Supermarket bags - community involvement
Public Place & To encourage Number of permanent public place Production of Seven 50% of Victorians Event Recycling recycling outside of systems installed Steps to a Waste Wise believe caterers the home should be forced Event Percentage of waste diversion from a to us environ- Funding for Waste Wise Event Employment of Regional friendly permanent systems packaging and Number of regions adapting Waste Education Officers in public places 95% believe that Wise Event model should be Development and encouraged to do Number of Waste Wise Events promotion of a Public so Place Recycling Number of events using Eco-Recycling 87% of Victorians Events equipment Standard want public place recycling
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EcoRecycle Objectives Key Performance Indicators Community Education & Successes Program Awareness Strategy Element Relationship
Organics Reduce amount of Percentage increase in number of Home Composting Launched Green Recovery green waste going people claiming to be involved in Campaign including Waste Action Plan to landfill composting radio, brochures, and Launched Garden Increase effective Funding given to organics related regional publicity Organics brand - recovery of green infrastructure programs accredited quality waste Number of compost market Quality in the Compost Best Practice Increase public development projects Short Course (1 day) Guide - awareness and use Composting Volume of garden organics of recycled organics Sponsored a Recycled Green Organics reprocessed Garden Display Launched Zoogro Volume of organics reprocessed compost with Web site inclusion of garden organics Percentage reduction in green organics organic recovery section going to landfill
Number of participants that attend training courses
Percentage of population aware of organics bandings
Resource To provide funding Appointment of Full Recovery & to develop and Time Regional upgrade public and Waste Education Officers private Management infrastructure for waste management and resource recovery
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EcoRecycle Objectives Key Performance Indicators Community Education & Successes Program Awareness Strategy Element Relationship
Waste Wise To achieve a Number of regions with operating Employment of Regional Education demonstrated Waste Wise eduction plans Education Officers - increase in encourage businesses community Number of councils to become Waste Wise knowledge and developing/implementing Waste Wise accredited and LGA Buy improved attitudes strategies and practice in Recycled Alliance Number of businesses becoming waste avoidance Waste Wise certified and sustainable Community Forums practices Number of community initiatives Grants to local funded community groups to
Number of community forums held run Waste Wise projects
Attendances at community workshops Media Training for Regional Education Number of schools using Waste Wise Officers and Local kits Education Officers - Number of teachers trained in Waste more media articles Wise Waste Wise Teacher Number of participants in Waste Wise Training and Waste Wise education centres School Programs
Waste Wise Education Centres
Communications To achieve a high Percentage of web site users living in & Information level of community Australia ownership in waste minimisation issues Average time spent on the web
To support Number of events programs through Number of event attendees campaigns, information Number of press releases resources,
community Number of info line contacts advertising and media promotions Funds for sponsoring
A significant amount of EcoRecycle’s background research, trends, ideas and recommendations are extremely useful and as a result of this, Waste Wise has been referred to throughout this strategy.
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5.3 International Information
URS searched popular and educational / organisational internet search engines and advertising industry site repositories to review some of the more popular strategies designed and implemented overseas as means to establish worlds best practice.
Much of the existing multi media (TV/Radio/Print) advertising was found to be for global or national wildlife funds and there did not appear to be much large-scale mainstream media creative work done for recycling programs. The majority of initiatives seemed to be brochure-based and marketed directly to consumers via regional bodies, councils and relevant authorities. However, some examples of overseas promotional creative work that were found include:
• UK National Waste Awareness Initiative (NWAI) “Rethink Rubbish”
• Integra UK
• Bristol “Rubbish Revolution”
• Anglian Region Waste Awareness Campaign (implementing aspects of NWAI) “Slim your Bin”
• UK national government campaign “Doing Your Bit”
• Ireland – Repak campaign
• Sweden – battery recycling campaign
Some of these campaigns are discussed below.
5.3.1 The National Waste Initiative of the UK
The most interesting, professional and successful campaigns internationally that was reviewed by URS were those developed in the UK, in particular, a campaign format produced by the National Waste Awareness Initiative (NWAI) of the UK entitled Rethink Rubbish (31), which was developed from formal research and creative elements relating to the findings of the research.
This ambitious national UK program aims to encourage and maintain positive change in public awareness, attitudes and, very importantly, behaviour to waste production and management. Significant research into professional development of messages for mass communication of recycling programs was undertaken in the development of this initiative. The program’s purpose was to assist the National Waste Awareness Initiative group in the development of an effective advertising campaign designed to shift household attitudes and behaviour in relation to recycling and waste management.
Qualitative market research carried out in the United Kingdom for the National Waste Awareness Initiative group was contained principally in a document titled: Rethinking Rubbish – Towards a New Campaign: Research into the Most Effective and Appropriate Way of Communicating National Messages to Encourage Attitude Change & Actions on Waste (15).
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As an aside, due to the fact that the parameters for this extensive research project were almost identical to those deemed necessary by the South Australian EPA, the findings were referred to Bell Marketing 2 for assessment and confirmation. This British research data was deemed relevant for South Australian circumstances and the research methodology approved by Bell Marketing.
In order to develop an effective campaign, the National Waste Awareness Initiative commissioned a major research program to look at the most appropriate ways of communicating messages on waste. The objectives here were to research, devise and test a series of campaign themes and messages that would be most effective in delivering changes in public attitudes to, and awareness of, waste. The following key areas were investigated:
• Awareness Potential: The ability of the campaign themes to intrude and be noticed in a world where every company, every charity and every issue is attempting to grab the average consumer’s attention in any way it can.
• Understanding: How well the key action and awareness messages are delivered by the campaign themes: are they lost in exciting, visual displays or do the audience come away knowing what they are being told.
• Response: How people might respond to such messages, whether they would be likely to respond to them at all and what might motivate them to respond in the first place.
• Ongoing Benefits: The possibility of inspiring ongoing action, commitment, awareness and local research into waste matters even after the initial campaign has finished.
• Motivating Evidence: Responses to facts and messages regarding waste issues – determining which messages prove to be the most motivating.
• Pitfalls: To ascertain where possible negative aspects and barriers exist to allow avoidance of these if possible.
• Visuals: Determining which visual styles would prove to be the most effective means of presenting the campaign themes.
One of the major findings of the report was that understanding the audience is crucial when it comes to communicating with them about any subject, especially when the message involves a change in actions.
Importantly, the research also highlighted the most basic communication gap between experts in the industry, government, organisations and the general public. Waste minimisation, Waste reduction, Recycling, Reusing and Composting are all important concepts and all widely understood by those involved in the waste management industry. However, the vast majority of the population does not work within the industry and tends to view ‘waste’ as a rather pungent and unsavoury issue that evokes images
2 Bell Marketing Pty Ltd is a South Australian marketing company consulting to private industry and state and federal government agencies, specialising in public relations and image marketing and advertising. Bell Marketing works extensively with Sexton Market Research on campaign assessment and auditing.
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of putrid rubbish dumps. Thus the concepts mentioned above are, at best, understood in only the vaguest of terms by the average member of the public.
The report therefore reflects upon public reaction to the topics raised and highlights potential issues that may be of concern when attempting to communicate with members of the public.
In September 2001 the NWAI conducted a second period of research designed to further determine public opinion about rubbish and the ways in which the issue can be communicated most effectively. The research supported the use of 'Rethink Rubbish' as the campaign brand and recommended a positive approach to communicating waste issues. Most noticeable, between the first phase of research and this follow-up stage, is a perceptible shift in the belief that a mass market campaign with multi media applications would be the likely result – when in fact a lower profile but broader, locally delivered campaign with links to local organisations has been the result to date.
5.3.2 The ‘Rubbish Revolution’
The “Rubbish Revolution” was a three-year campaign, which was launched in November 1998 (30). It is a partnership between the Bristol Recycling Consortium, Bristol City Council, SITA and ResourceSaver and receives around £171,000 per year through the landfill tax credits system from SITA Environmental Trust.
The campaign has a set of SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound) targets, has a practical educational program in schools and is linked to developments in recycling infrastructure. After all, it is no good creating and facilitating awareness and willingness if there are no adequate services and facilities in place.
