Michelle Whitfield, Head of Communications & Behaviour Change at GMCA, examines the systemic reasons why people don’t recycle food waste and breaks down what the solutions are.
As local authorities roll out food waste collection services as part of Simpler Recycling, the focus will be on getting the technical service right, including bins, caddies, liners, vehicles and contracts.
But in reality, their success depends on something much less predictable: human behaviour. Even the most efficient collection system will underperform if people do not use it consistently, correctly or at all.
Applying behaviour change theory at the point of service design, not just in supporting communications, can significantly improve participation and capture rates, while reducing contamination and complaints – CIWM’s Behaviour Change Hierarchy provides guidance on how to do this.
In Greater Manchester, food waste has been collected from households with garden waste in a 240-litre wheeled bin for over 10 years. Kitchen caddies are supplied, and most local authorities also supply compostable liners.
The service performs well and captures more than 1.5kg per household per week of food waste, which is comparable to the amount collected from a separate food waste service.
However, despite that, some residents are still not using their food waste collection service, and waste compositional analysis data shows that around 25% of the general waste bin is made up of food waste.
This is reflected in a recent survey, with 21% of residents still placing food waste in the general waste bin. The take-up of food waste collection services is further evidenced by the fact that of those surveyed, 88% regularly recycle using their other bins (paper and mixed recycling), but only 72% regularly recycle all of their food waste.
When asked what type of food waste they recycle, 74% said inedible scraps, whilst only 4 out of 10 use their food waste bin for out-of-date food or fridge clear-outs, pointing to the hassle factor of separating the food waste from the packaging.
Why does behaviour change matter for food waste?
Separate food waste collections ask residents to adopt new routines: scraping plates, storing food waste indoors, finding space for a kitchen caddy and managing odour.
Evidence shows that low participation rarely stems from lack of awareness alone. Instead, barriers are more often linked to habit, convenience, confidence and perceived effort.
Using the COM-B behavioural change model can help to provide a framework to diagnose why people do not participate in food waste collections.
Capability asks whether people feel able to use the service. This includes knowing what goes in the food caddy, how to manage liquids, and what happens to food waste after collection. Research with Greater Manchester households shows that uncertainty and confusion regarding food waste collection services remain.
Opportunity focuses on whether the service fits into daily life. This includes the size and design of caddies, the provision of liners, ease of storage in small kitchens, and reliable collection frequency. Where opportunity is weak, such as no liners provided, awkward caddy design or missed collections, then participation falls regardless of intent.
Motivation covers habits, emotions and social norms. Concerns about smell, hygiene and pests are strongly linked to non-participation, as are perceptions that ‘most people don’t bother’.
Applying behaviour change theory means designing food waste collections around people, rather than expecting people to adapt to the system.
Behaviour change is not linear. Successful authorities test, measure and adapt rather than assuming a one-off launch will deliver long-term change.
Piloting small service tweaks, listening to resident feedback and comparing participation data allows teams to refine services in response to real behaviour, not assumptions.
Clear communications
Many residents say they don’t have any food waste, often because the idea of waste is associated with guilt or avoidable behaviour. In practice, however, food waste includes anything that would normally be thrown in the residual bin.
This covers not only avoidable food such as leftovers or food past its use-by date, but also unavoidable items like egg shells, tea bags and bones. While unavoidable food waste cannot be prevented, avoidable food waste stems from different behaviours, such as over-buying or poor storage.
This distinction between different types of food waste creates a communications challenge. Residents may not recognise unavoidable items as ‘food waste’, even though they are exactly what the service is designed to collect.
As a result, communications about what can and can’t be recycled need to be simple, consistent and supported by clear examples.
Food waste recycling communications should also sit alongside food waste prevention. Pairing service messages with practical tips on meal planning, storage, portioning and preparation helps residents understand both why and how to change behaviour, rather than treating recycling and prevention as separate issues.
To keep messaging clear, it is helpful to build on existing recycling behaviours, which are now a normal and established part of household routines.
Reframing a food waste collection as a food recycling service can help reduce confusion and reinforce that the service accepts all types of food waste, both avoidable and unavoidable, such as leftovers, plate scrapings, tea bags and egg shells.
Communications should also consider the different types of food waste generated by different cultures. Messages should be reinforced around times where food waste increases during religious festivals, for example, such as Passover, Ramadan, and Christmas.
Messaging that reinforces food waste recycling as a social norm, ‘most households here separate food waste’, is more effective than instructional or emotive appeals.
The fact that food waste collections are being rolled out across England will also help to normalise the behaviour of separating food waste from the rest of the household waste.
Next month in Greater Manchester, we are launching a food recycling campaign aimed at residents who do not regularly separate their food waste and those resident who are not capturing all of their food waste.
We will be using data from our survey to inform the campaign, which will be revealed be revealed on our website in June, as well as applying behavioural insight to make sure the communications are clear and accessible to make it as easy as possible for residents to do the right thing.
