Nationwide TV campaign launches to tackle WEEE

A nationwide TV advertising campaign aiming to tackle e-waste began yesterday (22 March) when a Recycle Your Electricals advert was aired on ITV and Sky.

The advert, which can be seen below, forms part of Recycling Your Electricals's behaviour change campaign, which aims to reduce the 155,000 tonnes of small electricals discarded every year.



Recycle Your Electricals is a UK-wide campaign "motivating and making it easier for everyone to reuse and recycle unwanted electricals".

The campaign is led by Material Focus, an independent not-for-profit organisation funded by the WEEE compliance fee. The compliance fee is paid by obligated producers if they are short of having enough evidence to hit targets.

Scott Butler, executive director at Material Focus, leading the Recycle Your Electricals campaign, said: "We are throwing away some of the most precious materials on the planet when unwanted electricals get binned. And this has to stop, now.

"We want everyone to know that they should never bin and should always recycle their electricals. Love or loathe him, HypnoCat is broadcasting on UK radio and TV screens with a mission to stop people in their tracks and to compel them to start recycling. He is bright pink, proud, loud and mesmerising. My kids and even Wally the dog have already been seduced by HypnoCat. For me he is the purrfect ambassador for our campaign. I challenge you to watch him and not end up reciting the whole thing for days after."

The new advert debuted yesterday across the ITV family and multiple Sky channels, supported by radio (Absolute & Heart), and social media.

For the advert to work Material Focus says it needs to "not only tell people to stop binning and start recycling their electricals, but highlight the key electricals people don't even think of as electricals, like toothbrushes and toys".

The advert also needs to motivate people and give them a reason for doing it, the group added, by showcasing what they can be recycled into.

David Gamble, Truant London co-founder, helped create the advert and said: "HypnoCat was born to solve a tricky behavioural problem. His sole purpose is to stop people from binning their electricals and start recycling them.

"He allows us to say very functional and direct messages in a fun and engaging way. His catchy trance track and mind-bending visuals are hard to ignore, while his repetitive lyrics are even harder to forget. Just ask my kids. They’ve been singing it for weeks. Apologies in advance, parents. But if everyone starts to recycle their unwanted electricals, we promise to make him stop."

Formerly known as the WEEE Fund, Material Focus is a not-for-profit organisation.

It was created in January 2020 and launched the public-facing Recycle Your Electricals campaign in May 2020 (see letsrecycle.com story).

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