14 Ways to Improve Community Recycling Rates - Bigbelly Blog

Operations: Add Recycling Bins in Public Spaces · Communication: Community Newspapers/Newsletters as Communication Vehicles · Operations: Target ... Hardware HighCapacity StandardCapacity BigbellyKiosk Telebelly DownloadBrochure Software DownloadBrochure Solutions SolutionsforCities&Towns SolutionsforCampuses SolutionsforCorporateRetailers&Venues CaseStudies Company About Blog:Thoughts&News International Careers Contact CLEANLogIn BigbellyBlog:BeyondtheBin 14WaystoImproveCommunityRecyclingRates Postedby LeilaDillonon7/1/155:56PM Tweet There’salottobesaidaboutimprovingmunicipalrecyclingefforts.Ithelpstokeeppublicspacesclean,eradicatepestproblems,andprovidemeasurableenvironmentalbenefitsbywastediversionfromlandfills.Townscanalsoreducetippingcostsandotherexpensesrelatedtowastedisposal,andincreasecreditsrecyclingincentiveprograms. "Eveninsmallcities,thereturnsfromanefficientrecyclingprogramcanhavequiteanimpact,"accordingtotheEPA. Participationinurbanrecyclingcanbechallengingbutit’softendueinparttotheprogramsinplace.Weknowthatcityrecyclingprogramsneedtoappealtoalargeanddiversepopulation.Programsfocusedonincreasingparticipatinghelptoimproverecyclingrates.BelowareafewinterestingrecyclingstatsfromtheEPA'slatestnationalsurveyin2009,asreportedbyourfriendsatKeepAmericaBeautiful: Americansrecovered34%ofwastegeneratedin2009. About9,000curbsideresidentialrecyclingprogramsexistedintheUSthatyear. The34%divertedwasteequaled82milliontonsofrecycledmaterial. ThisnationalwiderecyclingbehaviorreducedCO2emissionsinamassequaltoremoving33millionpassengervehiclesfromtheroads. TheUSrecyclingindustryworkforceiscomprisedof1.1millionemployees,generatingover$236billioninannualrevenue. TherecyclablematerialsleftintheUSlandfillwastestreamwouldhaveamountedtoover$7billionifproperlyrecycled. Therewas3poundsoftrashperpersonperdaythrownawayintothelandfillwastestream;thatisenoughtrashtocircletheearth24times. (StatisticssourcedfromKeepAmericaBeautiful.)   Eventownsandcitieswithsmallbudgetscanincreaserecyclingratesandreapfinancialrewards.Everycommunity,city,andtownthatimplementspublicspacerecyclingprogramshelpstoboostrecyclingratesandtherecyclingindustry.Afewsuggestionsforevaluatingexistingrecyclingprogramsandideasthatdrivemorecitizenengagementinclude: Operations:AddRecyclingBinsinPublicSpacesEnhanceyourcityortown'scorewasteservicebyaddingarecyclingoptionatthepointofdisposalinyourparks,onyoursidewalks,oratyourtransitstops.Simplyplacingarecyclingbinnexttoalandfillwastebinencouragesconstituentstoproperlydisposeoftheirrecyclablewaste. Communication:CommunityNewspapers/NewslettersasCommunicationVehiclesSharemetricsofsuccess(amountofrecyclingmonthtomonth,yeartodate,diversionfromlandfills,etc.),explainthebenefitsofrecycling,sharedetailsabouttherecyclingsupplychain. Operations:TargetNon-RecyclersConsidertargetingarecyclingmessagetoacertaincommunity.Learnfromyourcollectorswheretheemptybinsareoftenlocated;leveragethevoicesofcommunityleaderstospreadtheword;usepublicspacetoadvertise(sideofrecyclingtrucksandbins,busstopbillboards,sidesofbuses);understandtheobjectionsorbarrierstorecyclingandhowtoaddressthemwithyourcommunityinmind. Communication:EducatetheCommunityUsesocialmediaorawebsitedashboardtopromoterecyclingprogramsandincreaseparticipation;sharevaluableinformationwithresidentsandbusinessesaboutacceptablerecyclablematerials;andprovidecontactinformationforwhotocallforpublicspacewastequestionsoraboutdelayed/missedpickups. Communicate:GoalsandBenefitsSetgoalsandreportonrecyclingachievementsandhowtheytietobenefitsthatresidentsandbusinessesunderstandandrealize. NewPrograms:FocusonSchools Ouryoungestcitizensareoftenthestrongestchangeagents.Layingthegroundsatanearlyagewillencouragerecyclingbehaviorregardlessoflocation.  