With the Rubbish Revolution, Bristol created an effective branding and promotional theme, which gives the campaign a strong identity and reinforces the desired messages. A wide range of publicity materials were produced (leaflets, posters, recycling bank stickers, promotional giveaways, exhibition panels, etc.) together with a small amount of well targeted advertising to provide further support to the campaign.
5.3.3 The ‘Slim Your Bin’ Campaign
The “Slim Your Bin” campaign was initiated in the Anglia Region and was a partnership between local authorities, waste companies and Anglia Television (29). A promotional campaign was centered around a series of TV programs focusing on the waste problem. It sought to encourage the public to compost at home, buy recycled products and make use of their local recycling facilities.
The Anglia Region Waste Awareness Campaign (ARWAC) is, as the name suggests, a regional campaign with 41 participating councils supported by Anglia Television and independent local radio stations. The campaign cost around £145,000 and had an additional £100,000 worth of free airtime from Anglia Television. It is also being used as a trial for the forthcoming National Waste Awareness Initiative. The campaign strategy was essentially based on three principles: shock, action, reward. The first step was to shock people with the cost of waste disposal, the second was to motivate people by showing them small actions that can make a difference, and the final step was to show them what the rewards are.
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The Anglia and Bristol campaigns are very different yet they have three key similarities:
• They were sustained over a long period
• There was local/regional support
• They targeted the media and obtained their interest and support
• The approaches were both imaginative and energetic
5.3.4 ‘Doing Your Bit’ – United Kingdom
In the UK, one of the most promoted campaigns in the past 3 years was the “Doing Your Bit” campaign, which covers a wide range of eco-friendly concepts – from car-pooling, to saving fossil fuels, to reducing electricity wastage (32). For the recycling section of the campaign, well-known ‘personality’ soccer player George Best was advertised and promoted around the country binning one of his famous vodka bottles to “do his bit”! Further information can be seen at http://www.doingyourbit.org.uk.
As an aside, in the UK there has been considerable success in bringing commercial organisations into the recycling movement, partially through the element of voluntary stewardship for the goods they have sold. The element of stewardship (taking some corporate responsibility to follow the life cycle process from manufacture of goods to final use) is being promoted strongly by governments and lobby groups in the US as well.
Education and awareness by travelling promotional ‘Road Shows’ have also appeared recently in the UK as a form of community awareness medium that communicate a range of entertaining messages and give away a range of promotional materials. This is then followed up with educational advice via brochures and links to websites. Importantly, these campaigns are closely linked with multiple sponsoring organisations such as major supermarket chains – where local stores organised advance promotions around the appearance of the visiting ‘Road Show’. One of these road shows was implemented as part of the “Rethink Rubbish” campaign discussed above, and an excerpt from British newspapers about the road show is outlined below.
“From June 2002 onwards a strange new spectacle will be witnessed as the Rethink Rubbish 'Giant Dustbin' takes to the streets of the UK! The giant dustbin will be touring town and city centres, high streets and shopping centres to promote the Rethink Rubbish campaign to the public. The giant dustbin provides the perfect opportunity to directly engage with the public at a personal level and provide simple, relevant advice on reducing rubbish. During June and July 2002 the giant dustbin will visit 20 major locations within England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Following this initial run the bin will be available for hire by organisations to support local Rethink Rubbish promotions.”
5.4 Waste Education Internet sites
A number of waste education and industry internet sites were also reviewed in order to contribute to the development of this strategy. Websites that were reviewed included:
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• EcoRecycle Victoria
• Visy Recycling
• Recyclers of South Australia Inc.
• Waste Management Committee of South Australia
• KESAB
• Planet Ark
• Waste Wise Western Australia
• Its a Living Thing
• Ollie Recycles
• The Beverage Industry Environment Council
• Earth Works (NSW EPA)
• Resource NSW
• Publishers National Environment Bureau
• The Plastics and Chemicals Industries Association (PACIA)
• The Steel Can Recycling Council
Relevant sections of these websites were reviewed during the development of this strategy.
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The site map for EcoRecycle is shown below and is a good example of a quality site that provides useful information.
ABOUT ABOUT THIS Media Releases News & Events ECORECYCLE ORGANISATION Organisational Chart HOMEPAGE
GRANTS
GUIDE TO RECYCLING List of Municipal Organisations Map of Victoria SERVICES IN Map of Melbourne VICTORIA List of Commercial Organisations
HOUSEHOLD CHEMICAL COLLECTION DAYS
INFORMATION SHEETS Garbage Waste Facts The 3 R's - Reduce, Reuse Recycle Waste Tips OUR PROGRAMS Paper Recycling Plastics Recycling Glass Recycling PUBLICATIONS Steel Can Recycling Aluminium Can Recycling Milk and Juice Carton Recycling SEMINAR NOTES Composting Composting Methods Troubleshooting Compost Wormeries Resources Key Contacts Action for Consumers Action for Producers, Distributors & Retailers STATISTICS HDPE Plastics Liquid Paperboard Steel Cans and Old Newspaper Quantities of Material Recycled 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1996 Landfill Levy BIEC Findings REGIONAL WASTE List of Regional Waste Management Groups MANAGEMENT Statewide Waste GROUPS Management Regions Metropolitan Waste Management Regions
5-13 Changing Community Behaviour SECTION 6
6 Changing Community Behaviour
6.1 Key findings
In working towards a Zero Waste vision, it is important to establish the current behavioural patterns of the community so that the required change can be properly mapped. The Strategy can then deal with how to encourage the behavioural change to deliver the vision.
URS Investigations into Behavioural Changes revealed:
• South Australians need to accept and embrace recycling as a positive and beneficial activity. • Behaviour is linked to the availability of services and facilities and the level of understanding.
• Environmental values have been linked to recycling behaviour. • Recycling is fundamentally a different behaviour from avoidance, reduction and reuse. • Attitudes are not always directly linked to participation - people tend to give socially desirable answers to questions.
• Psychological factors in decision-making involve, perceiving the information, favourably evaluating the information, understanding the information and remembering the information.
• Positional factors in decision-making include provision of recycling facilities and services by council and sufficient space available to store crates or recycling bins.
• To change to a particular behaviour, a person must perceive the activity as beneficial, reflect their own values, find it easy to understand and adopt, and try the behaviour and feel that the results of the trial are viewed positively by their peers.
• In order to achieve the behaviour changes required it is important to inform about what happens to waste locally and increase awareness and understanding of relevant waste issues.
6.2 A Culture of Convenience
The National Waste Awareness Initiative in the United Kingdom (31) has found that one of the greatest influences on today’s society is “time-starvation”. We live in a high-pressure world where nothing can ever be done fast enough. To match the hectic pace of life it is deemed necessary to be able to use items once and throw them away, as opposed to having to go through the inconvenience of cleaning and reusing. The greatest barrier faced when it comes to attempting to change consumer attitudes is the fact that convenience is firmly entrenched in society as a way of life. The cultures of convenience and disposability are continually gathering momentum and once a certain lifestyle is adopted it is very hard to go back to less convenient ways of life.
In order to deal with all of this there is a tendency to ignore the negative effects of actions and it is felt that there is little that can be done by the average person. In other words, it is believed that there is no power of one. It is this feeling of disempowerment that tends to lead to the belief that one person cannot change the world and that it is not worth the inconvenience to even try.
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The National Waste Awareness Initiative, UK, believe that the most obvious message from this is that the reduction of waste has to fit in with our existing lifestyle and be, above all else, convenient.
6.3 Community Attitudes to Waste Recycling in South Australia
In 2000, the South Australian Waste Management Committee commissioned McGregor Tan Research to undertake a benchmark survey of community attitudes to waste recycling (20). This research was commissioned to examine any variation in city and regional attitudes towards waste management and recycling, as well as to assess the impact of Container Deposit Legislation (CDL). The objectives of this research were to:
• Determine the views of the public on recycling and other waste management issues
• Identify the range of issues that people think are important in terms of waste reduction and environmental protection
• Determine current attitudes and behaviour about reducing household waste.
