Communicating about food waste
Food waste messages for
maximum impact – how to
engage your residents in
prevention and collections
WRAP’s vision is a world without waste, where resources are used
sustainably.
We work with businesses and individuals to help them reap the
benefits of reducing waste, develop sustainable products and use
resources in an efficient way.
Find out more at www.wrap.org.uk
Love Food Hate Waste aims to raise awareness of the need to reduce
food waste and help us take action. It shows that by doing some easy
practical everyday things in the home we can all waste less food,
which will ultimately benefit our purses and the environment too.
Find out more at www.lovefoodhatewaste.com
Resources for partners
www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/partners
Written by: Emma Marsh, WRAP, July 2013
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3
Contents
1.0 Executive summary ...................................................................................... 4 2.0 Introduction ................................................................................................. 6 3.0 Background .................................................................................................. 6 4.0 Research background ................................................................................... 8 5.0 Research insights ....................................................................................... 10
5.1 Attitudes to food waste prevention/recycling .............................................. 10 5.2 Reactions to key messages ....................................................................... 10
5.2.1 The Food Cycle .............................................................................. 10 5.2.2 Buy, Eat, Recycle’ .......................................................................... 11 5.2.3 Motivators ..................................................................................... 11 5.2.4 Type of information wanted by consumers ....................................... 12 5.2.5 Communications methods preferred by consumers ........................... 12 5.2.6 Summary ...................................................................................... 12
6.0 Recommendations ...................................................................................... 13 6.1 When should I communicate? ................................................................... 14 6.2 What messages should I use? ................................................................... 16 6.3 What communications methods should I use? ............................................ 17
6.3.1 Social media .................................................................................. 17 6.3.2 Website ......................................................................................... 18 6.3.3 Leaflets ......................................................................................... 18 6.3.4 Prompts in the kitchen.................................................................... 18 6.3.5 Stickers on food waste caddies/containers ....................................... 18 6.3.6 Posters in the supermarket ............................................................. 18 6.3.7 Training to enable face to face engagement ..................................... 19 6.3.8 Internal communications ................................................................ 19
6.4 Guidelines for developing your communications materials ............................ 20 6.4.1 Principle 1 – Headline ..................................................................... 20 6.4.2 Principle 2 – Hierarchy .................................................................... 20 6.4.3 Principle 3 – Make it personal to the reader ...................................... 20 6.4.4 Principle 4 – Make it Positive ........................................................... 20 6.4.5 Principle 5 – Design........................................................................ 21 6.4.6 Principle 6 – Action ........................................................................ 21 6.4.7 Principle 7 – Contact Information .................................................... 21 6.4.8 Principle 8 – Make Information Understandable ................................ 21 6.4.9 Principle 9 – Testing Designs .......................................................... 21 6.4.10 Principle 10 - Recycle Now Campaign and Love Food Hate Waste ..... 22
7.0 Additional information ................................................................................ 23 Appendix 1 Example tweets ................................................................................. 24 Appendix 2 Example website text to explain the hierarchy of food waste for residents .............................................................................................................. 26 Food waste recycling: what to do with the food you can't eat ............................. 26 Appendix 3 leaflet templates................................................................................ 28 Appendix 4 example food waste prevention tips ................................................. 29
Food waste messages for maximum impact – how to engage your residents in prevention and collections 4
1.0 Executive summary
There is anecdotal evidence that introducing a food waste collection to households leads to a
direct reduction in food waste arisings; the conclusion being drawn that once people see
how much food they waste (in their collection caddy) they will automatically reduce the
amount they throw away.
In 2011 WRAP published a review of the available evidence around the impact of separate
food waste collections on food waste arisings. This showed that there was little evidence
that a separate food waste collection will lead to a change in behaviour around food waste
prevention “at source‟. There was, however, evidence that there was a reduction in
collected food waste, but not whether this was due to a reduction in arisings or increased
diversion for example to home composting. Consumer research carried out in autumn 2011
suggested that council food waste collections may be acting as a barrier to consumers
minimising their food waste. Since then WRAP have carried out further comprehensive
research and analysis giving strong evidence to show there appear to be multiple effects that
work in different directions:
Collections legitimise waste generation for some households.
Food waste collections have a prevention effect in other households.
There is inconsistent evidence on the interaction between food-waste collections and
home composting.
However, there is no strong evidence of the net (or overall) effect. Evidence from local
authorities and households shows no significant difference in amounts of collected food
waste between authorities with or without separate food waste collections. This suggests
that the net effect of introducing collections on arisings is small and of uncertain direction.
Therefore it has been found that the act of introducing a food waste collection
alone is very unlikely to reduce food waste arisings as a whole.
In order to maximise the prevention and recycling of food waste from households
there is a clear case for joining up messaging; whether to help increase the
prevention effect or reduce the legitimisation effect (and the risk of food waste
arisings actually increasing).
Reducing the amount of food wasted in the first place, and that going to landfill brings clear
financial benefits both to local authorities and consumers (£50 a month for the average
family), and environmental benefits overall.
A project to develop and test key messages and communications to build awareness of the
context of food and drive preferred behaviours (act to prevent food waste; use the food
waste recycling collection service for any food you can’t eat [where provided]) was carried
out in 2012/13. This involved both qualitative and quantitative testing among 1,200
members of the public:
50% of the research respondents believe both prevention and recycling are equally
important and 43% believe it’s more important to prevent food waste than to recycle it.
Food waste messages for maximum impact – how to engage your residents in prevention and collections 5
The vast majority understand the food waste hierarchy (prevention then recycle then
dispose) and there is strong evidence that access to a recycling service is a key trigger point
to influence food waste reduction behaviour.
