Community Education and Awareness Strategy for Waste Management
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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.