• Identify trends and changes to attitudes and behaviour in relation to recycling and waste disposal
• Provide an assessment of current perceptions on specific issues such as:
• Kerbside recycling
• Types of items recycled
• Composting
• Litter disposal.
• Provide a profile of people who are recycling and disposing waste sensitively, as opposed to those who are not
• Identify the motivations, which lead people to recycle
• Identify the factors, which inhibit recycling
• Assess differences in views and behaviour in metropolitan and rural areas
• Provide specific feedback on perceptions on the Container Deposit Legislation.
Some of the major outcomes of this survey demonstrated that:
• The way we collect and dispose of waste in South Australia was felt to be important to 96% of respondents
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• Most households provided with a container for recycling had at least one person in the house that was enthusiastic and active about recycling and ensured that things were recycled properly
• 100% of respondents claimed that they were confused about what can and cannot be recycled (indicating that households require more detailed and more frequently circulated information about what can and cannot be recycled)
This would seem to imply that behaviour is linked to the availability of services and facilities and the level of education and understanding about waste issues. In order to determine the relative value and applicability of this research today, and its potential for use in the development of an awareness strategy, Bell Marketing reviewed the market research document. They determined that the research was indeed still relevant and that it had the further benefit of setting a pre- campaign ‘benchmark’ or ‘baseline’ for the EPA to further measure any shifts in attitudes when a campaign is eventually created and exposed to the public.
6.4 How to Change Behaviour
Environmental values have been linked to recycling behaviour. Those who value the environment for its intrinsic worth have been found more likely to behave in environmentally appropriate ways. Interestingly, a study recently undertaken in the United Kingdom has shown that recycling is fundamentally a different behaviour from reduction and reuse. Reduction is undertaken least often, followed by reuse, with a majority of people participating in recycling. Attitude was found to be an important predictor of recycling behaviour, however access to a kerbside-recycling bin was also found to be very important (14). This demonstrates the importance that council and infrastructure support play in recycling participation. This study found that having access to kerbside recycling facilities, having a good knowledge of this facility, perceiving that recycling is easy and convenient and the influence of others’ recycling behaviour was likely to lead to more positive recycling behaviour.
Likewise, a separate study from Devon in the United Kingdom (2) outlined that there are three fundamental sets of variables that are likely to influence action. First, underlying environmental values have been found to positively influence waste behaviour, secondly, situational variables such as socio- demographics and social context can influence waste behaviour, and finally, psychological factors can influence waste behaviour. This is supported by recent Australian Bureau of Statistics data that shows that a common reason why people do not recycle is because of the absence of recycling services or facilities (1).
There have been several surveys undertaken in the past five years on community attitudes to waste reduction and recycling (for example, surveys by EcoRecycle Victoria in 2001 and the South Australian survey described previously). Despite apparent high rates of both environmental concern and participation in recycling by households displayed in the outcomes of these surveys, in truth actual participation rates are much lower. This would seem to be a common trait in many environmental awareness and participation surveys. The main reason for this is because people tend to give socially desirable answers
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to questions. People also tend to ignore information that does not fit with their existing ideas and way of life.
EcoRecycle Victoria’s Waste Wise program maintains that there are two key principles relevant to the development of strategies for waste education (9). These are:
1. People learn and are motivated in different ways, so waste education needs to embrace a range of approaches if it is to involve most of the community.
2. Learning to minimise waste will be reinforced if it takes place through a variety of mutually supporting avenues. In other words, it needs to occur in all the contexts of people’s lives whether at home, work, play, school, or the shops.
According to the booklet Motivating Home Energy Action: A Handbook of What Works (produced by the Australian Greenhouse Office) (23) there are psychological factors that influence a decision-makers information processing:
• Perceiving the information
• Favourably evaluating the information
• Understanding the information
• Remembering the information
There are also positional factors or characteristics of decision-makers that influence their decisions. These are related to their physical ability to carryout the actions required. In relation to waste reduction and recycling, the positional factors would mainly be:
• Provision of recycling facilities and services by council
• Sufficient space available to store crates or recycling bins
The psychological and positional factors then interact to help form a person’s decision.
Surveys in general show that the majority of people support the idea that waste reduction and recycling are important and that we should all be participating. Despite this, many people are still not recycling or attempting to reduce packaging on store-brought products. Importantly, people are not made aware of this discrepancy. When people do realise that their actions are inconsistent with their attitudes they become uncomfortable. To feel comfortable again people then either change their actions to match their attitude, or, change their attitude to match their actions. In order to change actions to meet attitudes the following strategies can be employed:
• Using prompts to remind people to participate in a certain action (in this case recycling and waste reduction); or
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• Convincing people to either start recycling a little at a time or acting on the fact that many people already recycle to a limited extent. Once people see themselves as acting freely in a certain way, they come to see themselves as believing in that sort of activity, and hence, believing in waste reduction.
Therefore, it can be said that the most successful media campaigns repeatedly expose the public to the message, point out that positive attitudes call for positive actions and then implement supporting policies and education.
Social Marketing
‘Social marketing’ was a term discussed at the Australian Association of Environmental Education Conference in 1999 (25) to describe activities that aim to change human behaviour by using marketing tools. There are many different models and approaches; however one of the most relevant to this type of strategy is the ‘stages of persuasion’ approach. This describes the steps that a person must be persuaded to pass through in order to assimilate a desired behaviour. These steps are:
• Exposure to the message
• Attention to the message
• Interest in, or, personal relevance of the message
• Understanding of the message
• Personalising the behaviour to fit one’s life
• Accepting the change
• Remembering the message and continuing to agree with it
• Being able to think of it
• Making decisions based on bringing the message to mind
• Behaving as decided
• Receiving positive reinforcement for behaviour
• Accepting the behaviour into one’s life.
In other words, a person must perceive the activity as beneficial, see it as in accordance with their own values, find it easy to understand and adopt, try the behaviour and feel that the results of the trial are viewed positively by their peers.
An important point to remember that came out of the Australian Association of Environmental Education Conference in 1999, relates to the concept of education. Education is not simply about transferring facts; it is also about building social confidence, capabilities and empowerment.
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EcoRecycle’s Waste Wise program in Victoria has found that the most difficult challenges to creating waste conscious behaviour include how to influence adult attitudes and behaviour, how to get effective action at the high end of the waste hierarchy (reducing and reusing rather than just recycling), and how to achieve sustained participation in waste reduction programs. Research in two communities running Waste Wise programs indicated changes in adult thinking and behaviour (19). In one particular area, a high percentage of parents said that the Waste Wise program at their children’s school had changed their thinking about reducing, reusing, composting and recycling. This thinking has, importantly, translated to action. For example, 80% of parents said that they had changed the way they pack their lunch for work as a result of a rubbish-free lunch initiative in which they helped their children design a low-waste school lunch. Part of the change process is for schools to set an example of sustainable waste management, with statistics demonstrating that the program really is working in getting people to actively reduce and reuse waste.
This demonstrates the importance that school waste reduction activities can have in influencing parents of students. This is one way that behavioural change can flow from certain members of the family (or even community) to others.
6.5 Behavioural Outcomes Required
One of the most important behavioural outcomes required from this strategy is the need for South Australians to embrace recycling as a routine part of the normal household regime.
A community attitudes survey undertaken in Victoria by EcoRecycle in 2001 demonstrates that the proportion of households that claim to be consciously reducing the amount of materials coming into the home has declined from 22% to 5% (26). Compared to a similar survey undertaken in 1998, significantly more residents have stated that as long as rubbish was taken away they were not concerned with what happened to it. At a regional level, significantly smaller proportions of individuals in small urban towns chose household products that were better for the environment and, since 1998, people’s willingness to pay for recycling through their rates has also decreased.
Similarly, Australian Bureau of Statistics data also shows that the proportion of people expressing concern for the environment has declined slowly since 1992 (1). It was found that people with higher incomes and more education are more likely to express concern for the environment, although statistics also show that in 2000, 97% of Australians claim to recycle ‘some’ items of waste. All these facts demonstrate that, using Victoria as an example, attitudes to waste reduction and recycling are not positive and that it indeed may be time to design and implement broad awareness raising strategies.
