Concerns over how fair and sustainable the rewards-based scheme RecycleBank is have been discussed at a private meeting in central London attended by Defra and WRAP.
The meeting was hosted by sustainability organisation the Green Alliance and formed part of its work on climate change which includes examining how better political communication could lead to stronger public support for a low carbon society. Those present included representatives from government offices, campaign groups, consultancies, legal firms, local authorities and the retail sector.
The merits of incentivisation of recycling featured strongly at the event, with scrutiny and discussion of RecycleBank although it is not thought that a representative from the company was invited.
The scheme has risen to prominence since first being name-checked by Chancellor George Osborne in July 2008 and has been adopted by the Royal borough of Windsor and Maidenhead and Halton borough council and as many as 25 more councils are believed to be discussing use of the service.
Delegates explained that there was support for what RecycleBank aims to achieve. But, the meeting saw concerns aired about the scheme driving consumption of material as opposed to pushing the message of waste reduction.
One attendee, who chose to remain anonymous, said: “One of the main concerns is that it skews the waste hierarchy. I mean, waste recycling is good but not as good as having waste reduction or reuse. We seem to be incentivising consumption, which is missing the point.”
This issue was echoed by Mike Webster of Waste Watch, who confirmed he had attended the meeting and said: “We could see this crazy situation of individuals purchasing and consuming more simply to gain RecycleBank credits or choosing less environmentally friendly options simply to gain more points.”
Furthermore, delegates said that the meeting, which took the form of workshops and discussions, saw concerns raised about the impact of the system on recycling rates. It was claimed it is hard to detect the impact of the service and that information on its overall benefits was limited.
For more info: www.letsrecycle.com
