:: Bin Buzz Spring 2007 ::

The southeastern states agree: CVP is getting it right. At their recent meeting in conjunction with the Tennessee Recycling Coalition, the Southeast Recycling Development Council (SERDC) recognized the CVP program with one of three leadership awards. The SERDC represents 11 southeastern states and chose award recipients based on the sustainability and innovation of the programs and the ability of the program to be duplicated in other areas. "We are honored to receive this award,” said Steve Thompson, CVP Program Director. "When a respected organization like the SERDC highlights your program as one of the best, it’s really a win-win situation for everyone.

“When a respected organization like the SERDC highlights your program as one of the best, it’s really a win-win situation for everyone.” —Steve thompson, cvp program director
A win for us because we are creating sustainable solutions that do increase recycling and a win for them because our program benefits their members. We hope more of the industry will rise to the challenge and join us in our effort.”

A snapshot of curbside recycling BEST PRACTICES across the country

PALM BEACH COUNTY, FL
Officials recently overcame enormous challenges to their curbside recycling program by launching a highly successful education campaign focused on bin delivery and usage. The Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County was up against severe budget cuts, declining recycling rates and a highly diverse population. They analyzed their situation and discovered the most effective use of their limited education dollars would be to get more bins on the curbs, pure and simple. They had come to the conclusion that residents cannot recycle if they do not have a bin, or do not have adequate recycling bins. A mass distribution of bins to residents was conducted across 38 municipalities. Included in each bin were education materials written in English, Spanish and Creole and designed to give new bin recipients general recycling information. Included in the brochures was a new toll-free number recycling officials created that connected residents to a live customer service representative.

In addition to the bin distribution, officials developed television advertisements that aired during specifically chosen time slots throughout the day. As a result of the education effort and mass bin distribution, recycling volume is up an average of 20 percent throughout Palm Beach County!

MECKLENBURG COUNTY, NC decided to kick off their new “Wipe Out Waste” education campaign with a bang! The newest partner to join the CVP family, Mecklenburg County recently held a launch event for media and local officials at the local MRF. The County engaged four municipalities in this effort including the city of Charlotte. The campaign will focus on the importance of education and specifically target a youth demographic to increase participation rates throughout the county. City officials announced a challenge to their residents to raise recycling volume by 10 percent this year. This would save the county more than $100,000 in landfill fees and earn an additional $95,000 from the sale of the materials. It would also save an estimated 76,000 trees and 6,500 cubic yards of landfill space. With numbers like these, it’s easy to see why curbside recycling in Mecklenburg County makes “cents”!

PASCO COUNTY, FL has long had a blue bag recycling program, whereby residents are required to purchase their own blue bags if they want to recycle. CVP partnered with them in a recent pilot program to test whether the existing blue bag program or a switch to traditional 18-gallon bins would be more

successful in lifting curbside recycling participation rates. The program divided the community into two areas: one half would receive free blue bags and the other half would receive two free blue bins. Residents were asked to respond to an initial survey gauging their feedback to the existing program, and were also given additional materials describing the test and how they would benefit from taking part. Newspaper, a commodity previously not accepted at the curb due to its weight, was also added, allowing county officials to gauge whether residents would respond to the added convenience.

Not surprisingly, recycling increased on both routes where recycling containers (whether bags or bins) were offered for free and newspaper was added. Set-out rates for the blue bag pilot route were 12.37 percent higher than the pre-pilot benchmark where residents were asked to purchase their own bags. Blue bin households fared even better, setting out bins 50.35 percent more compared to average rates in the same area before the pilot. Additionally, the two-bin pilot route recycled 13.58 more tons of overall materials than the pilot blue bag route (a 48 percent increase).