In order to achieve the behaviour changes required it would appear that it is important to:
• Provide knowledge about what waste is
• Inform about what happens to waste locally
• Inform about the problems associated with waste
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• Increase awareness of waste issues
• Increase understanding about waste reduction, reuse and recycling
• Enable the community to make choices about their behaviour in relation to waste
• Enable the community to become part of the solution rather than part of the problem.
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7 Community Sectors in South Australia
7.1 The Different Groups
In order to undertake a successful environmental awareness and education initiative it is important to build a picture of the people and organisations throughout South Australia. This is necessary because different people and organisations may require different approaches if they are to become actively involved in waste minimisation. Examples of community sectors in South Australia include:
• Different ethnic groups • Regional and rural community service groups
• Indigenous groups • Females/Males
• Low, medium and high-income groups • Students
• Homeowners • Teenagers
• Renters/Tenants • Households that do not recycle
• Different age groups • Workers
• Senior Citizens • Tourists
• Families/Households • Sports groups
• Church groups • Etc Section 7.4 identifies key target community sectors based on interviews with councils and other organisations and general research. Importantly, households can be targeted at their homes, at their work, at school, shops and play.
7.2 Available Information on Participation
There is limited information available on exactly which community sectors perform better than others in regard to waste avoidance, reduction, reuse and recycling. Where possible, research was reviewed to determine any trends that could be applied to this strategy.
A study in Glasgow, Scotland found that past recycling behaviour and intentions to recycle were related to age and occupation (14). ‘Older’ people and people in non-manual occupations were found to be more likely to recycle (in fact, in South Australia, people over the age of 65 were found to participate the least in recycling, as outlined below). Interestingly, a large number of respondents of the Scottish survey added comments to their response sheets, of which the most common was that the provision of regular home collection services was vital in securing participation, as was the need for more education about waste issues.
In the South Australian benchmark survey of community attitudes to waste recycling undertaken by McGregor Tan for the South Australian Waste Management Committee (20), residents over 65 years of age were the least aware of environmental and waste management issues and were much less likely to take personal action to help protect the environment.
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This study also showed that in South Australia:
• The female head of the household was found to be the most likely to be active about recycling
• Female respondents were more likely than male respondents to select goods with less packaging
• Young adults (18 to 24 year olds) were most likely to consider environmental responsibility as the main reason why they recycle
• Respondents aged 55 to 64 years of age were the most likely age group to have a compost heap or worm farm to dispose of kitchen waste
• Students were the most likely to agree to the statement that there is a great deal they can do as individuals to help the environment
7.3 Targeting Information to Specific Groups
The Waste Wise Program of EcoRecycle Victoria has found that the flexibility of their state-wide program to suit local differences and to encourage a sense of local ownership is a key feature of its success (9). Success was also found to depend on effective partnerships between EcoRecycle, Regional Waste Management Groups, local councils, the waste industry and waste education organisations.
In Victoria recently a campaign was held called 101 Ways to Keep Victoria Fit (as outlined in Motivating Home Energy Action: A Handbook of What Works (23)). Researchers reviewing this campaign felt that a key factor contributing to the lack of success of the campaign was the failure to understand important market segments, choose segments to target, and build the campaign around the chosen community segments. Alternatively, the Quit (anti-smoking) campaign selected particular groups (for example young people) for targeted action and designed information and persuasion programs to appeal to those particular groups.
These programs are completely different to waste education programs, however, the concepts are the same. Although it is effective to have broad or general awareness campaigns, in many cases it is important to decide which group to target and then develop actions and strategies appropriate to those groups. It is important to remember that people are different and that different strategies will motivate different people in different ways. Section 7.4 discusses the key target sectors for this strategy and provides information on how they can be included in waste education and awareness.
7.4 Key Target Sectors
Ideally waste education and awareness would involve the whole of the South Australian community, however in developing and implementing strategies there is the need to balance the aim of involving as many sectors and organisations as possible with the constraint of not spreading resources too thinly. There is therefore a choice between:
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• Determining key community sectors that require targeted education and awareness activities as a result of poor levels of participation in the past
• Identifying those areas that already actively participate in recycling and target education campaigns at them to increase levels of recycling and decrease levels of contamination in recyclables
Within the proposed scope for the EPA’s community education and awareness strategy, it is possible that both of these groups can be included. For example, broad state-wide education messages and information will hopefully help to improve levels of recycling amongst groups that are already participating, as well as across the state in general, whilst key awareness raising material targeted to particular groups will help flag the issue and increase knowledge and appreciation of waste management issues.
To this end the following groups have been identified, through interviews with councils, other waste organisations and general research, as key target community sectors (keeping in mind that our main target group is the whole of South Australia!).
Rural and Regional Communities
Rural and regional community groups do not usually have the same services in terms of waste management and recycling as people who reside in Metropolitan Adelaide. Some regional areas have kerbside recycling services but the majority of rural areas do not. Although awareness raising and broad education messages can be promoted in these areas, detailed educational messages will need to be targeted to their specific circumstances. The Outback Areas Community Development Trust, Development Boards, and councils can all be used to help determine the most appropriate ways of delivering messages here. In particular, community service groups such as Apex, Rotary and Lions Clubs are central to ensuring that messages are delivered via the appropriate channels. Additionally, there is the opportunity for community service groups to be seen implementing recycling programs at their community events and talking to people about recycling. This would raise the profile of waste management and hopefully encourage people to think about their own practices.
Flat and Unit Dwellers
In many areas of Adelaide it would be appropriate to focus waste minimisation education on flat and unit dwellers. Issues for flats and units that make them distinct from separate dwellings include:
• Communal facilities for garbage collection
• Lack of recycling facilities, particularly in high rise flats and apartments
• A high turnover of residents
• Incentives may flow to non-resident owners or managers and not to tenants
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In order to encourage waste minimisation it is important to provide services that are simple and easy to understand. Real estate agents, body corporates, strata managers and tenants’ associations would be the key groups here to provide avenues of communication to residents. A community waste minimisation coordinator (as discussed in section 9.3.3) could be central to having a successful waste reduction and recycling system.
Ethnic Communities
Programs aimed at the general community may not reach ethnic communities because of language and other cultural differences. In South Australia the Australian Bureau of Statistics has identified that, the three most common languages spoken at home other than English were Italian, Greek and Vietnamese. As a result of this it would be advantageous to implement programs focused specifically on the Italian, Greek and Vietnamese ethnic communities.
Waste Wise Victoria recommend the following steps in developing programs for ethnic communities:
• Identify the major non-English speaking background communities in the area
• Identify key networks, groups and contacts (council community liaison officers and migrant resource centres are good starting points here)
• Translate awareness and education materials into the appropriate languages
• Utilise staff or community volunteers who speak the relevant languages to help in delivering and implementing the programs
• Try to link the programs to something the participants value and make them relevant to their activities
• Link programs to other waste initiatives in the state
South Australian Housing Trust Tenants
The South Australian Housing Trust is responsible for managing and administering housing for thousands of South Australians. An opportunity exists for the EPA, relevant councils and the Housing Trust to cooperatively develop a range of educational and awareness raising material to target this specific sector. An opportunity exists for the Housing Trust to work with relevant councils and organisations to ensure that their residents are aware and educated about waste issues and have a full understanding of their local recycling services.
Holiday Makers in Rural/Regional Areas
At specific times during the year (for example, Christmas, Easter and school holidays) in South Australia the population of some rural and regional towns can double or even triple through visitation by tourists
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and holiday-makers. Generally, throughout the state, there are very few recycling facilities available at recreational areas and an opportunity exists for public place recycling bins and associated awareness raising and educational signage, posters and banners to be placed at key areas such as:
• Caravan parks
• Camping areas
• Popular beaches
• In the streets of tourist towns
• At holiday shack areas
Information could also be circulated through existing networks including the RAA, caravan and camping associations, Tourism SA and houseboats associations.
Youth
Young people are an important target audience for waste reduction and recycling awareness and education as a result of their lifestyles. In this strategy, ‘youth’ has been defined as essentially high school aged people from about the age of 13 through to 19. Not all young people attend educational institutions and are therefore not participating in curriculum based waste education. In addition to this, they may not identify with other waste programs aimed at the general community. Therefore, any waste education and awareness campaign should consider avenues for reaching young people outside of the school system.