Communication:EngageNewHomeownersDistributewelcomepacketsthatdetailthecommunity’srecyclingprogramsandencourageparticipationandrecyclingbehaviorfromdayoneintheirnewcommunity. NewPrograms:ImplementVolume-basedWasteDisposal Incentivizeresidentstorecycleor,alternatively,payextratodisposeofrecyclablesinlandfillwastestreams. Logistics:FocusonEfficiency Designefficientcollectionroutesthatmightbesupplementedwithcollectionfrombusinessesandretailcenterstodecreaseusageofthemostexpensiveaspectsofarecyclingprogram(labor,fuel,andequipment). NewPrograms:CreateCommunityDropoffLocationsorEventsStagehazardousmaterials(paint,pharmaceuticals,chemicals),papershreddingandrecyclingfestivals,beachorparkcleanups.Makesurethesitesandeventsareclearlylabeledandeasilyaccessible.Keeptrackofhowfacilitiesandeventsperformandensureadequatefacilitiestomeetcommunitydemand.Considerlocationslikefireandpolicestationparkinglotstobasecollectionbins. Logistics:AdjustCollectionTechniques Evaluatecurrentoperationsandplanforthefuture-iftrucksarenotrunningatfullcapacity,canyouaddnewmaterialstotherecyclingprogram,leveragetechnologywhichallowsyoutoplanroutesefficiently,orincludelocalbusinessesinthecollectionroutes? NewPrograms:ConsideraCollectionCo-op Workwithneighboringtownstopoolmaterials,increaserecycling,andefficiencyofscale. Operations:EvaluatetheBusinessEconomySideofRecyclingKnowtheinsandoutsofyourprograms-howcrewshandleequipment;equipmentcleanliness;contaminantsenteringthewastestream;levelofsupportfromstaff;marketsanddemandlevels. LocalGovernment:CommunicatewithandEngageElectedOfficialsSharemetricsandsuccesses!Includethemintheeducationaboutrecyclingbenefits,empowerthem,helpthemfeeltheyarepartoftheoveralleffort,andsupportrecyclinglegislation. Communicate,communicate,communicate!Themorevisibleandvocalthemorelikelyresidents,visitors,andbusinesseswillperceivehighratesofrecyclinganduptheirparticipation.Townsshouldgetinthehabitofpublicizingprogramchanges,andhighlightingtop-notchrecyclers.Leverageexistingcoreservicessuchaswastemanagementtoimplementcommunity-widepublicspacerecycling.Wherecurbsidepickupisavailable,encourageresidentstosetoutrecyclingbinseveniftheyarenotfull.Townscandistributepromotionalmaterialsduringcollections.Partofthecommunicationincludesremindingresidentstoneverletrecyclablesenterthetrash. Formoreinformation,includingcasestudiesvisittheEPAwebsite:http://www.epa.gov/region4/rcra/mgtoolkit/improving.html BigbellySmartWaste&RecyclingProducts HighCapacitySmartWasteCompactor⮕ StandardCapacitySmartNon-Compactor⮕ Multi-ModularSmartWasteKiosk⮕ TelebellyMultipurposeHostingPlatform⮕ CLEANSoftwareManagementPlatform⮕ Topics: Sustainability, SmartCities SubscribetoEmailUpdates SEARCHBIGBELLY'SBLOG Search'BeyondTheBin' MostPopularReads MULTI-PURPOSEPLATFORM TheConnectPlatform SolutionsforSmartCities SolutionsforCollegeCampuses SolutionsforRetail,Venues&FoodService COMPANY About&Leadership InternationalPartnerNetwork Blog:Thoughts&News BigbellyintheWildPhotoAlbum PatentPortfolio PrivacyPolicy GETINTOUCH Contact Careers CUSTOMERRESOURCES CLEANManagementConsole CLEANMobileforiOS CLEANMobileforAndroid CustomerSupport SparePartsOrdering STAYINTOUCH Bigbelly,Inc. 150AStreet|Suite103Needham,MA|02494|USAPhone:+1-888-820-0300Fax:+1-781-444-5651Email:[email protected] ©2022-Bigbelly,Inc.AllRightsReserved.