Saving money by reducing food waste is the key hook for all audiences and is of significantly
more interest than recycling information.
There is no evidence that combined messages cause any confusion as they are a natural fit
and in fact the majority (84%) would like to see a combined guide giving tips and benefits
for food waste prevention and how to use a food waste collection service if applicable.
Tips on reducing food waste are useful to all – 88% would find reduction tips useful, and
56% of those who throw away a lot of uneaten food would find tips ‘very useful’.
Two visual tools were tested quantitatively (following the outcome of focus groups): a food
cycle diagram1 and ‘buy, eat, recycle’ narrative2. The cycle diagram is more effective than
“Buy Eat Recycle” for combined messages and those focussing on prevention as a priority.
However both tested extremely well in communicating the food waste hierarchy clearly and
effectively and making the message easy to understand.
There are a number of recommendations coming out of this research:
1. If you do not offer a collection service use Love Food Hate Waste to offer your
residents food waste prevention tips and support.
2. If you have a food waste collection service already established help
residents to recognise the amount of food they waste as this is a major barrier to
both prevention and use of the recycling service. Then help them act to reduce food
waste to capitalize on their heightened awareness of the problem. A combined food
waste recycling and reduction guide would introduce the food hierarchy in a simple
and understandable way; then provide information to help individuals recognise the
issue and personalise it - help people acknowledge that they waste food; provide
tips on how to reduce food waste in the home to help them act on this; provide
information about home composting if that is a priority for the Local Authority; and
end with information on how, when and why to use the recycling collection service
for any food they cannot eat. Use the Food Cycle visual tool (4.2) and Love Food
Hate Waste to do this.
3. If you are about to roll out a food waste collection service:
Ideally 2-6 months before starting the new service raise awareness of the issue
of food waste – help your residents to recognise the amount of food they waste.
Highlight the food waste hierarchy and offer simple tips and solutions to reduce
waste. Use the Food Cycle (4.2) and Love Food Hate Waste to do this. Highlight
the new collection service is coming soon for the food that can’t be eaten.
1 See section 5.2.1
2 See section 5.2.2
Food waste messages for maximum impact – how to engage your residents in prevention and collections 6
During rollout make the how, why and when of the new collection service
the sole focus of your communications at this stage to ensure residents are fully
aware of how to participate. It is recommended that you do not combine
prevention and service messages in your teaser and instructional leaflets during
rollout to ensure clarity of message.
At least 8 weeks after roll-out thank residents for continuing to participate in
the service and highlight progress. Re-highlight the food waste hierarchy, focus
on ‘recycling food waste is good, preventing food waste is even better’ and offer
simple tips and solutions to reduce food waste. Use the Food Cycle (4.2) and
Love Food Hate Waste to do this.
This document now goes on to explore the research in greater detail and provide in depth
recommendations on the messages, methods and techniques for engaging with residents on
food waste.
2.0 Introduction
The purpose of this guide is to provide advice on how a typical local authority
waste/recycling officer can develop and deliver a communications campaign to reduce the
amount of good food which goes to landfill from households and maximise participation in
food waste recycling collections3. This guide is based on new message testing with
consumers and the latest findings from WRAP on the relationship between food waste
recycling collections and food waste arisings. Getting the communications right will reduce
the amount of food wasted in the first place, and that going to landfill. This brings financial
benefits to local authorities and consumers, and environmental benefits overall.
3.0 Background
There is anecdotal evidence that introducing a food waste collection to households leads to a
direct reduction in food waste arisings; the conclusion being drawn that once people see
how much food they waste (in their collection caddy) they will automatically reduce the
amount they throw away.
In 2011 WRAP published a review4 of the available evidence around the impact of separate
food waste collections on food waste arisings. Key findings were that there is little evidence
that a separate food waste collection will lead to a change in behaviour around food waste
prevention “at source”. There was, however, evidence that there is a reduction in collected
food waste, but not whether this is due to a reduction in arisings or increased diversion for
example to home composting.
Further consumer research carried out in autumn 20115 suggested that council food waste
collections may be acting as a barrier to consumers, who use the service, minimising their
3 See WRAP’s comprehensive food waste collection research, guidance and good practice and further Communication tools and guides for local authorities.
4 Literature Review - Relationship between Household Food Waste Collection and Food Waste Prevention August 2011
5 WRAP ‘Effect of food waste collections on arisings’, Tom Quested
Food waste messages for maximum impact – how to engage your residents in prevention and collections 7
food waste. 30% of respondents with food-waste collections cited these collections as a
barrier to reducing the amount of food they waste. This is more than any other reason given
by those with collections. This result has been seen in multiple waves of the WRAP tracker
and in all nations within the UK.
For some people citing food-waste collections as a barrier, it is conceivable that this is not
the root cause of waste generation but a ‘post-event justification’, i.e. a way of justifying the
generation of waste. If, however, the collections are a root cause, this result alone does not
indicate how strong the relationship is between the collections and waste generation.
A further question in the survey indicated that there may also be a strong interaction
between food waste collections and composting, and a weaker prevention effect; 35% of
those who claim to use a food waste collection stated that they now compost more at home
as a result of having a food waste collection. However, the results from this question are not
backed up by findings from kitchen-diary research6. In contrast, they suggest that home
composting is largely unaffected by the presence of collections. Other changes to collection
schemes may have an impact on home composting levels, for instance, charging for garden-
waste collections may encourage home composting, which in turn could influence the
amount of food waste collected by local authorities.
From comprehensive research and analysis there is now evidence7 to show multiple effects
are happening as a result of food waste collections being introduced:
Food waste collections have a prevention effect in some households.
Collections legitimise waste generation for other households.
Food waste collections interact with home composting for others.