To develop a youth education program, Waste Wise Victoria suggests the following key steps:
• Develop a profile on the recreational activities undertaken by young people in South Australian. This can be obtained from Youth Services, Councils, Census Data, local street magazines and School and University newspapers.
• Compile a list of avenues to reach youth, for example nightclubs, hotels, live music venues, underage clubs, youth-oriented radio stations, recreation areas (such as skate parks) etc.
• Prioritise sectors where assistance with waste reduction and recycling is warranted.
• Develop a program in line with the overall campaign, which will reach youth through the avenues identified. This may just be using material already developed or it may include reviewing material to change language styles and messages.
Senior Citizens
Senior citizens (Over the age of 60) are a difficult group to categorise because in Australian studies they have been shown less likely to participate in waste reduction and recycling, whilst on the other hand, they have been shown to be the most likely to participate in household composting. Awareness raising and
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broad educational material could be targeted at senior citizens through Senior Citizens groups as an initial step. Demonstrations on composting, worm-farming and recycling would be a useful activity here, as would face to face communications regarding waste management and displays at shopping centres and gardening shows and nurseries.
New Residents
New residents to council areas or towns can face confusion if they have moved to an area with different recycling services. People moving from the City of Charles Sturt to the City of Burnside, for example, would be facing a different recycling system with a different collection service. One way of overcoming this, which is also discussed in Section 3.4, is the provision of a New Residents Information Brochure. This brochure could include, amongst general recycling and waste reduction awareness issues and messages, details about their new recycling system and when and how to use it. Awareness and education material could also be generated and distributed through real estate and rental companies.
Households that Currently Do Not Recycle
Many households in South Australia either do not participate in recycling or do not participate to the extent that they could be. This may be due to a lack of enthusiasm or lack of concern for environmental issues, or it could be due to a lack of understanding. Many of the activity options listed in Section 9 could target this community sector and help increase participation rates. In particular, community volunteer programs have been shown to be particularly successful in increasing participation rates by utilising face- to-face communication about waste issues.
Full-time Workers
The majority of full time workers are not home during the day and do not get time to visit education centres unlike many students and community groups. Full time workers with children at school will often become aware of waste reduction and recycling issues through their children passing on what they have learnt at school but may think that they do not have the time to participate fully in household recycling. Methods of raising awareness and educating this community sector are included in Section 3.4.
Key Target Groups for South Australia Include:
• Flat and unit dwellers
• New residents
• Ethnic communities, particularly Italian, Greek and Vietnamese
• Renters/tenants, including Housing Trust tenants
• Rural and regional communities • Full-time workers
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• Holiday makers • Youth
• Senior Citizens • Households that currently do not recycle Indigenous groups are a key consideration in any education and awareness campaign. Material needs to be developed that is relevant to indigenous issues and culture and that is presented in appropriate language. The Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement, the Division of State Aboriginal Affairs, state and local Heritage Committees and Educational institutions specialising in Indigenous education would be initial starting points for further developing awareness and education of waste issues for Indigenous people.
Households, like community sectors, differ in their willingness to reduce, reuse or recycle waste, therefore, certain households could also be targeted with awareness raising material. Information campaigns could also be directed at areas where surveys reveal poor levels of knowledge.
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8 Communication and Information Material
8.1 Promotional Theme/Brand
A general waste minimisation promotional theme can be used to link different programs and initiatives. A promotional theme can appear on all promotional material (such as posters, banners, stickers, advertising etc) and if used widely can help to:
• Raise the profile of waste reduction and recycling as activities that occur everywhere.
• Reinforce waste minimisation actions across the range of sectors and activities.
• Give people a background familiarity with waste reduction and recycling.
• Aim to make it socially desirable to participate in waste minimisation, and socially unacceptable not to.
The promotional theme can be used through local media, on prepared awareness raising and education materials and information and in association with all local waste minimisation programs. Examples would include using the theme on stickers for wheelie bins and recycling bins and crates, on shopping bags and hats where incentive giveaways are used and to give local events a theme.
To choose and use a promotional theme, EcoRecycle Victoria’s Waste Wise program (9) recommends:
• Choose a simple and easily understood theme that invokes the waste reduction and recycling message. A school competition could be one way of generating a theme.
• Consider how the theme could be applied to different programs and actions across the state.
• Develop promotional and awareness raising material that uses the theme.
• Launch the campaign using the theme.
• Use the theme in subsequent waste minimisation initiatives.
The promotional theme could incorporate key recognition messages and slogans, examples of others include:
• Becoming Waste Wise
• Recycling is Worth the Effort
• The War on Waste
• Reduce Reuse Recycle
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8.2 Key Messages
Information, when presented by itself, does not motivate action or participation. Too often strategies are developed with the assumption that people will undertake necessary actions once they are provided with information that shows them what they should do and how they should do it. It is important to remember that vague messages like ‘recycle’ are ineffective. Information that explains exactly what the decision maker needs to do is effective.
Education and awareness strategies must therefore utilise the following approaches:
• Use clear, concise and simple language
• Personalise information – outline why a particular issue is directly relevant to the audience
• Make concrete recommendations that will not require a major change in behaviour from the normal situation
• Use credible sources to backup statements and prove that the particular change in behaviour does actually work
• Tailor information to specific users
• Make people feel good when they recycle
• Be positive! Scare tactics do not often work.
Examples of good awareness-raising messages from the Irish REPAK campaign include, for example, that the average household produces over a tonne of waste per annum, one person generates an average of ten times their bodyweight in rubbish every year, approximately one third of household waste is packaging waste, and that over two thirds of household waste is recyclable.
The community attitudes survey undertaken in Victoria by EcoRecycle in 2001 made the following important recommendations about key messages, which are relevant to this strategy:
• It is important to raise awareness levels of the relationship between waste management issues and broad environmental issues in the community.
• It is important to develop an understanding that action at the local level will contribute to overall benefits to the environment.
• There is a need to emphasise the benefits of waste reduction and recycling and the costs of NOT doing so.
• Work with the industry to educate the community on appropriate recycling, including what can and cannot be recycled.
• Keep exposing the community to the issues and the messages.
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• Ensure that what is recommended by waste awareness strategies, is implemented at public events wherever possible.
Additionally, a study undertaken in the United Kingdom (The Surrey Waste Attitudes and Actions Study, 2002) found that the public has very little knowledge of what happens to recyclables after they are recycled and that this is one of the main barriers to meeting recycling targets.
As discussed earlier in Section 5.3, UK research has also highlighted basic communication gaps between experts in the industry, government, organisations and the general public. The vast majority of the population does not work within the environmental or waste industry and terms such as ‘waste minimisation’ are not easily understood. This demonstrates the need to keep messages simple. They need to be easily understood and should not leave the public feeling either confused or intimidated.
8.2.1 Key Awareness Raising Messages
Key awareness raising messages are messages that do not provide education about how, when and where to recycle, but focus on information that the community needs to be aware of and that will help them think about their own actions and practices in relation to waste management. These messages will focus on raising the profile of waste reduction, reuse and recycling in the community and will help change people’s attitudes and provide a more aware and informed community. The following messages are key awareness raising messages that could be used in a waste awareness campaign in South Australia.
• A key aspect of educating the public about waste reduction is the explanation of what happens to their rubbish once it has been collected. People need to be aware of the process that occurs after they put their rubbish and recyclables out for collection.
• People need to be made aware that one person can make a difference and that action at the local level contributes to overall benefits. Saving the world can start at home!
• In South Australia there is a definite need to raise awareness about the environmental, social and economic reasons behind WHY it is so important to recycle. Reinforcing the social opportunities such as the use of local industries and associated employment generation is vital.
• The impacts of NOT recycling need to be promoted.
• Whether we recycle goods, or dispose of them, it all costs money.
• Recyclables do actually get recycled into usable products. These products need to be marketed and promoted so people can see the tangible results of their efforts.
• Recycling is not a ‘dirty or grubby’ activity.
