Recycle for Wales: Doorstep Engagement Campaign
Background & Context
WRAP Cymru commissioned M·E·L Research to deliver and evaluate a targeted doorstep engagement campaign as part of the wider Recycle for Wales behaviour change programme. The campaign formed part of the Welsh Government’s ambition to increase recycling rates and reduce waste by encouraging greater participation in food waste recycling services across Wales.
Working alongside Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council, the campaign focused on increasing participation in kerbside food waste recycling in areas with lower collection performance. These neighbourhoods were also selected because they contained higher proportions of households living in social housing and families with children, audiences identified as priorities for behaviour change activity. The wider communications campaign also included advertising, social media activity and community engagement events, with the doorstep campaign providing direct, face-to-face conversations with residents.
The objectives were to:
- Increase the amount of food waste captured for recycling.
- Increase participation in the kerbside food waste collection service.
- Understand current recycling behaviours and knowledge.
- Identify barriers preventing residents from participating.
- Enable participation by ordering replacement recycling containers where required.
- Generate demographic insights to inform future targeting and communications.
Approach
M·E·L Research designed and delivered a comprehensive engagement programme combining face-to-face doorstep engagement with community outreach activity. The project was designed to both encourage behaviour change and capture robust evidence to support future campaign planning.
The methodology comprised:
Face-to-face doorstep engagement (Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) surveys)
- Delivered across 11 targeted low-performing food waste collection rounds covering communities including Brynmawr, Tredegar, Blaina, Abertillery, Cwm, Llanhilleth, Ebbw Vale, Six Bells and Cwmtillery.
- A team of four trained Recycling Advisors conducted doorstep visits following project-specific training covering campaign objectives, sampling, local recycling services and communication techniques.
- More than 6,000 households were canvassed, resulting in conversations with 1,905 residents, achieving a 31% contact rate.
- Residents who were unavailable received campaign literature and a “Sorry we missed you” card.
- Advisors discussed recycling behaviours, addressed misconceptions, provided practical advice, identified barriers to participation and arranged replacement recycling containers where required.
Community engagement events
- M·E·L Research delivered six community events at local markets and supermarket forecourts across Blaenau Gwent.
- Advisors engaged with 130 residents, providing information about food waste recycling, reusable shopping bags and opportunities to order replacement food waste containers.
- Events enabled engagement with additional residents who may not have been reached through doorstep visits.
Survey design and behavioural insight collection
- Advisors completed a structured survey during conversations using SNAP survey software.
- Information collected included:
- Claimed use of the food waste collection service.
- Types of food waste recycled.
- Frequency of participation.
- Barriers preventing participation.
- Factors that would encourage increased recycling.
- Requirements for replacement food waste containers and liners.
- Household demographics including age, gender, household composition and presence of children.
Geo-demographic profiling
- M·E·L Research profiled the target areas using ACORN classification alongside Census data to understand the socio-demographic characteristics of residents.
- This confirmed that the campaign successfully targeted communities with higher levels of financial hardship, social housing and families, ensuring engagement activity was focused on priority audiences.
Outputs
M·E·L Research undertook detailed quantitative analysis to identify behavioural patterns, barriers and opportunities for improving recycling participation.
Analysis included:
- Standard frequency analysis across all survey responses.
- Cross-tabulation of findings by: Age. Gender. Household composition. Presence of children. Ward. Collection round.
- Statistical significance testing using Z-tests at the 95% confidence level.
- Confidence interval calculations demonstrating overall survey precision.
- ACORN geo-demographic profiling to interpret behavioural differences between neighbourhoods.
- Thematic coding of open-ended resident comments to identify recurring operational and service issues.
Findings were presented through:
- A comprehensive written evaluation report.
- Executive summary infographic highlighting headline findings.
- Detailed charts and data tables.
- Ward-level and collection-round analysis.
- Demographic profiling.
- Practical recommendations for improving future campaigns and increasing participation.
The project generated valuable operational intelligence alongside immediate service improvements. During the campaign, Recycling Advisors directly enabled participation by arranging replacement food waste caddies and external bins for residents who required them and signposting residents to obtain food waste liners. The evidence also identified priority groups for future communications, highlighting differences in participation between age groups, household types and neighbourhoods, helping the client target future behaviour change activity more effectively.
The evaluation concluded that the campaign successfully provided practical support, increased awareness of food waste recycling and generated detailed evidence to inform future recycling engagement strategies across Blaenau Gwent.
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