The strength of each effect is likely to depend on the attitudes, practices and culture of
people and households in an area. For the same intervention, some areas may exhibit a
marked prevention effect, whilst others may demonstrate a legitimisation effect. Given the
evidence that individual households alter their behaviour when food-waste collections are
introduced, this suggests that there is an opportunity to engage households on the subject
of waste prevention, in addition to participation in a collection scheme to maximise the
prevention effect and minimise the legitimisation effect.
Analysis of how much food is produced overall by households using a food waste collection
(not just having access to one) compared with those who do not use a collection revealed no
significant difference. Updated analysis of local authority household compositional studies
revealed on average no significant difference in amounts of collected food waste between
authorities with or without separate food waste collections8. Therefore it can be concluded
that the act of introducing a food waste collection alone will not reduce food waste arisings
as a whole.
6 WRAP ‘Effect of food waste collections on arisings’, Tom Quested
7 WRAP ‘Effect of food waste collections on arisings’, Tom Quested
8 WRAP ‘Effect of food waste collections on arisings’, Tom Quested
Food waste messages for maximum impact – how to engage your residents in prevention and collections 8
Households in the UK generate 7.2 million tonnes of food and drink waste every year9. This
has reduced by over a million tonnes since 2006/7, preventing around £2.5 billion of good
food and drink being thrown away annually, and saving local authorities around £80 million
in avoided gate fees and landfill charges. In addition around 450,000 tonnes of household
food waste is now being collected separately, generating energy and materials for use in
agriculture etc, and providing further savings to local authorities. Going forwards there are
significant opportunities to both reduce household food waste further but also increase the
amount (particularly for the unavoidable food waste) collected and treated separately. 3.7
million tonnes of food and drink waste is sent to landfill each year and 1.9 million tonnes is
disposed of via the sink and sewer (Defra recently confirmed that food macerators do not
contribute towards recycling targets as they are a disposal, not a recycling method).
Therefore in order to maximise the prevention and recycling of food waste from residents
there is a clear case for joining up messaging; whether to help increase the prevention effect
or reduce the legitimisation effect (and the risk of food waste arisings actually increasing).
Anecdotal feedback from Local Authorities has previously indicated that a significant number
of their residents are confused about what they ‘should’ do about food waste. We need to
avoid households receiving mixed messages on food waste prevention and collection
services.
A major barrier to both reducing and recycling food waste is the widespread personal belief
that ‘I don’t waste food’ (food waste blinkers). Introducing a food waste collection can be a
key trigger point for overcoming this. This gives a clear opportunity by raising awareness of
the amount of food we all waste there is more likely to be positive changes, affecting both
the amount wasted in the first place but also their use of the food waste recycling collection.
To help address this WRAP ran a project in 2012/13 to develop, test and disseminate key
messages for engagement with the public to build awareness of the context of food and
drive preferred behaviours:
act to prevent food waste; and
use the food waste recycling collection service for any food you can’t eat (where
provided).
This document now sets out the findings from the research and provides recommendations
for recycling/waste officers wishing to communicate with residents about food waste.
4.0 Research background
A mixed methodology was adopted including focus groups to inform a wider quantitative
survey: 2 focus groups were conducted10 and attendees were prompted to consider message
9 WRAP (2011; http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/new-estimates-household-food-and-drink-waste-uk)
10 Carried out with an equal sample in Wales and Scotland to explore messaging with individuals who had access to a food waste collection and also those without. The groups were just to inform the quantitative research hence why 2 rather than the normally recommended 4-6 were used. There were a mix of respondents with and without collections in both Scotland and Wales. Full slide set for breakdown of sample.
Food waste messages for maximum impact – how to engage your residents in prevention and collections 9
priorities through the use of example images and messages and to develop their own ideas.
Preferences were then taken forward for further quantitative testing among a representative
sample of the public11. A total of 1,256 responses were received. Love Food Hate Waste and
Recycle Now messages and communications methods were integral to the testing.
Research objectives:
To identify which messages are most motivating, appealing and easy to understand
and identify any differences according to current behaviour and presence of a
collection service.
To understand preferences for the timing of communications and identify which
messages resonate best before, during and after roll out of a collection service.
To understand preferences for key communication channels and optimum locations
for messages at each stage of the journey.
To understand knowledge, attitudes and behaviours regarding food waste prevention
and recycling and establish how this affects reactions to key messages.
To identify any differences in knowledge, attitudes and behaviours towards
preventing food waste according to whether respondents have access to and use a
food waste recycling service.
To explore reactions to a range of messages around food waste prevention and
recycling, including context facts, “how to”, benefit led and performance related
messages.
11 See 9
Food waste messages for maximum impact – how to engage your residents in prevention and collections 10
5.0 Research insights12
5.1 Attitudes to food waste prevention/recycling
Prevention is seen as equally or more important than recycling. 50% believe
both are equally important and 43% believe it’s more important to prevent food
waste than to recycle it.
Regardless of access to a food waste recycling service, the vast majority recognise
that it is more important to prevent food waste than to recycle it.
Virtually everyone stated that they make an effort to reduce food waste and 96%
agree that “recycling food waste is good, preventing it is better”.
However 4 in 10 believe that food waste is not a problem as it breaks down
in landfill (38% Scotland; 43% Wales). (Agreement is highest among those who
feel it is more important to recycle food waste than prevent it (25% agree strongly)
and those who agree that neither reducing food waste nor recycling are important to
me (76% agree).
The majority of respondents - 6 in 10 - claim to throw away a small amount of food
or less. Scottish respondents are slightly more likely to claim to throw some food
away.