• The community need to be made aware of the amount of waste that is taken to landfills each month or year and the amount of waste that is being recycled. They also need to be made aware of approximately how much of the waste stream going to landfill is coming from households and how
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much of it could actually be recycled (Section 9 discusses the possibility of developing a state household waste profile and then using it as a promotion and awareness tool).
The ‘Why” of Recycling
Much of the education and awareness material related to waste and recycling in South Australia does not inform the audience about ‘why’ waste reduction and recycling are so important. As discussed in Section 6, people will not change just because they are told they should. They are more likely to change when they understand and agree with why it is so important.
Regarding the environmental, social and economic reasons why recycling is so important:
• Impacts of waste on ecology and wildlife will often ‘shock’ the reader into feeling that they need, and want, to act responsibly. For example the Top Ten Plastic Bag Facts from the Clean Up Australia campaign that include facts such as:
– Australians are the second highest producers (behind only the United States) of waste, per person, in the world – with each of us sending almost 690 kilograms of waste to landfill each year. Altogether, more than 18 million tonnes of waste ends up in landfill each year in Australia, with South Australia contributing more than 1.1 million tonnes in 2001/2002 (22).
– Over 100,000 birds, whales, seals and turtles worldwide are killed by plastic rubbish every year. Marine life, in particular turtles, is prone to mistaking plastic bags for jellyfish, ingesting them and dying of intestinal blockage.
– A study on albatross chicks on Midway Island, near Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean, found 9 out of 10 birds had plastic rubbish in their gullets. When the animal dies and decays, the plastic is then free to repeat this deadly cycle.
• Economic information that outlines how it is often cheaper (and uses less energy) to make products from recycled material rather than producing the same product from raw materials, is useful and positive. For example, the National Packaging Covenant Council’s report into the assessment of kerbside recycling in Australia found that the net financial cost for recycling is $158 million per year. The net environmental benefit of kerbside reporting, however, was found to be $424 million per year, indicating an overall benefit of approximately $266 million per year (12).
• Positive social information is also a good message to communicate, for example the creation of employment opportunities that are generated through the recycling process (taking into account that recycling cannot be considered to have technically taken place until the resource is recovered, re- processed and re-used, all stages of which generate employment).
In 2002 EcoRecycle Victoria brought out a brochure entitled Recycling is Worth the Effort: The Facts (11). The brochure, outlines the environmental, social and economic reasons why recycling is so essential. Importantly, the brochure relates the benefits back to issues that are important to the community as follows:
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Every week, one recycling household saves……
• Over three kilograms of greenhouse gases such as CO2 that would otherwise contribute to global warming.
• Enough electricity to run a 40 watt light bulb for 72 hours.
• Air pollution equivalent to emissions from 4.5kms of travel in an average car.
• Over ninety litres of water, enough to wash five sink loads of dishes.
• 3.6 kilograms of solid waste.
How? Simply by recycling instead of sending these valuable resources to landfill.
The brochure then further explains how the environmental savings are made and the environmental impacts in dollar terms
8.2.2 Broad State-Wide Education Messages
Broad state-wide education messages, as discussed here, include information about recycling that applies to the whole of South Australia regardless of council area or location. This is the information that the community needs to be aware of to help them recycle more effectively, whether they have a split bin recycling system, a crate or just advice as to where the nearest drop-off centre is.
According to Waste Wise Victoria (9), written information and education materials need to:
• Be interesting
• Be clear and easily understood
• Contain pictures rather than just writing
• Be in languages appropriate to the residents in the area
• Be relevant to residents’ concerns
• Contain information specific to residents (in other words avoid simply writing about targets)
• Encourage residents to take responsibility for their waste
• Contain specific actions for waste reduction and reuse, as well as telling people about recycling services.
Examples of broad state-wide education messages for South Australia could include:
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Reducing, Reusing and Recycling
Explaining the concepts of reducing, reusing and recycling. For example, a Waste Wise Victoria fact sheets outlines that:
• Reducing simply means to live more carefully so that you have less rubbish to get rid of later on.
• Reusing a waste item means that you do not have to buy a new product for a particular purpose, and so you are saving the energy and resources that would have been used to make a new product. Reusing also means that the product doesn’t go in the bin and end up in landfill.
• Recycling means that a waste product is returned to a factory where it is remade into either the same product or something different. For example, used aluminium cans can be recycled back into either new drink cans or engine blocks for new vehicles. Recycling saves landfill space and also saves the resources that were used to make the product in the first place. In many cases, recycling can also save energy, water and other valuable resources.
What Can and Cannot be Recycled
In the South Australian benchmark survey of community attitudes to waste recycling undertaken by McGregor Tan for the South Australian Waste Management Committee, 100% of respondents claimed that they were confused about what can and cannot be recycled. This indicates that households require more detailed and more frequently circulated information about what can and cannot be recycled. Graphics showing which products can generally be recycled would be beneficial as this keeps things simple, visual and easy to understand.
Plastics
The community attitudes survey undertaken in Victoria by EcoRecycle in 2001 (26) demonstrated that only 7% of respondents identified the number inside the plastics identification code as the correct means for determining which plastics can be recycled. In general people were more likely to rely on local council advice as to what could and could not be recycled. The study noted that of significant concern, were the 51% of people who reported that the plastic identification code on the bottom of a container meant that the container should be recycled.
This demonstrates the need for more awareness raising material and more educational material on the plastic identification code. This could be achieved through production of a colourful magnet, which would provide easy referral. It could also be targeted to particular council areas.
Waste Wise Victoria use the following table to help people understand plastic identification code:
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Plastic Name of plastic Description Some uses for virgin plastic Some uses for plastic made Identification from recycled waste plastic Code
polyethylene Clear tough Soft drink and mineral water Soft drink bottles, (multi-layer) terephthalate plastic, may be bottles, filling for sleeping detergent bottles, clear film PET used as a fibre. bags and pillows, textile for packaging, carpet fibres, fibres. fleecy jackets.
high density Very common Crinkly shopping bags, Compost bins, detergent polyethylene plastic, usually freezer bags, milk and bottles, crates, mobile rubbish HDPE white or cream bottles, bottles for bins, agricultural pipes, coloured. shampoo and cleaners, milk pallets, kerbside recycling crates. crates.
unplasticised Hard rigid Clear cordial and juice Detergent bottles, tiles, polyvinyl chloride plastic, may be bottles, blister packs, plumbing pipe fittings. UPVC clear. plumbing pipes and fittings.
plasticised polyvinyl Flexible, clear, Garden hose, shoe soles, Hose inner core, industrial chloride elastic plastic. blood bags and tubing. flooring. PPVC
low density Soft, flexible Lids of icecream containers, Film for builders, industry, polyethylene plastic. garbage bags, garbage bins, packaging and plant nurseries, LDPE black plastic sheet. bags.
polypropylene PP Hard, but Icecream containers, potato Compost bins, kerbside flexible plastic - crisp bags, drinking straws, recycling crates, worm many uses. hinged lunch boxes. factories.
polystyrene PS Rigid, brittle Yoghurt containers, plastic Clothes pegs, coat hangers, plastic. May be cutlery, imitation crystal office accessories, spools, clear,glassy. “glassware”. rulers, video/CD boxes.
EPS Foamed, Hot drink cups, takeaway lightweight, food containers, meat trays, energy packaging. absorbing, thermal insulation
other Includes all other plastics, including acrylic and nylon.
Other important messages regarding plastics could include:
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• Wash and squash bottles
• Remove lids or caps from bottles
• Check with your local Council for details about plastics recycling in your local area
Contamination of Recyclables
Contamination in the recycling stream can threaten the viability of kerbside recycling systems by reducing the value of materials collected, increasing the costs of sorting materials and increasing the quantities of recyclables that end up in landfill. Contamination can also pose health and safety risks. Education and awareness are therefore essential for minimising contamination.
Contamination of green organic waste is a particularly important issue that needs to be promoted throughout South Australia, regardless of location or council area. Green organic waste is often contaminated with plastic, to the extent that some bin-loads of green waste must be diverted straight to landfill instead of being recycled, which is extremely wasteful.
People need to be made aware of which materials go in the recycling bin and which don’t. Although it is mainly the role of councils or waste management authorities to educate their communities on which materials can be recycled, there is a definite role for the EPA to both raise awareness of the issue and communicate broad state-wide messages.
