LAWR

COMMENT 4 Local Authority Waste & Recycling April 2015 Communicating effectively with the public: Thank you for recycling LARAC chief executive Lee Marshall recently warned councils to "think carefully about your communications when setting budgets". He was speaking at the launch of a report produced by the CIWM and consultancy firm Ricardo- AEA about the effects of austerity on council waste services. He said that communications budgets were being cut at "a time when WRAP tells us we have 25% of the population who 'get' recycling and at a time when reprocessors tell us the material we are collecting is not of a good enough quality". Marshall has a point. When times are hard, it is frequently the communications budget that is hit first, as it is often perceived as non-essential when it comes to service provision - unlike vehicles and manpower. Yet, the public cannot be expected to understand what to do with their recycling bin or box if it has not been communicated to them effectively. A simple 'thanks for recycling' message on a campaign leaflet is enough to remind residents how to use a recycling scheme and why it is important – as demonstrated by Cheltenham Borough Council. Cheltenham Borough Council recently ran a campaign thanking residents for "already recycling 46% of household waste" but also sent out a reminder that "every year we still Macrete waste recycling 1/4 page-paths.indd 1 18/12/2014 10:04 We manufacture bespoke Shredders for Shredding... \Clinical Waste \Tyres \Metal \Mobile Shredding \Plastics \Confidential Documents \WEEE \Electronic Media Storage Devices \Textiles \Organic Waste \Fuel Large, coarse, superfine and everything in between at Ulster Shredders. Cogry Works, 65 Creagh Rd, Castledawson Magherafelt. BT45 8EW T. +44 28 7965 0050 F. +44 28 7965 0025 Want to find out more about our range of Industrial Shredders? Email us at info@ulstershredders.com or visit our website. ulstershredders.com pay £1.4 million to bury waste". On a different note, I have my own 'thank-you' messages to make. This issue will be my last as editor on LAWR. I have decided to move on to pastures new. Looking back, I have met some fantastic people in this industry and would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone the very best for the future. Although the resource management sector is taking a bit of a hit at the moment, it is an exciting time to be in the industry. A recent Defra report, entitled 'Resource management: a catalyst for growth and productivity', estimated that the core resource management sector generated £6.8bn in gross value added (GVA) in 2013, supported 103,000 jobs in 2013 and could generate an extra £3.58bn for UK businesses by 2020. Before I leave, I'd like to thank LAWR readers, contributors and the Faversham House team. I urge you to throw your support behind the new editor and continue to make this publication a must read for resource management professionals. Thank you and goodbye. Liz Gyekye, Editor Follow me on Twitter: @LAWR_editor

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