Step It Up For Recycle Week: 2021 Is The Year Of Action On Climate Change.

With COP26 bringing world Governments together to act on climate change this November, Recycle Now will use its annual Recycle Week (20th – 26th September) event to bring the nation together to unite against climate change, by asking citizens to Step It Up this Recycle Week.

With well-known donors already on board, Recycle Now is delighted to announce that Britvic and PepsiCo has joined forces as part of their partnership agreement to donate to the week, as well as The Natural Source Waters Association (NSWA).

These organisations join a growing list of donors which includes: Coca-Cola, Coop, Danone, Ocado, and Waitrose + Partners UK. The financial backing from these donors enables WRAP, the environmental charity which runs Recycle Now, – to help more citizens to change their recycling behaviours. WRAP is a global NGO that is based in the UK, and is one of the UK’s top 5 environmental charities and works with governments, businesses and individuals.

The charity leads The UK Plastics Pact (a world’s first), and works collaboratively (and develops and delivers) evidence-based, impactful solutions to reduce the environmental cost of the food we eat, the clothes we wear, and the plastic packaging we use. Founded in 2000 in the UK, WRAP now works around the world, and is a Global Alliance Partner of The Royal Foundation’s Earthshot Prize.

The last year has shifted people’s views, with 73% saying they are prepared to make lifestyle compromises to benefit the environment, and 93% agreeing that everyone has a responsibility to help clean up the environment. The appetite for change has never been stronger.

Sarah Clayton, the Head of Citizen Behaviour Change WRAP, said:

“People’s concerns about the environment remains on the increase. We know that climate change is an issue people are passionate about. Often we can feel powerless to act, but recycling is one activity that we can all do to help the planet. As a nation, our commitment to recycling has continued to grow, even during the challenges of the last year. We want Recycle Week 2021 to inspire more people to Step It Up and fight climate change.“

Recycle Now is urging more organisations to get in touch and become donors, putting their collective power behind the annual Week, and to join this coordinated action to tackle climate change. Evidence shows that Recycle week is changing people’s behaviour. Of the people who saw Recycle Week in 2020, a whopping 92% found it motivating, and 89% of those people changed their recycling behaviours: this shows the power of Recycle Week.

First staged in 2004, Recycle Week is now the UK’s largest national annual recycling campaign. It’s a week where citizens, media, local governments, and brands come together to meet one goal: to galvanise everyone into recycling more of the right things, more often. Using ground-breaking, robust insights and behaviour change theory, Recycle Now develops interventions and campaigns to motivate citizens to change their behaviour.

Jamie Mackay, the General Manager of UK Beverages at PepsiCo said:

“We fully support the ambition of Recycle Week, and we are proud to join WRAP for the campaign again in 2021. Despite a challenging year, people across the country are continuing to take small but meaningful actions to help protect the environment. Recycling helps drive a circular economy, ensuring packaging can have a second life.“

“As we work towards our 2022 goal of 100% recycled plastic bottles across our ready-to-drink beverages in Great Britain, we hope that Recycle Week inspires even more people to step up their support this year,” Jamie added.

To find out about donating and partnership opportunities during Recycle Week 2021, contact: partnerenquiries@wrap.org.uk

And you can find out more about Recycle Now here: www.recyclenow.com