5.2 Reactions to key messages
5.2.1 The Food Cycle
Extremely positive response in both nations and clear spontaneous
understanding of main message – 25% feel it told them to explicitly reduce their
waste, 16% buy what you need, 13% plan ahead and 11% recycle.
On prompting:
87% say they like the cycle diagram
approach.
76% feel that the cycle diagram “tells me
reducing food waste and recycling are both
important”.
64% say it would encourage them to
reduce food waste.
12 There are very few differences between the views of respondents in Wales and Scotland but where they do exit these have been highlighted.
Food waste messages for maximum impact – how to engage your residents in prevention and collections 11
64% say it would encourage them to recycle.
86% agree that the cycle is easy to understand.
70% agree its relevant to people like me.
62% agree it gives me practical tips.
5.2.2 Buy, Eat, Recycle’
Clear spontaneous understanding of main
message in both nations - 27% buy what you
need; 22% recycle; 20% avoid waste.
On prompting:
83% say they like the “Buy, Eat, Recycle”
approach.
71% feel that it “tells me reducing food waste
and recycling are both important”.
60% say it would encourage them to recycle.
56% say it would encourage them to reduce food waste.
89% agree that it is easy to understand.
64% agree its relevant to people like me.
5.2.3 Motivators
Cost remains the key motivator
for reducing food waste (£50 a
month saving) followed by the fact
that 2/3 of food waste could have
been eaten ((Q: Which of the
following true facts would make you
try to throw less food away are most
motivating).
At a secondary level, the volume
of food waste relative to
packaging and environmental
harm are of more interest than
end uses of recycled food waste
Food waste messages for maximum impact – how to engage your residents in prevention and collections 12
(Q: Which of the following true facts would make you try to throw less food away?
Next two important).
5.2.4 Type of information wanted by consumers
88% would value information to show how reducing food waste can save money.
88% would find reduction tips useful.
84% would find a combined guide useful.
Of those who never/very occasionally use the food waste recycling collection only
15% would find “how to recycle” information very useful. Conversely 1 /3 would
value reduction information to save money.
Among those who say they throw away a lot of uneaten food, 59% would welcome
information to show how reducing food waste can save money and 56% would
welcome tips to reduce food waste.
5.2.5 Communications methods preferred by consumers
There is an overwhelming preference for combined messages showing that
reducing food waste and saving money is best in the first place and then using the
collection is best for the rest. 8 in 10 want combined messages on a website, 3 in 4
on a leaflet and 2 in 3 on prompts in the kitchen.
Stickers on food waste caddies are a popular method. 58% said that they would like
to see combined messages on caddies and 28% said recycling messages only.
Instructional information on what can be put in alongside a food waste reduction tip
for money saving tip would be a good example.
Posters in the supermarket are most popular for messages just about prevention.
There is no overall difference in preference between those respondents who have
access to food recycling service and those that do not.
Those who have a food waste recycling service are receptive to receiving messages
about the reduction of food waste on their food waste recycling containers.
5.2.6 Summary
There is strong evidence that access to a recycling service is a key trigger point to
influence food waste reduction behaviour. However the act of introducing a service
will not reduce food waste arisings alone. Targeted information is required about
prevention and recycling at various key points.
Food waste messages for maximum impact – how to engage your residents in prevention and collections 13
4 in 10 believe that food waste is not a problem as it breaks down in
landfill , rising to 76% among those who say that neither reducing food waste or
recycling are important to me. This is a key barrier which needs to be overcome.
The food cycle diagram is more effective than “Buy Eat Recycle” for
combined messages. 2/3 feel that the cycle ‘encourages me to reduce the amount
of food I throw away and tells me that preventing food waste and recycling are both
important but that preventing food waste is better’. However both routes tested
extremely well and can be used as appropriate (e.g. cycle diagram for a greater focus
on prevention and ‘buy, eat, recycle’ where a recycling focus is needed).
6.0 Recommendations
This section provides a brief outline on the main things to consider when developing a
campaign on food waste (both for prevention and participation in collections).
The purpose of this section is to give basic and practical suggestions on the development
and design of effective communications.
It is important to clearly define what is meant by the term ‘food waste’. Whether
communicating about food waste collection services or food waste prevention one of the
main barriers to taking action is a lack of clarity about what this includes. Clear definitions
and examples are essential, especially on the unavoidable fraction such as meat and fish
bones, tea bags, pineapple skin, egg shells etc when encouraging people to participate in the
recycling service. Food waste prevention should focus on food and drink thrown away that
was, at some point prior to disposal, edible (e.g. slice of bread, apples, meat).
Food waste messages for maximum impact – how to engage your residents in prevention and collections 14
6.1 When should I communicate?
The more opportunities to see the message across different communications methods the
more likely residents are to change their behaviour. Sticking to consistent, easy and clear
messages is essential.
Helping people to change their behaviour (breaking old habits, starting new
ones), for example not throwing leftovers into the bin but using them for another meal, or
recycling their food waste, is widely acknowledged to be difficult. It is not a one-off action.
Food waste messages for maximum impact – how to engage your residents in prevention and collections 15
Research shows that it can take 66 days to develop a
new habit13 (the range for individuals varies from 18 days
to much longer than 66 in fact). Individuals can explore this
by moving their coffee/tea mug to a new position and seeing
how often they automatically go to pick it up from the
previous one. Therefore an integrated communications
campaign over a sustained period of time with your
message across multiple channels (online, social
media, on recycling caddies, radio interviews, press,
newsletters, training, word of mouth etc) is likely to
be the most effective
Love Food Hate Waste and Recycle Now are ideal for
helping you to do this. The Love Food Hate Waste
partners site and Recycle Now partners site are ideal to help
you get started, with proven and tested artwork, messaging
and templates
Food waste recycling icons, bin images, and caddy
photographs to download -
http://www.recyclenowpartners.org.uk/local_authorities/dow
nload_area/food_waste_collection/food_waste.rma
Food waste recycling templates to download including
leaflets, stickers, contamination ties, templates for flats,
posters etc -
http://www.recyclenowpartners.org.uk/local_authorities/dow
nload_area/food_waste_collection/food_waste_1.rma
Love Food Hate Waste template posters, leaflets, etc –
www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/partners
Sign up to the Local Authority email newsletter to keep up to date on the latest resources,
materials, guidance and more.
