An award- winning approach
Cromwell Polythene discuss how their partnership approach to litter reduction has led to a very successful response.
Litter costs taxpayers £800m annually, most of which is avoidable: that’s why we are extremely proud to have partnered with our local authority, Selby District Council, on their Clean Driver Scheme.
The council were awarded ‘Best Partnership’ in the LARAC (Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee) Awards 2019 last month for this innovative project, which encourages lorry drivers within the district to dispose of their rubbish responsibly.
https://www.laracconference.co.uk/awards
The aim of the accreditation scheme, which launched in August 2018, is to reduce roadside rubbish in areas that the Council has identified as litter hotspots. Working in conjunction with local businesses and haulage-related companies that are based in a large industrial estate in the area, signatories to the scheme received campaign packs encouraging visiting lorry drivers to dispose of their rubbish responsibly.
Funded by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the campaign packs include an in-cab tidy package that gives drivers litter bags for their rubbish, reusable coffee cups, and pocket ashtrays to encourage responsible rubbish disposal. The package also includes information about local facilities, such as litter bins, in graphical format so the information is accessible to drivers from other countries.
Celebrating positive behaviour
Cromwell Polythene was the first partner organisation to sign up to the scheme, as it was a clear fit with our business as a supplier of products for the capture and containment of materials for recycling. In addition, to further support the Clean Driver Scheme, Cromwell Polythene and Cranswick Gourmet Bacon (part of Cranswick plc) funded brand new litter bins on the industrial estate to encourage responsible behaviour.
While many anti-litter campaigns focus on highlighting negative behaviours, the aim of this scheme was to celebrate positive behaviour and champion drivers who are disposing of their rubbish responsibly. Drivers could display the campaign branding on their lorry cabs to proudly show that they are committed anti-litterers.
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Funding facilitated new roadside signage about the scheme in laybys in problem areas. It also enabled baseline monitoring to be carried out before and after the scheme to measure effectiveness.
Making an impact
Selby District Council’s analysis of the Clean Driver Scheme revealed a positive impact. They carried out litter monitoring for three consecutive weeks prior to launching the campaign to gather baseline information. Further monitoring of the same areas was conducted four weeks after the launch, for a three-week period. Results saw a reduction of 30% and 46% in two key areas.
We certainly believe this campaign has led to a substantial reduction in local littering by encouraging recycling and responsible behaviour. There is, however, still room for improvement across, not only industrial estates, but all public places. It’s important that we all continue to take more care for our environment, to make a real difference in our local communities.
Now that the campaign branding has been developed it would be relatively simple to expand it into other areas, and would also be possible for other towns and cities to replicate successful elements of the scheme.
www.cromwellpolythene.co.uk
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