Encouraging Recycling in the Turkish-speaking Community in Hackney

Summary

The London Borough of Hackney found that recycling rates were disproportionately low among the borough’s minority ethnic and religious groups, the second largest of which is the Turkish-speaking population. One finding of a 15-week door knocking campaign, which set out to encourage recycling in the borough, was that language was the primary barrier to recycling within the Turkish-speaking community.

Working in partnership with the Turkish community group Day-mer, Hackney Council recruited Turkish-speaking door-knockers to raise awareness and deliver information and advice on recycling in Turkish. The Council also produced leaflets, translated into Turkish, which provided information on collection times as well as the importance and benefits of recycling. The London Recycling Fund funded the project. In the future, the Council plans to expand the use of Turkish community groups and a community centre as channels to communicate with the Turkish-speaking population in Hackney.

Barriers identified include: Language; in particular, the Turkish word for ”recycling” can also mean “go home”; recycling was a low priority in the community.

Key motivators

Trust: door-knockers from the Turkish community group Day-mer provided a source of information that was already familiar and trusted within the Turkish-speaking population.
Consultation: Turkish information leaflets translated into Turkish were produced in conjunction with the Turkish community group in order to incorporate their ideas.
Integration/cooperation: the Turkish community group were motivated to get involved because the programme broadened their contact with the Turkish community they were looking to connect with for their own activities.
Convenience: the community group centre acted as a hub of information and support for recycling to the local Turkish-speaking community.

Top tips to their success

Use local community groups to engage the community being targeted, as they are a more trusted channel to disseminate information and advice. This also builds trust and opens avenues for future partnerships.
Find out what the main barriers are in the community and address those barriers specifically.
Promote ownership of the project within the community.
Constantly seek and evaluate feedback to help further streamline the project.
Be flexible, patient and consistent: the community group/s need to know that you are serious about the project and about their involvement as partners.

Contact details

Ola Bankole
Assistant Recycling Officer
London Borough of Hackney
020 8356 4939
Ola.Bankole@Hackney.gov.uk

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