Small acts, big impact

Last updated: 30 May 2024
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The Small acts, big impact campaign is a statewide behaviour change program to support householders to minimise waste and improve recycling behaviour aligned with rollout of Victoria’s new 4-stream system.

Start date: 2021
End date: 2025
Location: Statewide
Eligibility: Local councils
Partners: DEECA, local councils, industry, community groups
Key components: Statewide advertising, campaign assets for councils, regional engagement team, multicultural engagement
Participants: 80% of councils
Funding: Sustainability Fund, Circular Economy Household Education Fund

SV’s role

Our role is to encourage Victorians to put the right thing in the right bin. We designed and delivered a long-term behaviour change campaign, including statewide advertising and a digital asset library for councils that will ensure statewide consistency. We also provided funding for councils to deliver local campaigns.

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How it works

Our Social Impact team researched and designed the campaign in 2021, in collaboration with government, the waste industry and councils. Our team identified the most effective solution would be to focus on the small acts that have the greatest impact – and the ‘Small acts, big impact’ campaign was born.

The campaign launch in 2022 supported Victorians to adopt small acts to reduce waste and recycle more and how that makes a big impact on Victoria's sustainable future.

Phase 2 of the campaign in 2023 raised awareness of the upcoming 4-stream system with the 'Recycling is changing for the better' hero campaign, further supported by the ‘Keep your recycling loose, not in bags’ campaign.

We produced additional digital content and assets to support each small act such as reusable coffee cups, food waste, e-waste, glass recycling, reusable bags and water bottles.

We also built a comprehensive asset library for councils, so they can choose what to focus on – which area of recycling, which community language and when they want to launch in line with their 4-bin roll out. Councils are supported with funding for local campaigns, including multicultural engagement work.

Further campaigns will be launched in 2024 and 2025 in line with the transition to a new household waste and recycling system that will be consistent across Victoria by 2030.