A phased approach to your communications can support this14:
Option 1: No food waste recycling collection service: Raise awareness of the
issue of food waste – help people to recognise the amount of food they waste. Use
Love Food Hate Waste to do this.
Option 2: Rolling out a food waste collection service
13 How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world Phillippa Lally, Cornelia H. M. van Jaarsveld, Henry W. W. Potts, Jane Wardle
14 See WRAP’s guide to Improving local authority recycling through effective communications
for more information on scheduling and costs.
Food waste messages for maximum impact – how to engage your residents in prevention and collections 16
o Pre-rollout: Ideally 2-6 months before implementation of the new service
communications plan. Raise awareness of the issue of food waste – help
people to recognise the amount of food they waste. Highlight the food waste
hierarchy and offer simple tips and solutions to reduce waste. Use the Food
Cycle (4.2) and Love Food Hate Waste to do this. Highlight the new collection
service is coming soon for the food that can’t be eaten using Recycle Now.
This should be followed, as already recommended, by a new service teaser
leaflet 6-8 weeks before the new service is received by residents focusing only
on the new service. It is recommended that messages in leaflets are not
combined during rollout to ensure residents are clear about how to use the
new service
o Rollout: Make the how, why and when of the new collection service the main
focus of your communications at this stage to ensure residents are fully aware
of how to participate and the sole focus of any instructional leaflets. You may
wish to use the ‘Buy, Eat, Recycle’ message tool as part of wider
communications to continue to highlight the good work done pre-rollout, but
not as part of your main instructional leaflet. Your website should still include
information on prevention but the priority and main highlighted pages should
be to encourage people to use the new service.
o Post-rollout: At least 8 weeks after roll-out. Recycling food waste is good,
preventing food waste is even better. Thank residents for continuing to
participate in the service and highlight progress. Re-highlight the food waste
hierarchy and offer simple tips and solutions to reduce food waste. Use the
Food Cycle (4.2) and Love Food Hate Waste to do this.
Option 3: Food waste service already well-established: Help people to
recognise the amount of food they waste. Then help them act to reduce food waste
to capitalize on their heightened awareness of the problem. Highlight the food waste
hierarchy and offer simple tips and solutions to reduce waste. Use the Food Cycle
(4.2) and Love Food Hate Waste to do this. A combined recycling and reduction
guide would be recommended here. The guide would introduce the food
hierarchy in a simple and understandable way through the use of the food cycle;
then provide information to help them recognise the issue and personalise it - help
people acknowledge that they waste food; provide tips on how to reduce food waste
in the home; provide information about home composting if that is a priority for the
Local Authority; and end with information on how, when and why to use the
recycling collection service for any food they cannot eat.
For further advice on developing a communications plan, please refer to Improving Recycling
through Effective Communications.
6.2 What messages should I use?
It is essential to be clear, and consistent and to combine food messages where
appropriate to maximise impact. One of the main barriers to reducing food waste (and also
to using a collection service) for consumers is not recognising that they waste food. The
introduction of a food waste collection service can be a key trigger for this. The messages
Food waste messages for maximum impact – how to engage your residents in prevention and collections 17
you use need to help remove the blindfold from in front of their eyes and offer
simple, easy ways to prevent food going to waste in the first place and recycle it for
anything left.
Overarching message: Recycling food waste is good, preventing food waste is
even better.
Benefits/motivational messages:
o Food waste costs UK families the equivalent of £50 a month.
o Two thirds of food waste could have been avoided if we had eaten it in time
or cooked the right amount.
o Food waste harms the environment – it wastes the energy, fuel and water
that went into producing it and produces methane, a damaging greenhouse
gas when it is sent to landfill.
o We throw away more food waste from our homes than packaging waste
every year.
Message graphics: we recommend using the two communication message tools
tested in the research as both tested extremely well with all consumers– see section
4.2. It is recommended, as a result of the research, to use the Food Cycle (4.2.1)
when your main priority is prevention and ‘Buy, Eat, Recycle’ when your priority is
recycling.
6.3 What communications methods should I use?
Your available budget and staff resource will determine the level and extent of your
communications but we have included a number of examples which are all effective ways to
communicate with residents about food waste.
When asked “what type of information would you find most useful to help you reduce and
recycle your food waste” the top requests were (1) information to show how reducing food
waste can save money (88%), reduction tips (88%) a combined reduction and recycling
guide (84%). Among those who say they throw away a lot of uneaten food, 92% would find
information to show how reducing food waste can save money very or quite useful, 95%
would welcome tips to reduce food waste and 87% a combined guide. There is no overall
difference between those respondents who have access to food recycling service
and those that do not. Likewise there is very little difference between nations.
However DE groups appeared more open to online messages. Remember any
campaign must be integrated and include a mix of methods.
6.3.1 Social media
76% of respondents to the survey want to receive
both reduction and recycling messages via social
media. Social media such as Facebook and twitter can be a
cheap and effective way to communicate with residents who
Food waste messages for maximum impact – how to engage your residents in prevention and collections 18
are searching out information on food waste. Think about taking advantage of the national
Facebook and Twitter accounts for Recycle Now and Love Food Hate Waste; either re-
tweeting and sharing content or if you don’t have social media available to you then promote
the accounts to your residents and let others do the communicating for you. Love Food Hate
Waste also provides example tweets to coincide with each of its monthly campaign features
and these are made available up to six months in advance to help with your planning. See
Appendix 1 for example tweets.
