Precycling: Will It Catch On?

First, everyone wanted to ‘Go Green’. Then, ‘Carbon Footprint’ became a highlight on people’s lips. Now, ‘Sustainability’ is all the rage. Will ‘Precycling’ be the next buzzword?

Precycling is making sure that items which will generate waste are prevented from entering a home or workplace. In waste management, the common three terms are ‘Reduce, Recycle, Reuse.’ Precycling is perhaps best described as ‘Refuse’ – not as in ‘waste’, but ‘say no’ or ‘reject.’ In essence, it is the practice of avoiding products that will require reducing, recycling, or reusing in the first place.

Though the term precycling has been around for at least 20 years now (earliest reference Trendspeak found was in 1989), it hasn’t yet caught on with consumers in a major way like the other concepts mentioned above. But with social responsibility becoming ever popular, and with greater education amongst consumers about the environmental effects of many of their purchasing decisions, precycling could very well be the next big thing among the masses.

Sustainability, for example, may be seen by consumers as the responsibility of businesses rather than individuals, while precycling holds greater relevance for people who make everyday purchases. In essence, it’s the idea of ‘Shopping for Future Generations.’

One example is to purchase products packaged in bulk sizes rather than individual portions. Another is to choose already-recycled packaging over materials such as Styrofoam, i.e. eggs that come in recycled newsprint cardboard cartons rather than Styrofoam.

For more examples, see:

http://www.indianarecycling.org/Precycling_files/index.html

http://www.greendaily.com/2007/11/12/precycle-before-you-recycle/

So, what can businesses do now to ensure they can be ahead when the precycling wave comes along? Plenty.

For starters, companies should begin working some form of the precycling concept into brand communication messages. This is possible even for B2B companies who may not sell directly to, but who work with B2C companies that manufacture FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) products for retail shelves. Being one of the first to tie in with and to make precycling relevant for consumers can easily position a company as market leader within any industry when the trend picks up. And by every indication, it very well will.

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