Waste Wise Victoria (9) lists several principles that are relevant to education and awareness initiatives aimed at reducing contamination:
• A long term approach is needed
• A comprehensive approach is needed using a range of methods (for example, newspaper articles, stickers on containers etc)
• Methods need to be appropriate to the scale of the problems (in other words, a personal approach may be more effective if contamination is from a small number of individuals or groups)
• Don’t be unnecessarily negative as this may put people off recycling all together. It’s important to stay positive
• One-off campaigns regarding contamination are less effective if there is no overall awareness and education campaign in place
• The best results come from the combined effects of a good collection system and a good education program
Bottles and Jars
The community needs to know that household glass can be returned for recycling in kerbside recycling collections or to bottle bins in public places. Glass that can be recycled includes:
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• All clear, green and amber glass bottles -soft drink, mineral water, wine, beer
• All glass jars
• Sauce bottles
It should also be communicated that to prepare glass for recycling it is helpful to remove lids or caps and rinse out bottles and jars. It would also be useful to outline which glass cannot be recycled, for example:
• Broken window glass and broken windscreen glass
• Heat-treated glass such as pyrex or vision ware
• Light globes
• Laboratory and medical glass
Paper, Newspapers and Magazines
Nolan ITU carried out a survey of paper and cardboard recycling in South Australia in 1999 (and updated it in 2000). Results found that kerbside collection of paper across the state was low on a per household basis compared to other states. Nolan ITU estimated that thousands of tonnes of additional paper and cardboard could be recovered by providing education and awareness information to residents to include all magazines, paper and cardboard in their recycling. This is a message that could be communicated to all households and community groups across the state.
Information could also be developed about how paper, newspaper and magazines are recycled as well as facts that may be of interest to the consumer, for example, all newsprint manufactured in Australia now contains up to 40% recycled fibre, and, in 1998/99 Australians used almost 3.5 million tonnes of paper. Almost 1.8 millions tonnes were collected for recycling.
Steel and Aluminium Cans
Important messages that need to be communicated here involve information about the preparation of cans. For recycling it is useful to:
• Remove the lid completely
• Rinse the can
• Place the lids inside the can
• Press the can flat near the top of the can. (This saves space)
• Place the cans out for collection
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It would also be of interest here to inform residents about what happens to cans after they recycle them. For example some steel cans are sent to Whyalla to be made into new steel, whilst aluminium cans are recycled into new cans.
Milk and Juice Cartons
An interesting fact regarding milk and juice cartons is that about five sheets of office paper can be made from one recycled milk carton. This message could reinforce the benefits of recycling to the community, especially for those that are concerned about environmental degradation. Other important information includes options for reusing cartons (for example, in the garden) and the importance of rinsing and flattening cartons before they are put out for recycling.
Composting and Worm Farms
Waste Wise Victoria outline in their composting fact sheet that about half of the household rubbish in Australia is made up of food and garden waste. Most of this material could be composted in either backyard compost heaps or in large scale composting operations. Australians produce about two million tonnes of food and garden waste each year. This is about 145 kilograms per person each year.
Composting has many benefits for the environment. It:
• Saves valuable landfill space
• Can be used as fertiliser
• Improves the condition of soils
Broad education messages here could include outlining how composting works, the advantages of it, the different systems available and how to participate successfully. Waste Wise Victoria have produced several fact sheets about composting, including methods for composting, which are used as promotional and educational tools.
Worm farms are another way of reducing kitchen waste, which could be further promoted in the state.
Plastic Bags
It is a great myth that plastic bags can be recycled through the kerbside recycling system. In reality, plastic bags can only be taken back to shopping centres for recycling, due to the impacts they have on machinery at recycling sorting centres. Items made from recycled plastic bags (such as rulers, garden stakes and even garden seats) are very interesting and could be promoted more.
8.3 Community Sectors and Key Messages
On rare occasions, it may be worthwhile to target specific messages to specific community target groups, despite the fact that what is recommended here is a role for the EPA that includes the development of
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awareness raising material and broad state-wide messages that can be applied across the whole state, regardless of council area. For example, youth groups and holidaymakers may not be interested in composting. This type of issue is addressed in Section 3.5, which deals with targeting different activities to specific community groups.
Important Findings about Key Messages
It is important to have a key promotional theme that links programs and initiatives and makes them recognisable to the community.
• Information, when presented by itself, does not motivate action or participation.
• Vague messages like ‘recycle’ are ineffective. There is a number of key awareness raising messages that need to be communicated to the public, for example:
• It is essential to emphasise WHY waste reduction, reuse and recycling are so important.
• There is a need to develop an understanding that action at the local level will contribute to overall benefits to the environment.
• There is a need to emphasise the benefits of waste reduction and recycling and the costs of NOT doing so.
The community needs to be continually exposed to the issue and the messages.
There are a number of common messages that need to be communicated across the whole state, for example:
• Why waste reduction and recycling are so important and the benefits of participating
• An outline of some of the end products developed from recyclables
• The impacts and implications of contamination of recyclables, especially green organics
• The proper way to recycle/dispose of plastic bags
• Taking the lids off bottles and rinsing jars and cans out
• Items that are currently not being recycled but could be
• Direction on where to go to get more detailed information about how and when to recycle
• Some ways of trying to reduce the amount of waste brought into the home.
Current education and awareness material used by organisations in South Australia, incorporating a wide variety of messages and information, are attached in Appendix F
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9 Campaigning and Message Delivery
9.1 Key findings
Key Findings about Delivery Options
• A media campaign and advertising agency brief are important tools in developing a professional, effective implementation strategy.
• When people are unsure about what to recycle they contact council. • Existing community groups can develop effective communicative approaches to reach selected audiences and are key organisations in rural and regional areas.
• Face to face communication about recycling and waste reduction are effective ways of increasing participation.
9.2 Media Options
The media is an important source of information for most people in South Australia. Various forms of media can be used to:
• Help to connect different waste programs in different areas
• Draw attention to the issue and help the community develop a background understanding of waste minimisation
• Provide feedback to people in relation to initiatives
• Communicate information about various messages and services
A major media source in South Australia is television. Television has a maximum impact but is costly due to initial production costs and the frequency of playing the advertisements. In general showing advertisements during children’s programs and ‘prime-time’ is extremely expensive (around $500,000), whilst showing them from midnight to dawn is less expensive – for obvious reasons. Packages with a selected television station can be tailored to give coverage across all time slots – but a bulk package must be confirmed with one television outlet. This may also attract bonus opportunities.
It should be noted that television advertisements do not work if they fail to attract attention, regardless of frequency.
Radio is another popular form of media and is extremely effective for raising awareness of various issues due to its extensive coverage and range of station options. Whilst people generally watch television at night, they are usually exposed to the radio at home, in the car, at the workplace and at the shops. There is also the potential to raise awareness via the radio by enlisting the help of various ‘morning crews’, especially on the popular SAFM and Triple M stations.
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Non-English speaking community groups are always difficult to get through to via standard media outlets. As a result of this, community radio stations (which are based on the FM Narrowcast band – typically 88mHz) and ethnic radio stations, which are run all across Metropolitan Adelaide, are vital education and awareness tools at comparatively very low costs.
In contacting and using various media outlets it is important to prepare a list of television channels, local newspapers throughout the state (metro, regional and rural), as well as local radio stations and ethnic newspapers and radio. Involve well-known, key community members in dealing with the media as this will raise awareness and will influence behaviour in a positive manner (Footballers and radio personalities are popular in South Australia for example). It is important to note that different ‘celebrities’ or ‘personalities’ will appeal to different age and community groups.
Media does not only have to include television, radio and newspapers. Section 3.4 of this strategy comprises recommended education and awareness activities using a variety of different media options. Examples include:
• Websites
• Promotional material
• Signage
• Displays
• Booklets
Table 2 in section 3 outlines which activity and media options will be suited to certain target community sectors.
