Technological watch

• Recycle Week 2021 puts climate crisis at its heart
• More donors pledge support - WRAP urges more to lead by example

With COP26 bringing world Governments together to act on climate change in November, Recycle Now will use its annual Recycle Week (20th – 26th September) to bring the nation together to unite against climate change by asking citizens to Step It Up this Recycle Week.

“Join the fight against climate change. Step It Up this Recycle Week”.

With well-known donors already on board, Recycle Now is delighted to announce that Britvic and PepsiCo have joined forces as part of their partnership agreement to donate to the week, as well as The Natural Source Waters Association (NSWA).

They join a growing list of donors which includes Coca-Cola, Coop, Danone, Ocado, and Waitrose & Partners UK. The financial backing from these donors enables WRAP, the environmental charity which runs Recycle Now, to help more citizens to change their recycling behaviours. The last year has shifted people’s views with 73% saying they are prepared to make lifestyle compromises to benefit the environment and 93% agreeing that everyone has a responsibility to help clean up the environment. The appetite for change has never been stronger.

Recycle Now urges more organisations to get in touch and become donors, putting their collective power behind the annual Week, and joining this coordinated action to tackle climate change. Our evidence shows that Recycle week is changing people’s behaviour, of the people who saw Recycle Week in 2020 a whopping 92% found it motivating and 89% of those people changed their recycling behaviours; this shows the power of Recycle Week.

Sarah Clayton, Head of Citizen Behaviour Change WRAP, “People’s concern about the environment remains on the increase; we know that climate change is an issue people are passionate about. Often we can feel powerless to act, but recycling is one activity that we can all do to help the planet. As a nation our commitment to recycling has continued to grow, even during the challenges of the last year. We want Recycle Week 2021 to inspire more people to Step It Up and fight climate change.

“It’s great to see organisations committing support for this longstanding week of national action; their support will make a huge difference to the activities we can carry out during the eighteenth Recycle Week”.

Kinvara Carey, General Manager, NSWA “The Natural Source Waters Association and its members have always supported and promoted Recycle Week with its clear and action orientated communications on what and how to recycle. All our members’ packaging is 100% recyclable. Our members are using increasing amounts of recycled material and want to use more so we are really excited to be a donor this year to help ensure Recycle Week’s important message reaches as wide an audience as possible”.

Jamie Mackay, General Manager UK Beverages, PepsiCo “We fully support the ambition of Recycle Week and are proud to join WRAP for the campaign again in 2021. Despite a challenging year, people across the country are continuing to take small but meaningful actions to help protect the environment. Recycling helps drive a circular economy, ensuring packaging can have a second life. As we work towards our 2022 goal of 100% recycled plastic bottles across our ready-to-drink beverages in Great Britain, we hope that Recycle Week inspires even more people to step up their support this year.”

Tom Fiennes, Director of Commercial Sustainability, Britvic, “Britvic is a long-term supporter of Recycle Week and once again we’re proud to be a corporate donor. We all know we can do our bit to bring about a Healthier Planet and that's what Britvic has been striving towards – whether by switching our brands one-by-one to recycled plastic or pushing for a GB-wide Deposit Return Scheme. All our actions can make a difference and this year we are calling on everyone to step up and recycle.”

 

WRAP is keen to hear from organisations who wish to support Recycle Week 2021. To find out more about donating and partnership during Recycle Week 2021, please contact partnerenquiries@wrap.org.uk