We created a direct mail piece made to look like a supermarket house-drop. When picked up, bargain hunters hoping for price-offs and discounts, find recycling trivia instead. Inside, there is detailed information on what, how and where to recycle.This approach achieves two objectives:- Stop people BEFORE they go on their next shopping spree.- Show what products in a typical shopping list can be recycled, and what happens if they do or don’t recycle them.They were dropped, before the weekend, into mail boxes in urban/suburban homes where there are high consumption and waste generation rates.

The ministry operates recycling centres in the parking lots of some of the larger supermarkets to collect recyclable waste. Shoppers can drop their recyclables on their way to grocery shopping. The number of people doing so increased by 30% a week after this direct mail was distributed.

Phone enquiries also increased as people called in to ask for their nearest recycling facility.

Research also revealed that public awareness of what can or cannot be recycled compared to two years ago, improved by 80%. While it's a slow process to change habits, the public is learning to think before they buy, and throw.