Door-stepping is one of the best ways of encouraging residents to recycle their waste, according to a study from Rugby borough council.

The council worked with the Warwickshire Waste Partnership and Warwickshire Environmental Trust to trial four different methods of increasing recycling awareness among householders, with funding from Lafarge Aggregates.

The study found that approaching householders door-to-door raised participation in recycling schemes by 4.4 percentage points – in Rugby's case from 32.6% to 37%.

Other methods included sending letters to residents, which gave a 3.1 percentage point boost and placing awareness stickers on bins, which generated a 1.46 percentage point increase in participation. Sending a newsletter to residents proved least effective, generating a boost in participation of just 0.11 percentage points.

Of all the options, sending letters to residents was the cheapest, while door-knocking was also described by the study as a cheap option.

Methods
Commenting on the trial, Councillor Ken Browne, chair of the Warwickshire Waste Partnership, said: "Local authorities are always looking at new ways of encouraging residents to recycle where possible, and this study has been very helpful in identifying the most effective methods. We'll be using the results to plan future campaigns across the county."

Rugby borough council missed out on a wider door-knocking campaign within Warwickshire, which was funded by WRAP, because the borough was going through a review of its recycling service.

The borough is currently introducing a new garden waste collection scheme, which it hopes will help it to increase its current 16% recycling rate for household waste to reach its 18% target at the end of this financial year.