Home
Methods
Team
Projects
Blog
Contact
London Borough of Waltham Forest
Citizen insights and ideas on how to increase food waste recycling
The Colectiv Interview
Aim
To understand barriers and motivations to recycle food waste
Completion and Feedback
52 people from a local climate panel participated
"Very concise, follow up questions were relevant to the answers given."
Qualitative Findings
People are motivated
if
they believe it will have an environmental impact
Residents need to believe in what the council does with their food waste
"Convince people that it is worth the effort in terms of the environment."
Disgust is the biggest barrier to recycling
People worry smells, flies, foxes and rodents will increase
"It isn't a pleasant job to take the food waste bag out - it is often a bit slimy!"
Space and collection reliability were concerns
The logistics of recycling food were often mentioned
Residents want the Council to get the basics rights
Make the collections frequent and regular, and provide nice, clean bins
"Tight fitting lids and frequent collection"
People want to know what will happen to their food waste
Explain and show the environmental benefits locally
"Give out compost to show the cycle in full"
Conclusions and Recommendations
Conclusions
Support the majority of people that want to recycle, some never will
Colectiv Recommendations
Trial some additional initiatives, and provide a link for feedback