6.3.2 Website
Nearly 80% of respondents would like to get their information from a website
with messages on both reduction and recycling. 14% would like just reduction
messages and just 7% recycling alone. An example of this can be seen on
www.lovefoodhatewaste.com and its recycling page. It is a good opportunity to provide
more information whereas space is limited for example in a leaflet but newsletters and
editorial are also useful for this. It is essential to ensure that people understand the full
hierarchy of food waste so that they are able to make clear informed decisions about how to
make the most of their food and what to do with the food they can’t eat/use. This method
is good if people are actively looking for information but you should not assume
that people will actively seek it out. Therefore websites should not be relied upon
as the only method of communication but are integral to any campaign. See
Appendix 2 for example website text.
6.3.3 Leaflets
3 in 4 respondents to the survey want a combined message in a leaflet sent to
their home. 13% want a leaflet with messages just on recycling and 13% just on
reduction. Leaflets are an excellent method to communicate with residents who are unlikely
to seek out information proactively and so should be considered where budgets allow. See
Appendix 3 for link to leaflet templates.
6.3.4 Prompts in the kitchen
2 in 3 (66%) want messages on prompts in the kitchen such as a shopping list pad,
measuring tool, etc. Using the food cycle or ‘buy, eat, recycle’ visual tools would be an
excellent idea here. If more space allows include top Love Food Hate Waste tips. See
Appendix 4 for example tips.
6.3.5 Stickers on food waste caddies/containers
58% would like to see combined reduction and
recycling messages on their food waste caddy. 28%
would like to see recycling messages and just 14% reduction
messages on their own. The main focus should be on
what people can put in their caddy along with a top
reduction tip or use of the ‘Buy, Eat, Recycle’ message tool
(section 4.2.2)
6.3.6 Posters in the supermarket
2 in 3 (65%) want to see combined messages on
posters in the supermarket. A great way to work in
Food waste messages for maximum impact – how to engage your residents in prevention and collections 19
partnership with your local retailers! 25% want just reduction messages in store on posters
and just 10% want messages only on recycling. Contact your local store managers to
explore the opportunities available, such as putting up a poster using the visual tools
included in this document or running road shows in-store showcasing what that store is
doing to help its customers waste less food as well as highlighting how to waste less in the
home and use the collection service. Find out what WRAP is doing nationally with retailers on
Love Food Hate Waste.
6.3.7 Training to enable face to face engagement
WRAP offers fully-funded cascade training on food waste prevention for you and your local
businesses/organisations/community groups. This includes training on how to then cascade
those messages out to your wider community to help pass on the knowledge. To request
training contact us.
6.3.8 Internal communications
Briefing staff, crews and call centre staff on your agreed messaging and hierarchy of
messaging (e.g. prevention then recycling) is a really important way to engage them (they
are also likely to be your residents after all) and to ensure that the message to your
residents is consistent e. See WRAP’s guide to Improving local authority recycling through
effective communications for more information.
Leaflet examples:
Food waste messages for maximum impact – how to engage your residents in prevention and collections 20
6.4 Guidelines for developing your communications materials
6.4.1 Principle 1 – Headline
The most important element is the headline. The headline is either the heading that
goes at the top or if there’s no heading it’s the first few words. The headline needs to grab
peoples’ attention and tell them what it is about. Keep it simple; do not try to be too
clever – a catchy and appropriate strap line is best. A clever concept can go over peoples’
heads – they don’t have the time or the inclination to try and work it out. A good example of
a headline is:
How – and why - to reduce your food waste
Recycling food waste is good, preventing it is even better
6.4.2 Principle 2 – Hierarchy
It is very important that you develop a hierarchy so that the most important information
or message is at the top and the least important at the bottom. Peoples’ attention
span can be short and they will skim the information after the first few sentences unless you
can maintain their interest. Start with why they should reduce and recycle their food
waste (the benefits), and follow with how (prevention tips and details on
recycling). Follow the food waste hierarchy and use our handy message tools: the food
cycle and ‘buy, eat, recycle’ to get this across easily.
6.4.3 Principle 3 – Make it personal to the reader
It needs to be a personal communication to the individual reading it. It should
address their needs, desires and concerns, help them to recognise the amount of food they
waste, communicate your message in a friendly way and it needs to communicate the
benefits of what you are offering. Relate it to the individual:
‘You can save £50 a month simply by not wasting food’ or ‘Recycle the food you can’t eat’
6.4.4 Principle 4 – Make it Positive
Food waste prevention is all about making the most of the food you buy. Focus on
the benefits and use the messaging and tips provided for you at
www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/partners. Encourage your residents to use their new
recycling service through highlighting the benefits. For example, in conjunction with
the food cycle wheel:
‘You can save £50 a month and help the environment simply by buying only what you need
and making the most of the food you do buy and not throwing it away. And for the food you
can’t eat such as peelings and bones? We are introducing a brand new weekly food waste
recycling service for you. It’s an easy and convenient way to dispose of any leftover food you
can’t eat, and we’ll turn it into fertiliser and biogas.’
Food waste messages for maximum impact – how to engage your residents in prevention and collections 21
6.4.5 Principle 5 – Design
Recycle Now and Love Food Hate Waste were tested alongside each other as part of the
research. It is important to develop a consistent look and feel as it will aid householders in
recalling information and recognising whom the communication has come from. Both can
be localised specifically for your area and the messages and services you provide.
