Working with communities in and around Peterborough to reduce single-use packaging through reuse schemes
Starbucks and Hubbub have partnered up to launch a £1.4 million grant fund which aims to support innovation and behaviour change to reduce single-use food and drinks packaging.
As one of the 6 winners of the funding, PECT will be working with RECOUP over the next year to complete the Bring it Back project around Peterborough. The team will work with a range of communities to understand their specific barriers to reusable packaging systems.
Project Stats
1000
Individuals Making Reuse a Reality
5
Community-Led Pilot Projects
1
Digital Toolkit for UK Organisations & Communities
Why should we switch to reusable packaging systems?
According to the UN Environment Programme:
- ‘We produce about 400 million tonnes of plastic waste every year.’
- ‘Approximately 36% of all plastics produced are used in packaging, including single-use plastic products for food and beverage containers, approximately 85 per cent of which end up in landfills or as unregulated waste’
- ‘Additionally, some 98% of single-use plastic products are produced from fossil fuel, or “virgin” feedstock.’
The level of carbon emissions associated with the production of plastics, particularly ones that are used only once for a drink or meal, creates a huge amount of wasted energy and resources. This is something we have to change, not only to maintain planetary and human health, but to ensure that we can support future generations.
Reusable packaging systems mean that instead of depleting our planetary resources to make more single-use items (that end up wasted), we can reuse the same materials again and again, saving money, energy and valuable resources.
What will PECT and RECOUP be doing?
Community Engagement
PECT and RECOUP worked with different communities to understand their barriers to reusable packaging schemes. Through careful consideration of various cultural and geographic contexts, PECT and RECOUP created a series of behaviour change pilots, tailored to each community, to ensure that reusable packaging schemes are accessible and convenient for everyone.
Learning the barriers
Through our work with local communities, we aimed to find out the key barriers that prevent society from moving to reusable packaging systems. We especially wanted to know how perceptions differ based on the community you might belong to, as we don’t believe that a one-size-fits-all approach works for everyone.
The Bring it Back team at PECT, along with RECOUP, worked with behaviour change specialists from the University of Sheffield and marketing agency, Kakadu Creative, to research, plan and deliver effective campaigns for at least 5 chosen communities.
Working with:
Funded by:
