Local authority use of the Recycle Now brand

In November 2007, Brook Lyndhurst was commissioned by WRAP to carry out research into the extent to which local authorities were using its Recycle Now (RN) brand.

Objectives
In addition to evaluating current diffusion of the brand and identifying potential barriers to extending that use, the research aimed to help WRAP identify potential gaps in the resources provided under the RN banner and made recommendations on how these resources could be effectively communicated to local authorities.

Methodology
The research was divided into four phases:

• Review of available data: a short, desk-based exercise to analyse the data already held by WRAP on the use of the RN brand by local authorities;
• Electronic survey: all local authorities in England were sent a questionnaire in January 2008 covering issues around items from the RN suite of resources. Local authorities were also asked to make suggestions as to what they would like the brand to cover in the future. A total of 187 local authorities accessed the survey – 161 valid responses – 98% of whom were brand users;
• In-depth telephone interviews: the objective of the telephone interviews was to probe local authorities about the brand in more depth to complement findings from the survey. Although the intention was to focus on non-users, it proved more difficult than anticipated to find local authorities that were not using the RN brand at all. Nine local authorities that used the RN brand and four non-users were eventually interviewed; and
• Analysis: the topline results from the electronic survey and the findings from the telephone interviews were pulled together in a presentation to the WRAP team in February 2008.