Rewards for football fans who recycle

A recent initiative, 'Talent from Trash' (TfT), has helped to boost recycling levels by targeting football fans. During the 12-week campaign, which ran from September to November 2007, sponsor Coca-Cola committed money to Football League Clubs' youth development programmes whenever a fan pledged to recycle.

The predominantly young, male demographic of football fans has been considered hard to target for recycling. However, in 13 Football Clubs, the TfT scheme successfully used fans' love of football to motivate them to recycle - some for the first time. Fans were encouraged to recycle through the TfT website, posters in and around the football grounds, match day programmes and branded recycling lorries. The area around Accrington Stanley FC witnessed a 19 per cent uplift in recycling over the three months (compared to the same period in 2006), beating forecast targets by 15 per cent.

Cllr Peter Clarke, Cabinet Member for Environmental issues at Hyndburn Borough Council, the home of Accrington Stanley, said: "Talent from Trash was well received by the community, the club and its supporters. Early indications are that we have seen a real increase in our recycling levels across the whole borough."