South Tyneside Council

Different councils operate different recycling schemes. Items are classified and described differently and new materials are introduced which may not fit into a published recycling scheme. It is difficult to understand how to prepare items for recycling (rinse?, remove label?), and what is classed as contamination. This is confusing and makes it difficult for households to recycle the maximum amount which impacts negatively on recycling rates and the cost of waste disposal.

We want to understand

• the challenges around understanding what can be recycled
• how to best communicate recycling guidance to meet differing needs (i.e. pictures / images / written descriptions / audio)
• how to manage and update local guidance within a national solution
• how to deliver localised information direct to residents, helping them to quickly and easily identify what to do with an item when it needs to be disposed of

We will produce the following re-usable assets

• User research on the challenges around understanding existing recycling guidance

• A business case to confirm the cost of the problem and the potential savings locally and nationally
• Recommendations for open standard digital solution(s) that would resolve the problem with wireframes etc.