Take Care Of Your Recyclables
A behaviour-led digital film campaign
Overview
A simple, human campaign encouraging people to take care of their cardboard so it can be recycled. Using light humour and familiar moments, the campaign reframed recycling as an act of care rather than a rule to follow. The focus was deliberately narrow: keep cardboard clean, dry and separate so it retains its value.
The Challenge
Cardboard is one of the most recyclable materials in South Africa, yet it’s often damaged through everyday habits. Food contamination, moisture and careless handling mean large volumes of cardboard can’t be recycled at all.
The challenge was to communicate this without technical explanations or guilt-driven messaging. The brief was to create a message that felt human, memorable and easy to act on, encouraging one small behaviour change: look after your cardboard before you throw it away.
Strategy
We kept the strategy simple and behaviour-led.
Focus on one material: cardboard
Use humour to lower resistance
Make care the message, not instruction
Keep the tone warm, familiar and non-preachy
Design for fast social consumption
The aim was to make people pause and reconsider how they treat something they normally see as disposable.
Execution
I served as art director, director, cinematographer and editor on the campaign.
The visual approach leaned into simplicity and relatability, using:
Everyday domestic moments that feel recognisable
Soft lighting and natural textures to keep the tone grounded
Clear visual emphasis on cardboard as the hero
Minimal copy and restrained motion
Short, punchy edits designed for vertical social formats
The final assets were delivered as short-form vertical films for Meta and TikTok, supported by static social placements reinforcing the core message.
Results & Impact
The campaign performed above typical recycling-category benchmarks, particularly for low-pressure, behaviour-based messaging. Viewers engaged with the content for longer and replay rates were stronger than expected for a simple reminder campaign.
649,244 daily reach
770,343 impressions
227,946 video views
51,036 minutes of watch-time
52,100 impressions on the top performing reel
8,150 engagements
0.55 percent engagement rate
821 new followers across the period
The results demonstrated that clarity and restraint can outperform louder, more complex sustainability messaging.
When you focus on one clear behaviour and deliver it with humour and humanity, people listen. Take Care showed that encouraging better recycling doesn’t require heavy education, just a moment of recognition and a simple shift in how we treat everyday materials.