Consumer Behavior Change

How Can Brands Help Consumers Unravel Myths Around Recycling?

For many consumers, the primary barriers to recycling are a lack of education and the effort required. Businesses can easily address both challenges and encourage better recycling habits.

Sponsored Content | / This article is sponsored by Sustana | By Sustana | Published 2 months ago | About a 6 minute read

Recycling has been part of common consciousness since the 1960s and ‘70s, and has been widely practiced in the United States and Canada through curbside programs since the ‘90s.

Despite decades of effort, recycling remains shrouded in myths that hinder its effectiveness and adoption — confusing consumers and hindering progress towards a more effective recycling ecosystem. While many look to the government and NGOs when it comes to recycling, businesses can also play a crucial role in debunking these myths and championing recycling.

Common recycling myths

Here are some of the most prevalent myths and misconceptions when it comes to recycling, outlined by Certified Recycling:

1. Recycling ends up in the trash, anyway

In the last few years, a number of articles and studies have challenged the efficacy of recycling programs by claiming that, despite people’s best efforts, most recycling still ends up in landfills.

But the swaying of opinion has largely come from an overapplication of specific findings, specifically weighted towards plastic. While it is true that contamination and improper sorting can lead to recyclables ending up in the wrong place, the majority of recycled materials do get recycled.

There are several common misconceptions. For example, pizza boxes are often said to be unrecyclable due to grease and cheese contamination. However, a recent study confirmed that the amount usually found on pizza boxes does not hinder the recycling process.

As Greenpeace stressed in a 2022 report, certain materials — especially paper — are still recycled at high rates. Companies including spirits giants Absolut, Bacardi and Diageo; and cosmetics giants Estée Lauder and L'Oréal are switching to paper packaging in a bid to reduce industrial waste — as over 90 percent of paper is recycled, compared to only about 30 percent of plastic.

2. Recycling doesn’t make a big difference to the environment

People are more likely to participate in a circular economy when it’s made simple and accessible. Recycling takes some effort — so, if the results are not immediately obvious, many won’t be incentivized. In reality, recycling programs have become more accessible and convenient than ever.

Therefore, convincing people to recycle is largely about education and awareness. If businesses can show the effects of people’s recycling actions in an easy-to-digest way, they’ll be more likely to do it. That involves showing the data, providing instructions and giving guidance — early and often.

3. Recycling uses more energy than it saves

Recycling does require energy, but not more energy than is needed to produce products from virgin materials. Using recycled materials means reducing the energy and fossil fuels required to extract and process the virgin materials in the first place. In fact, recycling conserves energy and natural resources. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data shows that recycling just one ton of office paper can save the energy equivalent of consuming 322 gallons of gasoline.

The EPA has an easy tool to see that in action. The Individual Waste Reduction Model (iWARM) calculator lets you see how much energy you save by recycling products including aluminum cans or paper packaging. Then, you can see how long those savings can power different electrical appliances. Tools such as these are an easy and demonstrable way companies can visualize the benefits of recycling for their consumers.

4. Recycling is not economically viable

While critics like to point to the costs of recycling programs and other initiatives, the arguments are often overstated. Though recycling involves costs, it also generates revenue through the sale of recycled materials and offers various other economic benefits.

Again, as per the EPA, the benefits are easily quantifiable. The agency’s most current Recycling Economic Information Report found that recycling accounted for 681,000 jobs, $37.8 billion in wages and $5.5 billion in tax revenues. And the benefits aren’t only economic: The environmental benefits — from carbon savings to the reduction of pollution and waste — are priceless.

How businesses can lead the way

For many consumers, the primary barriers to recycling are a lack of education and the effort required. Businesses, however, can easily address both challenges and lead the way.

One often-spouted reproach of recycling programs is how hard they are to follow. Different municipalities have different rules and guidance on recycling, which might diverge as to which kinds of materials belong in which bin.

But businesses can help ease the load by doing the hard work of understanding and explaining the rules. Initiatives such as the How2Recycle label and the Recycling Partnership’s Recycle Check provide US consumers with easy-to-understand instructions with custom recyclability assessments that have helped reduce confusion. Programs such as these reduce noise around different requirements for different areas and provide customers with hyperlocal content relevant to their specific neighborhoods’ recycling programs.

In 2023, in collaboration with NielsenIQ, McKinsey examined whether printing environmental, social and governance (ESG) claims directly on packaging would encourage consumers to buy sustainably packaged products. Products making ESG-related claims averaged 28 percent cumulative growth over that period they found, versus only 20 percent for products without them.

Moreover, social media has become an unprecedented tool for businesses to talk to their customers and spread awareness and education on sustainability. As social media audiences continue to grow, it’s increasingly a powerful way for businesses to debunk common recycling myths and encourage sustainable habits.

Municipalities and governments can also play a crucial role. Connecticut, for instance, explains how to harness social media in any targeted recycling program. In Germany, strong government policies of mandatory waste sorting and high public awareness have made the country a leader in recycling and waste management. In passing the Circular Economy Act in 2012, the country set a goal for a 65 percent recycling rate — increasing the number of recycling bins around cities and pre-sorting trash into six different categories.

Sustana is a proud pioneer and leader in sustainability and circularity. We’re always looking to share our sustainable vision with our customers — which means the most effective time to educate consumers on the best ways to recycle our sustainable fiber-based and paper products is all the time, not just when they’re about to discard a product and trying to remember how to recycle it. The most opportune time is the moment when consumers are engaging with goods and packages, so they can take immediate action.

This creates an interesting opportunity for businesses to rethink how they leverage packaging itself to debunk common recycling myths. With the use of clear labeling, eco-friendly designs and social media awareness and education, businesses can help their customers make better and more informed choices when it comes to recycling.

Building a sustainable and circular economy is within reach through the collaboration of businesses and consumers. By empowering our customers with the knowledge and tools to make more informed choices, we can show up as champions for the planet. Together, we can inspire and enable individuals to embrace sustainability in their daily lives, driving positive change for a more sustainable world.