Recycling and recovery
Circular economy stalling because of language barrier, research reveals
Progress towards a greener, more resource-efficient UK economy is faltering because the complex language and concepts used to describe it are alienating consumers, a new report commissioned by SUEZ recycling and recovery UK (SUEZ) has revealed.
Created by WPI Economics “Bringing the Consumer into the Picture: Normalising the Circular Economy” found that use of the term ‘circular economy’ was the single biggest inhibitor to progress and, far from engaging the public in important environmental messages, was causing them to actively switch off. Added to this, terms like waste prevention and sustainability were widely misunderstood as being synonymous with recycling, making effective communication on the issue even harder.
A series of focus groups revealed that even the people who were playing an active part in the circular economy - by fixing phones, donating clothes, and buying second-hand - didn’t associate that behaviour with specific environmental or economic outcomes. This lack of a clear connection, says the report, prevents wider engagement and the scaling up of individual action.
We have the policy, the industry innovation, and the desire for change. But we are speaking a language that only insiders understand. To realise the £25 billion economic boost and 470,000 new jobs the Circular Economy could create by 2035, we must articulate better how we can encourage Consumers to become Conservers and that starts with talking about repair, re-use, and affordability, not abstract economic models.Dr Adam Read , Chief Sustainability and External Affairs Officer | SUEZ recycling and recovery UK
We saw our focus groups fall cleanly into two distinct types of consumers - the ‘Proactives’ who already want to lessen their impact on the environment by repairing and reusing but need a bit more facilitation - and the ‘Pragmatics’ who will change behaviour only if it proves more convenient or cost-effective. Communicating meaningfully with both groups means simplifying the terms across the board, understanding their distinct motivations and then designing messages that resonate accordingly.Laura Osborne , Managing Director of WPI Economics
As a result of the findings, SUEZ is asking the sector to embed a people-centric approach by:
- Simplifying Messaging and tailoring communications to resonate with differently motivated groups. Saving money and lowering living costs is more compelling than abstract concepts and economic models.
- Making it easy to participate in the right behaviours. The report stresses that convenience is key to adoption and legislative frameworks must ensure consumer accessibility.
- Government taking a strong coordinating role to ensure all policy and industry activities are aligned, strengthening the implementation of initiatives at every level by ensuring local authorities and businesses have the necessary resources and capacity.
- Supporting and scaling successful models such as buy-back schemes and innovative industry models and platforms that promote convenient clothing and electronics reuse, which consumers are already adopting.
Added Dr Read: “The debate is over as to why we need to move to a circular economy – we can’t continue to consume the Earth’s finite resources and then just discard them.
“But by confusing the message with unnecessarily complicated jargon, we are turning off the very people we need to change from consumers into conservers.
“Without this, and a fundamental shift to make circularity accessible and desirable to the wider population, progress toward a thriving, resource efficient UK circular economy is likely to remain stalled.”
