Get Bottling It Up

Researchers from Exeter work with Coca-Cola to improve recycling.

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A new study into the at-home recycling rates seeks to discover how they can be so low when people claim to care so much about recycling.

Research has shown that 75% of French and 76% of British consumers say they ‘always’ recycle plastic bottles at home, but the rates of actual recycling are way lower, creating an “action/value gap”.

To discover the reason behind the gap, researchers at the University of Exeter are collaborating with Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) to study the recycling habits in 20 households in Great Britain and France.

Supported by CCE’s “Recycle for the Future” campaign the study will monitor the households for a six-month period to see what drives recycling, whether age matters and how to improve the rates.

CCE has identified that packaging accounts for almost half of its carbon footprint and are committed to reducing this, with the study hoping to solve this problem. So next time you buy a ridiculous Coke with your name on it (why are you sharing a coke with yourself?) make sure you recycle the bottle!