Sharing the urgent need for change

We worked with Reloop – a non-profit organisation championing a circular economy – to develop a tool for educating people about the need for and benefits of a deposit return scheme (DRS) for bottles and cans.

Reloop were after an engaging experience to highlight the benefits of a DRS and highlight opportunities to improve beyond the current system, while contrasting the UK with countries where deposit return schemes have made a real difference. On top of this, Reloop sought to raise awareness of how ordinary people are affected by littering – from injured people, pets and livestock, to its impact on where we live and our everyday environments.

Reloop wanted to showcase the transformative potential of a DRS. They needed an experience that was both informative and engaging, and easily deployable at events. So they came to us to see what we could do.

Immersive tech has a storytelling superpower – it places users at the heart of the action, making them take a central role in the discovery of a message that creates highly memorable engagements. For a brief like this, augmented reality (AR) provides the perfect platform for immersive storytelling – offering a self-led and interactive experience that's able to be easily distributed via smartphone or tablet.

Working closely with Reloop, we devised a bespoke, interactive tablet experience that used a striking 3D visual style to immerse users in both the problem and its solution. Imagine a diorama-like street scene inviting users to explore a typical UK street. The experience begins with a splash screen and impactful copy, highlighting the sheer scale of the UK's waste problem and empowering the user to become part of the solution. Users are then presented with the 3D street scene, initially depicted in dull, almost grim colours, littered with waste and showing the inevitable consequences: rats scurrying, animals injured, the environment suffering.

Interactive hotspots are scattered throughout the scene – each one triggering key facts and statistics about the current waste crisis and, crucially, the proven benefits of DRS in other countries. But the magic lies in the visual transformation. With each interaction, the 3D scene changes. Litter disappears, the environment brightens, and the negative elements are replaced with positive ones – such as the rats disappearing.

As the user engages with more hotspots, the street scene progressively transforms into an idyllic, clean environment, showcasing the real potential of a DRS. This visual journey powerfully reinforces the individual user's agency and the positive impact of the proposed scheme. The experience culminates in a pristine street scene, mirroring the success of DRS programmes elsewhere, accompanied by a final call to action and directing users to the Reloop website.

Throughout the build, we had regular check-ins with Reloop to make sure they were happy with progress – and giving us both an opportunity to identify any new tasks that were needed to make the project as impactful as possible. This included animating their logo to be used not only within this experience but for their wider campaigns too.

Upon the delivery of the app, Reloop began using it straightaway – with the app integrated into discussions about recycling during visits to Parliament House. The deposit return scheme awareness app has seen significant success, garnering positive feedback from Reloop. In the future, they may make the AR experience available on the app store to provide wider access.