This enables you to develop an identity that has the benefit of a local focus but
also links to a well-recognised national campaign that has been thoroughly tested
on the public. Do not distract the reader by making the design too fussy. A clean design
carefully set with the minimum of distraction is best. Space around paragraphs makes the
text much easier to read, pages packed with text without features makes it difficult. Put
information in easily understood and assimilated ‘chunks’.
Fonts should be plain (sans serif) without those little embellishments like Times Roman.
Choose a font and stick to it – do not change it in the same leaflet. Both Recycle Now and
Love Food Hate Waste use Futura but Tahoma is good too. Plain fonts are easier to
read especially for those with visual impairment.
Point size for paragraph or body text can be anything between 8 and 12 point, any
smaller and it is difficult to read, any larger and it starts to look like a child’s first reading
book and becomes condescending to adults. Do not make it unnecessarily large, remember
a newspaper is about 8/9 point and the vast majority of people can read newspapers.
6.4.6 Principle 6 – Action
Your communication must make it clear what action(s) you want people to take. Your first
message must be the last message your audience need before they do whatever
you want them to do. Communications must make it easy for residents to act through
clear signposting. They must not have to ring someone to get a leaflet to find a number to
do it – it will never happen!
6.4.7 Principle 7 – Contact Information
Never produce a communication, which does not have your council or campaign logo,
website address, and contact number. Also link to www.recyclenow.com and
www.lovefoodhatewaste.com
6.4.8 Principle 8 – Make Information Understandable
Make sure information is easy to understand and uses simple and concise language.
If you are using facts and figures make sure information is as up to date as possible. For the
latest food waste statistics visit Love Food Hate Waste. It is important that you provide
appropriate information. Is the copy relevant? Is there an unnecessary amount of
information? Too much information can reduce the impact of key messages and confuse
householders. Remember the importance of visuals and images to assist understanding.
6.4.9 Principle 9 – Testing Designs
Testing design concepts and copy can be costly. Recycle Now and Love Food Hate Waste
designs have already been tested for you to ensure they are motivating and encourage the
right behaviours. An alternative for specific local information is to test designs and copy on
non recycling/waste related staff or members of the public. This can provide a good insight
Food waste messages for maximum impact – how to engage your residents in prevention and collections 22
into peoples’ opinions and feedback on the communication can then be used to modify or
improve the communication. Let your call centre comment on your promotional material,
they are in daily contact with householders and will invariably know the types of questions
they will ask and whether the content is clear and appropriate.
6.4.10 Principle 10 - Recycle Now Campaign and Love Food Hate Waste
The Recycle Now and Love Food Hate Waste campaigns are national consumer brands which
have a high recognition factor and are synonymous with driving positive changes in
behaviour. They are used widely by retailer, communities and local authorities.
Guidelines for using the campaigns are available on www.recyclenowpartners.org.uk and
www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/partners
Food waste messages for maximum impact – how to engage your residents in prevention and collections 23
7.0 Additional information
Detailed research slides – click here
WRAP guidance on implementing and running effective and efficient food waste collection
services – Research and information on collecting and recycling food waste. Diversion of
food waste from disposal is becoming a priority for local authorities in the UK. As at May
2011 47% of local authorities in the UK are providing a food waste collection service to
householders and an increasing number are looking to collect food waste from small
businesses and schools. WRAP has information on collecting household food waste and a lot
of that information draws on the experience gained from WRAP supported food waste
collection trials over the period January 2007 to March 2009. There are key studies
commissioned by WRAP on the nature and scale of food waste together with ways of dealing
with food waste. Studies on managing food and garden waste go into the cost benefit
analysis for dealing with food and garden waste and on the performance of mixed food and
garden waste collections.
WRAP communications guidance for Local Authorities and good practice examples - a range
of communication tools and guides for local authorities to ensure you effectively get your
message across to households and businesses. Local Authority support is also available from
WRAP – download an application form and find out more.
Campaign information, resources, templates etc for partners:
www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/partners or www.recyclenowpartners.org.uk
Love Food Hate Waste campaign – www.lovefoodhatewaste.com
Recycle Now campaign – www.recyclenow.com
Love Food Hate waste twitter - @LFHW_UK
Love Food Hate Waste Facebook – LFHW Community
Recycle Now Facebook – Recycle Now
For further support and information contact WRAP’s helpline 0845 600 0323 or via the
website
Food waste messages for maximum impact – how to engage your residents in prevention and collections 24
Appendix 1 Example
tweets
Food waste costs UK/local area families the equivalent of £50 a month. Waste less and
save more insert link to website page for people to find out more
Food waste harms our environment. It wastes energy fuel & water & creates damaging
greenhouse gases when it rots insert link
We throw away more food waste from our homes than packaging waste every year Keep
food fresher for longer insert link
Tips and advice for loving your food from Love Food Hate Waste insert link
Shopping lists and meal plans - 2 easy tools to help reduce food waste. Watch these
short animations to see how insert link
Always cook too much rice or pasta? We help you get perfect portions every time with
this great little tool bit.ly/Pas2vg
Check out lovefoodhatewaste.com for tips and advice to reduce food waste and save
money insert link
Keep your fridge below 5 degrees to keep your food fresher for longer. Insert link
Cooking and serving the right amount of food can save you money – it’s as simple as
that. Emma explains how insert link
Great recipes for using up leftovers and forgotten foods on Love Food Hate Waste insert
link
Confused about date labels? Check out this handy guide #foodwaste insert link
Did you know 7.2 million tonnes of food and drink is thrown away from our homes each
year? Waste less and save money insert link
Recycling food waste in your caddy is good, not wasting it is even better. #foodwaste
insert link
We could avoid half of all food waste if we used it in time or cooked the right amount.
