Incentives and accessibility key to boosting recycling rates
05 March 2025
A series of interventions at the University of Strathclyde have highlighted key factors that could significantly improve recycling on-the-go across Scotland.
Our No Lectures: Sort It, Recycle It Campaign – funded by Coca-Cola Europacific Partners – took place over an eight-week period. The initiative tested various interventions to encourage students to recycle and think about their waste disposal and recycling choices, as well as their motivations for recycling.
As part of the campaign, Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs) were installed, and bespoke promotional materials were displayed on banners, bollards and bus shelters. In collaboration with not-for-profit organisation Every Can Counts, an art installation was also created from cans.
Behavioural insights were collected from more than 300 students through a variety of questionnaires and surveys before and during the campaign.
To gain deeper insights, focus groups were also held to unpack student responses to the campaign, including promotional materials and campaign messaging - specifically what messages worked and what would encourage them to rethink their actions.
Findings revealed that many students were uncertain about recycling certain items such as cans, aerosols, batteries and pizza packaging.
Fifty-seven per cent of students cited a lack of separate bins as a barrier to recycling on-the-go.
Furthermore, 40% reported that messages on bins are confusing, making it unclear where to recycle.
With the campaign now concluded, Keep Scotland Beautiful has shared its key learnings which highlight students’ motivations for recycling.
Half of the students surveyed said an incentive would encourage them to recycle more, while 65% of students said that more recycling points/bins would increase recycling on-the-go.
Other motivators included better knowledge of what happens when recycling leaves the area, issuing fines to those who don’t recycle and more communication on the environmental consequences of not recycling.
Heather McLaughlin, our Campaigns and Social Innovation Manager, said: “This collaboration was a chance for us to continue assessing what does and does not work when motivating people to recycle.
“Not only that, we also had an opportunity to test what kind of messaging resonates with students most to encourage recycling behaviours.
“The upcoming introduction of a Deposit Return Scheme will increase recycling rates and be a landmark step towards a litter free Scotland and it’s imperative that we get our messaging right ahead of its arrival.
“Students are keen recyclers, but this intervention built upon the learnings of our previous campaigns and provides crucial insight to support a circular economy in Scotland.”
Jo Padwick, Senior Sustainability Manager at Coca Cola Europacific Partners GB, said: “Teaming up with Keep Scotland Beautiful and Strathclyde University on this campaign was an incredibly valuable exercise, and it was great to hear from students directly about their recycling habits.
“It’s encouraging to hear how eager students are to recycle and the efforts they make to do so, which came through in our discussions. However, there’s clearly more work to be done and these findings reveal two key factors that would make a real difference to helping them recycle on the go - more recycling points as well as rewards or incentives.
“This process has reinforced the crucial role of collaboration across sectors, and this is more important than ever as we aim to better understand consumers’ recycling behaviours ahead of the implementation of the Deposit Return Scheme in a few years’ time.”
Amy Ritchie, Head of Sustainable Resources & Social Responsibility at University of Strathclyde, said: “We have been delighted to support Keep Scotland Beautiful’s innovative No Lectures: Sort It, Recycle It campaign on Strathclyde University Campus.
“Feedback from both staff and students showed a desire to support the initiative and to engage in new ways to recycle. Feedback has also highlighted the need for more consistent communications around Reverse Vending Machines to understand what they are and the benefits of their use, suggesting that initiatives like this take time to embed and drive behaviour change.”
No Lectures: Sort It, Recycle It follows our previous intervention with Coca-Cola Europacific Partners across Forth Valley Colleges, developed as part of our actions to support the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy.
