Questions raised about long-term benefits of recycling incentive schemes

Schemes which reward or penalise Londoners for recycling rubbish work well at first, but it is unclear whether they will lead to changes in behaviour in the long term, a new report from the London Assembly says today^[1] .

Carrots and Sticks by the Assembly’s Environment Committee says recycling is essential to reducing overall waste and, in recent years, rates of recycling in the capital have increased significantly, but are stalling^[2]. London currently has the lowest rate in the country with just a third of waste being recycled^[3].

The Mayor has set a challenging target for Londoners to recycle at least 45 percent of household waste by 2015, rising to 60 percent by 2031^[4]. The Committee says that unless rates increase or landfill rates fall, the capital could face a bill of £152 million per year for landfill costs by 2014/15^[5].

The report said recycling rates have improved quite dramatically where boroughs have introduced penalty and reward schemes ^[6].

However there are benefits and drawbacks associated with both types of schemes, suggesting a single solution will not work across the capital.  For example, London’s high proportion of flats, its transient population and the number of households without internet access, could affect the success of incentive schemes^{[7] [8]}.  In addition, the more adversarial approach of compulsory schemes can discourage ongoing communication with residents. 

The Committee heard from those running reward schemes that participants may need to be re-incentivised once recycling rates have reached a plateau, and no-one has been fined under the compulsory model to date as the legislation was not designed for this purpose.

Darren Johnson, Deputy Chair of the Environment Committee said: “It is very encouraging that rates have improved so considerably in recent years, but there is much more to be done to cut down on London’s waste mountain.

“The capital does face unique challenges and it is clear that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. Whatever method boroughs use to reduce waste must result in long-term changes if we are to avoid the unwanted economic and environmental consequences of sending tonnes of rubbish to landfill every year.”

The report also highlights that:

•Incentive schemes need to be specifically designed to address London-specific issues around housing stock, transient populations and equality of access.

•A more comprehensive evidence base should be developed so the effect of incentive schemes on recycling rates can be properly determined.

•Communication about the value of recycling and the need to manage waste sustainably is key to the success of the schemes.

•Weight-based reward schemes could have unintended consequences, for example individuals deliberately generating more waste to maximise their rewards.

Notes for Editors:

1. Read the report, Carrots and Sticks – a review of reward and compulsory recycling incentive schemes.
2. London’s recycling rate is 32 per cent.  The average recycling rate has increased by 24 percent in London over the past ten years, see P10 of the report
3. See DEFRA statistics - table 5
4. See P11 of the Mayor’s draft Municipal Waste Management Strategy
5. See P15 of the report
6. The Committee looked at Recyclebank and compulsory schemes.
7. Flats account for around half of London’s housing stock, see P10 of the report
8. Twenty-six per cent of households in London do not have online access, see P30 of the report
9. The Deputy Chair of the Environment Committee, Darren Johnson AM, is available for interview.  See contact details below.

10.  As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.

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