Love Food Hate Waste explains how insert link
Food waste messages for maximum impact – how to engage your residents in prevention and collections 25
Recycle any food you can’t use such as bones, peelings and plate scrapings. Find out
more insert link
The food waste we recycle in XX is turned into energy to power homes and fertiliser to
keep the area green insert link
We waste over 7 million tonnes of food every year. Find out more about your food
recycling service insert link
Thanks for reducing and recycling your food waste. We’ve saved XXX tonnes from landfill
already this year saving £xx. Insert link
Food waste messages for maximum impact – how to engage your residents in prevention and collections 26
Appendix 2 Example website text to
explain the hierarchy of food waste for
residents
Food waste recycling: what to do with the
food you can't eat
Not all food can be eaten unfortunately: there will always be peelings, bones, egg shells etc.
So what's the best thing to do?
The best thing we can do is make the most of the food and drink we buy rather than
throwing it away - it's best financially and environmentally. Just think about all the energy,
water and packaging used in food production, transportation and storage. This all goes to
waste when we throw away perfectly good food and here's why. But what to do if you do
have food leftover that can't be eaten or stored for later?
Composting at home is an inexpensive, natural process that transforms your kitchen and
garden waste into a valuable and nutrient rich food for your garden. Everything from
vegetable and fruit peelings to teabags, toilet roll tubes, cereal boxes and eggshells can be
composted. Take care not to compost cooked food, meat or fish though. Did you know,
composting at home for just one year can save global warming gases equivalent to all the
CO2 your kettle produces annually, or your washing machine produces in three months?
Food waste messages for maximum impact – how to engage your residents in prevention and collections 27
We're often asked "Why do I need to not waste my food/compost/recycle when
my waste will break down in landfill anyway?" Good question! When waste is sent to
landfill, air cannot get to the organic waste. Therefore as the waste breaks down it creates a
harmful greenhouse gas, methane, which damages the Earth's atmosphere. However, when
this same waste is composted above ground at home, oxygen helps the waste to decompose
aerobically (i.e. in the presence of air) which means hardly any methane is produced, which
is good news for the planet. And what's more, after nine to twelve months, you get a free
fertiliser for your garden and plant pots to keep them looking beautiful.
If you don't have a garden or don't want to compost then use your local food
waste recycling service (insert link to your food waste recycling service website page).
This service allows you to recycle your cooked and raw food scraps which will then go off to
be commercially composted at a local facility (insert details where known and any local
benefits).
There are two ways food waste can be recycled – please use the paragraph below which
reflects your local service
In-vessel composting, involves mixing food waste with garden waste, shredding it and
composting it in a tunnel or container for around two to four weeks. Temperatures of up
to 70 degrees C speed up the process and kill any harmful microbes. It is then left for a
further 1-3 months with regular turning and checks to ensure quality, before going on to
be used as soil conditioner. OR
Anaerobic Digestion, uses micro-organisms called 'methanogens' to break down food
waste, animal manures and energy crops in the absence of oxygen, inside an enclosed
tank. As it breaks down, it gives off 'bio-gas' that is collected and used to generate
electricity, heat or transport fuels. It also creates biofertiliser, which can be used in
farming and land regeneration.
For more information on composting at home (use your own information or link to Recycle
Now - http://www.recyclenow.com/home_composting/index.html)
For more information on recycling (use your own information here or link to Recycle Now -
http://www.recyclenow.com/
Want more information to help you make the most of your food?
Planning – making a meal plan for the week, shopping lists…
Portioning – get your perfect portion
Date Labels
Storage tips
Recipes
The food we waste - fabulous facts and fascinating stats
Food waste messages for maximum impact – how to engage your residents in prevention and collections 28
Appendix 3 leaflet templates
Food waste prevention
Love Food Hate Waste template posters, leaflets, etc –
www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/partners
Food waste recycling
Food waste recycling icons, bin images, and caddy photographs to download -
http://www.recyclenowpartners.org.uk/local_authorities/download_area/food_waste_collecti
on/food_waste.rma
Food waste recycling templates to download including leaflets, stickers, contamination ties,
templates for flats, posters etc -
http://www.recyclenowpartners.org.uk/local_authorities/download_area/food_waste_collecti
on/food_waste_1.rma
Food waste messages for maximum impact – how to engage your residents in prevention and collections 29
Appendix 4 example food waste
prevention tips
There are 5 key behaviours we need to influence to help people reduce the food and drink
they waste
Planning – meal plans, checking cupboards/fridges/freezers, making and sticking to
shopping lists.
Understanding and using date labels – use-by (safety), best before (quality),
and sell-by/display-until (just for the shops for stock control).
Savvy Storage – storing food in the right way to keep it fresher for longer for
example apples in the fridge, leftovers in the freezer for another time.
Perfect Portions – cook just the right amount.
Using Leftovers and forgotten foods – making the most of our food/using leftover
recipes.
Useful tips include:
Check your cupboards/fridge/freezer and make a list before you go shopping so you
only buy what you need.
Remember to take your shopping list with you to the shops and stick to it!
Get to know your date labels. Use-by is the only one that counts as that’s about
safety.
Eat at least one meal from the freezer each week. That way you can skip it if your
plans change at short notice or you can have a night off cooking.
Leave your pack on! Fresh food last for up to 2 weeks longer if stored in their original
pack in the fridge.
Cook just the right amount and store leftovers in the freezer for another time.
Surprised by the amount of food you’re throwing away? Visit
www.lovefoodhatewaste.com for easy ways to waste less and save £50 a month.
www.wrap.org.uk/localauthorities