Resources

Procurement guidance for local authorities in relation to procurement of specialist food waste collection vehicles, food waste collection containers and communal housings.

A summary of USA packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) developments in during 2023.

An updated practical guide for local authorities on managing the quality of recyclable materials collected at the kerbside.

It is good practice for local authorities to regularly monitor and evaluate their services and schemes to assess performance, identify problems, make changes, design new approaches and ultimately improve efficiency and effectiveness. The Monitoring and Evaluation Guide has been updated in 2023 to provide practical advice and tips on how to do this.

This guide provides information to help you plan, deliver and evaluate communications to support changes to waste and recycling collection services. It includes: communications planning, design, messages, communication stages, communication activities, scheduling, costing and monitoring mechanisms.

The Environment Act 2021 is ushering in a raft of new policies that will see local authorities across England make significant changes to the way they collect household waste.

Requirements such as the separate collection of food waste will mean that new services will be introduced, whilst the proposed ‘minimum service standards’ for the collection of household waste will entail changes to many existing services.

Once you have reached this point, by working through this document, you should have prepared and finalised your communications plan and be ready to start delivering your communications.

Monitoring and evaluation is part of a continuous process of learning and improvement that enables you to assess the performance of your communications against your aim and objectives.

This section looks at the process of putting your ideas into a coherent implementation plan and provides you with a mechanism to ensure that all activities are completed on time and within budget.

Your communication methods cover a wide range of individual activities and once you have decided on your overall strategic approach and selected the mix of communication methods to use, you need to look in detail at the communication activities you need to deliver your communication objectives.

The next stage in the communications planning cycle is to agree the overall strategic approach and communication methods most appropriate to achieving your aim and objectives.

Having identified your target audiences and their needs you need to develop your brand and message. This section will help you develop your communications brand and its identity, the tone of voice for your communications and explains how to link to the national Recycle Now campaign brand to get the most out of it. It uses some of the most recent research into people’s barriers to recycling and looks at the implications for messaging.