Liverpool City Council

Turning Scouse spirit into a recycling revolution 

  • PR
  • Campaign
  • Digital
  • Research & Insights
  • Video & Motion

Brief

Facing one of the lowest recycling rates in England, Liverpool City Council needed to take urgent action. 

The council required a bold campaign that would shift habits, reduce contamination and increase participation, while earning the trust of Liverpool residents. 

Challenge

A standard recycling campaign simply telling people what to do wouldn’t work. 

Our research revealed a clear insight gap: most residents believed they were “doing their bit,” but operational data told a very different story. Confusion over what could be recycled, from cartons to cans, and how to present materials, like crushed bottles or unflattened cardboard, was causing contamination and driving up costs. 

At the same time, 82% of residents said they wanted to do better. They asked for clearer guidance and transparency about what happens to their waste after collection. 

To cut through and change behaviour, we needed a campaign that would make recycling simple, practical, and unmistakably clear. One that treated residents as partners, not problems, and turned good intentions into real, city-wide action. 

We started with evidence, creating a campaign rooted in research, cultural relevance and practical clarity. 

Over 1,000 residents were engaged – online and in the community – alongside structured conversations with council staff, housing associations and local groups.  

From this insight, Talking Bins was born. 

Two animated bin characters, the city’s famous purple general waste bin and its blue recycling counterpart, became the voice of the campaign. Rooted in Scouse humour and civic pride, their short, friendly conversations stripped away jargon and made the “what, why and how” of recycling unmistakably clear. 

 

The campaign launched with a 7ft Liver Bird sculpture made entirely from recycled materials by local artist Faith Bebbington at Liverpool’s Pier Head, instantly grabbing attention. Across social media, geo-targeted digital ads and out-of-home placements, all roads led to a single “one source of truth” webpage where residents could get clear, practical recycling guidance. 

The tone was bold, conversational and proudly Liverpool, no lectures, just clarity. The campaign continues to evolve, using resident feedback and operational data to tackle contamination hotspots and support upcoming changes. 

Solution

The
Solution

Results

The impact of Talking Bins was immediate and measurable. 

Behaviour change and participation 

In its first month, the campaign drove an extra 42 tonnes of recycling compared to the previous year. Participation trends turned upward for the first time since 2018, with more households presenting blue bins than ever before. Blue-bin requests skyrocketed by 492% in October, removing practical barriers and signalling a city ready to take action. 

Engagement and media impact 

The campaign captured attention across channels, reaching 1.2 million people and achieving a 3.27% click-through rate. Residents lingered on the campaign webpage for an average of 28 minutes, engaging deeply with practical guidance rather than just scrolling past. The launch secured strong broadcast coverage on BBC and ITV, alongside widespread regional online and print media, amplifying the campaign’s visibility. 

Liverpool residents weren’t just seeing the campaign, they were interacting, learning, and, most importantly, recycling. 

3.27%

Click-through rate

492%

Increase in blue-bin requests

28mins

on average spent on campaign landing page