9.2.1 A Media Campaign
Media campaigns that encourage people to take part in ‘environmental’ activities are not always successful. As outlined in Motivating Home Energy Action: A Handbook of What Works, promoting an environmentally beneficial activity, in this case waste reduction and recycling, is not like promoting a brand of soap, toothpaste or chocolate because consumers do not have to invest much time in purchasing these products. On the other hand, consumers do have to spend a little time in recycling. Also, a campaign on an issue that has immediate consequence usually has more success than a campaign on an issue that has consequences in the future, which is often the case for waste reduction campaigns. Advertising is good, however, for raising general awareness, and when public awareness about waste reduction and recycling is high, information is more likely to result in action.
A Community Awareness campaign, regardless of the delivery medium, should provide a credible “Reason to Recycle” as the first desirable and achievable aspect of the campaign. Not necessarily the details about how to recycle, as this is too complex. The how to section of the campaign would need to be implemented in the later stages of the campaign.
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Identifying and specifying the responses being sought from the community should be the subject of a highly refined campaign methodology that identifies the current status of attitude in the community, the desired changes and the most appropriate ways to achieve these changes. This education and awareness strategy will provide the majority of information needed to determine this, however a formal Campaign Brief would still be necessary to effectively narrow down the focus on what exactly is required, especially if the major media forms are being used.
The next step then is to commission an Advertising and Communications Agency to further develop a range of campaign concepts that would be most likely to succeed in the market, and the most suitable delivery mediums to deliver these concepts and messages. This is essentially the stage between an education and awareness strategy and the implementation of that strategy.
To contribute effectively to this campaign, the EPA would need to review this strategy, in particular the sections related to key messages, community groups and education and awareness activity options and determine their own priorities based on important issues and available funding.
The most effective community awareness/education campaigns employ a pre-determined combination of integrated awareness raising mediums, such as television, radio and press, further linked to the usual educational and promotional mediums such as leaflets, flyers, magnets and posters. This should then provide a combination of over-arching awareness, followed up with broad and then detailed education. The three themes need to be linked into one recognisable initiative or campaign.
Developing a Brief
Developing a specific brief for an advertising agency to work from is a vital requirement of a quality campaign. This advertising /communications brief will establish the desired outcomes – but will not provide creative ideas or concepts to advertising agency personnel, being creative is what they are being paid for. The agency must be provided with sufficient background information on community groups, key messages, behavioural changes required etc before they can respond with an appropriate advertising theme
In broad terms, the EPA must define the outcomes to satisfy the aims of the campaign, based upon this education and awareness strategy, agency knowledge and policy guidelines.
9.2.2 Frequency
It is important that the community be continuously exposed to the waste reduction, reuse and recycling issue in order to remind people to always be thinking about it when they make certain decisions around the home. Where education and promotion activities occur over a long period of time, participation in recycling has been shown to be higher and more consistent. The messages must be continually reinforced over time to help sustain constant positive behavioural changes.
Frequency, level of exposure and other relevant issues need to be incorporated into any effective advertising and promotion campaign.
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9.3 Other Delivery Options
9.3.1 Source of Information
In the South Australian benchmark survey of community attitudes to waste recycling undertaken by McGregor Tan for the South Australian Waste Management Committee, the majority of respondents claimed they would obtain general information about waste and recycling from their local council. Information is also often obtained from waste education organisations such as KESAB and NAWMA. This reinforces the concept that councils and existing organisations should continue to provide detailed educational material to the community and that the EPA could work with councils and organisations to implement the right balance of awareness raising, broad education, and detailed ‘on-ground’ education.
9.3.2 Community Networks
Several studies (21, 23, 25, 28) have found that using community networks can be effective in changing people’s behaviour. Community groups are often in a good position to develop effective communicative processes to reach selected target audiences. They will often have detailed knowledge and awareness of the needs, concerns and interests of the groups they serve. This is particularly the case in rural and regional areas where groups such as Apex, Lions and Rotary clubs, church groups, youth groups, rural women’s associations and other various community groups possess a high degree of knowledge about the community and the issues that are important to them.
Importantly, community groups have high credibility in the eyes of the community/householders as a result of their history of support, action and commitment to the local community and because of their genuine concern for a range of issues.
Community organisations can include residents’ groups, environment groups, senior citizens groups, youth groups, ethnic groups, sporting clubs and service clubs. Involving these groups in waste minimisation campaigns can influence waste behaviour at several levels. This includes the group level (in terms of the activities the group is involved in), in terms of practices at the locations where these groups meet, and in terms of the broader community level as waste minimisation practices are applied elsewhere by community group members.
9.3.3 Face-to-Face Communication
A successful combination of social strategies was implemented in the United States to promote energy efficiency in households and recruit attendance to energy efficiency workshops (as outlined in Motivating Home Energy Action: A Handbook of What Works (23)). The program was called the Neighbourhood Energy Workshop and incorporated:
• Careful planning where project areas were mapped out and workshop procedures standardised.
• Community leaders were used to recruit volunteers.
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• Volunteers received training from project staff. Their task was to make face-to-face contact with a person from each household on their block and recruit residents to workshops.
• Educational meetings were held in neighbourhoods on weeknights, which taught residents how to cut energy losses in their buildings.
• Workshops were then held on Saturdays, which used physical materials and hands-on examples.
• Follow-up inspections were held.
This program focussed on energy efficiency and cutting energy shortages but the same principle could easily be employed for waste management in South Australia.
In fact a similar social strategy was recently implemented in the City of Claremont, California, which used trained volunteers to go door-to-door contacting members of non-recycling households. Two approaches were used here; one using Boy Scouts and the other using neighbours as volunteers. Boy Scouts (which were seen as having an association with honesty and concern for nature) and residents recruited from households that consistently recycled, walked around the neighbourhood introducing themselves, citing advantages of recycling and described how to recycle within the city program. They were provided with stickers with positive messages, including “I Recycle to Win the War on Waste”. Neighbourhood volunteers visited households that were seen to not be recycling and provided them with information sheets and recycling bags as well as talking to them about recycling. They ended the visit with the statement “I hope to see your recycling bags out at the kerb in a few weeks”. Participation in recycling was significantly higher after household visits with rates remaining stable, suggesting that the tools of change employed effected long lasting changes in behaviour.
In Australia, EcoRecycle Victoria’s Waste Wise program discusses community waste minimisation coordinator programs involving members of the community undertaking training and then initiating waste minimisation activities within their local communities. In this program, the volunteers initially undertake to minimise their own household waste, before encouraging others to do the same. They then participate in training in order to become a coordinator. Programs can be relatively informal or involve formal training sessions. The EPA in NSW and many councils in Victoria have undertaken successful volunteer waste minimisation coordinator programs.
9-5 Conclusions SECTION 10
10 Conclusions This community education and awareness strategy has been developed by reviewing relevant information from South Australia, interstate and overseas. It incorporates information on:
• What is already being undertaken in South Australia in terms of waste education and awareness
• Key strategies outside of South Australia that are of interest and relevance
• The behavioural and attitudinal changes that are required for the community to participate effectively in waste reduction, reuse and recycling
• Specific community sectors to potentially target in South Australia
• Broad awareness-raising messages and broad state-wide educational messages
• The use of media and options for delivering information to the community successfully
• Recommended education and awareness activity options
• Ways to evaluate and measure success
A recommended role for the EPA in waste education and awareness was suggested, which essentially would see the EPA promoting and raising awareness of waste reduction and recycling issues across the state, as well as undertaking activities that would provide broad educational messages that could be applied across South Australia, regardless of locality or council area. This could then be followed up by detailed education, which is already being produced by councils and other waste education organisations. Rather then reinventing the wheel, it has been recommended that the EPA work closely with these existing organisations, as well as with industry, to educate and raise awareness in an integrated manner.
The major outcomes of this strategy are the list of twenty activity and media options that have been developed through considering all the other issues, such as existing strategies, behaviours and attitudes, community sectors, media options and the information that needs to be communicated. These have then contributed to the development of the three education and awareness program options.
10-1 Appendix A References Appendix B Council Questionnaire Appendix C Metropolitan Councils Table Appendix D Rural/Regional Councils Table Appendix E Waste Education Organisations Questionnaire Appendix F Current Education and Awareness Material used in South Australia