What makes an effective garden chemicals campaign?

Campaign messaging

An effective campaign will provide clear guidance to householders and gardeners about the safe use and storage of garden chemicals and how and where to dispose of unwanted or withdrawn garden products. 

Key messages to include in garden chemicals campaigns include the following:    

• buy just what is needed to last one gardening season
• store and use garden chemicals as instructed on the product label
• check left over garden products to ensure they are still safe/legal to use 
• use council drop-off or collection services to dispose of unwanted garden chemicals
• try chemical-free gardening. Check with the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners for top tips on gardening without chemicals or visit the RSPB website.

These messages are included in the downloadable campaign resources that can be accessed here.

Gearing up your front line services

Gearing up your services in the lead up to EC withdrawal dates can help to improve service, delivery and the level of customer guidance provided by staff. 

• Brief front line staff (both call centre and site staff) about pesticide withdrawals and the campaign messages.
• Signpost the public to www.chem-away.org.uk. Installing a link from your website will help the public access the most convenient disposal facility. See the survey to add your council's chemical collection and/or disposal service details.
• Install signage at HWRCs using the Recycle Now HHW signage with messaging about safe chemical drop-off points.
• Use vehicle signage to promote on-request "chemical collection" services to the elderly and householders without transport to HWRCs.        

Planning your campaign

There are a number of opportunities throughout the year to deliver your garden chemicals campaign messages. You could deliver it:  

• as a joint  campaign with green waste composting messages   
• as part of wider HHW campaigns, to include signposting to www.chem-away.org.uk     
• around withdrawal dates for pesticide and biocide products to coincide with national and local press headlines - see the Garden Chemicals Campaigns Calendar for product withdrawal dates 
• to coincide with key gardening events attracting national and local media attention, such as the BBC Gardeners' World Awards or the Britain in Bloom Awards.   

The Garden Chemicals Campaign Calendar highlights some key national and regional gardening events, as well as forthcoming product withdrawal dates and peak sales periods for gardening products. The calendar can be used to help you plan your communications campaigns around these gardening-related events. 

Using the downloadable resources

A range of leaflets, garden shoppers' cards and posters have been designed for use in garden chemicals campaigns. These can be used either as stand alone materials or incorporated into other campaign materials, for example home composting or safe disposal of HHW. Click here to download the free resources and guidance on how to get the best from them.

Working with local retailers and garden centres

Teaming up with your local garden centres and DIY retailers to run joint garden chemicals campaigns is a good way to reach shoppers with targeted campaign messages. To get the most out of joint retailer campaigns it is better to focus on messages around:

• product withdrawal dates (see calendar)
• periods of "peak sales" for garden products, eg Easter for all gardening products and September for lawn and turf products.

The garden shopper cards in the campaign resources section are intended to be taken away by shoppers from point-of-purchase as wallet- or purse-sized "quick reference" reminders about: 

• buying ready-to-use products
• buying just what is needed for one gardening season
• visiting www.chem-away.org.uk to find the nearest collection or disposal services
• contacting local authorities for details of collection or drop-off sites.