Using behavioural science to increase recycling and reduce waste

Behavioural Barriers in Reform

England is weeks from the biggest shift in household waste services in a generation. By 31 March 2026 every local authority must deliver consistent collections of food waste (weekly where possible), paper and card, plastics, metals and glass to all homes under Simpler Recycling, ending the postcode lottery that has long frustrated residents.

The timing is no coincidence. After the business rollout in March 2025 and the phased introduction of packaging extended producer responsibility that same year, the household phase tests whether policy can finally move the needle on recycling rates frozen near 44% since the mid-2010s.

Stakes are concrete and rising. Producers now face hundreds of pounds per tonne in pEPR fees calibrated to material type, with plastics at £423 per tonne in the 2025-26 base year; fees will modulate further by recyclability from 2026. Contaminated loads increase these costs, reduce reprocessor revenue and accelerate landfill use in a country where sites already cover an area the size of Greater London.

Missed 2025 deadlines elsewhere amplify the pressure: global plastic recycling remains below 10%, many multinationals quietly extended or abandoned virgin-plastic reduction pledges, and EU packaging targets loom larger. The UK risks forgoing a potential £2 billion domestic recycling industry by continuing to ship waste abroad.

Behavioural science surfaces the overlooked tension. People already claim to recycle most items, yet three-quarters still bin recyclables with general waste. Knowledge campaigns have plateaued; instead, ease, visible neighbour norms and immediate system feedback drive sustained change. Trade-offs emerge between producer demands for ultra-clean streams and household realities of busy lives, variable collection reliability and scepticism when effort seems wasted.