Shake It Out

In 2021-2022, 28% of recycling was rejected across Suffolk. Residents adding recycling to bins in plastic bags is a common issue, causing up to 100 tonnes of recycling a month to be rejected. Barley worked with Suffolk Waste Partnership to develop an integrated behavioural change campaign that would engage all Suffolk households and raise awareness of the need to recycle rubbish items clean, dry and loose instead of bagged. 

The target was a 15% reduction in recycling contaminated by bagged waste. We named the campaign #ShakeItOut and created a piece of hero content – a playful and engaging animation accompanied by a jingle to the soundtrack of the ‘Hokey Cokey’. We chose a catchy and nostalgic tune that would be easy to remember. Communications channels included social media (paid and organic), a traditional media campaign and out-of-home adverts in bus shelters and supermarkets. The animation was also broadcast in cinemas. 

The digital campaign ran for eight weeks from May to July 2023, with two two-week bursts of paid social media advertising at the beginning and end to maximise impact among digitally engaged audiences. We repurposed content and visual assets from the animation across all communications materials to increase recognition and make the budget go further. 

The campaign performed strongly across all channels, with total opportunities to see/hear of over 4.8m. Most importantly we hit the target of 15% less recycling contamination due to plastic bags. We reduced rejected recycling by 33 tonnes in just three months and achieved lasting change.