OMAHA, NE joined the CVP program in 2006 and recently wrapped up an education campaign called “ Recycle… It’s O! So Easy.” The campaign’s goal was straightforward: grow recycling in the city by 10 percent in one year. Doing so would save the city over $100,000. As part of their campaign, the city identified areas in the community with lower part i c i -pation and concentrated their marketing efforts, which included billboards and ads on litter cans and bus shelters, in those communities. Support from the mayor’s office, the Nebraska State Recycling Association and the city’s MRF Firstar Fiber added credibility to the effort and helped extend the messages throughout the community. And the results are clear! From August–December 2006, recycling increased by 9.24 percent and with six more months to go, the city is confident they will meet or exceed their stated goal of 10 percent. Lending to this increase was an education push focusing on bin usage. Over 753 new bins hit the curbs during this time period as a result, a 40 percent increase over the year prior.

STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA officials, in a continued effort to offer relevant materials to help communities get the message out about curbside recycling, partnered with CVP to develop a toolkit, available in hard copy, CD and on-line. The toolkit is designed to help make it as easy as possible to effectively market and communicate about the importance of curbside recycling programs to residents across the state of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania has many strong curbside programs and a top-notch state organization called PROP (the Professional Recyclers of PA). CVP created the toolkit to serve as an additional resource to help recognize even greater success.

The toolkit can be downloaded absolutely free at www.RecycleCurbside.org. All counties and municipalities can take advantage of the great resources. Even if you aren’t in Pennsylvania, a lot of the information may still be useful. For example, it contains media outreach ideas, fun facts about recycling and kid-friendly materials like an IQ game and recycling quiz. Take some of our “how-to’s” from Pennsylvania and share them with your community today!

We’ve all heard the saying, “children are our future,” and that saying is as relevant, if not more, for recycling as any other cause. Children of all ages are typically eager to learn, if the information is presented in the right way. They are enthusiastic, they are energetic, and especially elementary school age children are very open to learning new things, making them the perfect audience to take any curbside recycling campaign beyond the classroom and to the streets!

NEED MORE CONVINCING?
Children, tweens and teens are the future of recycling, quite literally. By becoming engaged in good recycling behaviors in school, church and youth organizations such as Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts, they are more likely to apply those behaviors in their everyday lives. Youth are also more likely to share and encourage good recycling behaviors they’ve learned in school with their parents, neighbors, friends and relatives. Sharing the importance of recycling is fun!

Educating youth is a good investment because the recycling habits they pick up now will likely stay with them throughout their lifetime. But how do you develop a real plan and materials for reaching them effectively? This special Bin Buzz report will help show you the way. But first, some of the basics…

HERE'S HOW:
There are several tools and/or approaches that have proven effective in sharing the concept of recycling to youth, including:

Online recycling Web sites geared toward youth (see “Youth Resources Online” article for more information)

Recycling math challenge games with word problems involving recycling facts and figures

Crossword puzzles with recycling messages woven throughout

Themed coloring books and activities

Contests between classrooms or schools to see who can recycle the most materials within a given time period

Engaging high school students in creative activities such as drawing recycling educational posters or creating their own recycling education video or blog

Lessons on recycling are a great way to introduce scientific discussion into the classroom on the importance of lessening human impact on the environment

“Trash Tunes” — fun jingles set to classic tunes like “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”

Take-home flyers for parents with information on curbside recycling programs in their community

Factoids: fun facts that help children visualize the importance of recycling

HERE'S WHERE:
Most youths lead very active lives; here are some venues for reaching them:

Schools (both public and private)

After-school programs

Sporting clubs such as baseball, basketball, soccer, lacrosse and football

Community organizations such as the Boy and Girl Scouts, 4-H, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Junior ROTC, etc. (Many Scout troops offer badges tied to the environment)

Churches, temples and other religious institutions

Online communities for tweens and teens: clubpenguin.com, myspace.com, youtube.com, etc.

Too often, youth recycling campaigns are targeted at the “lowest hanging fruit,” such as elementary school and middle school age children. This is understandable as teenagers are more difficult to reach and influence, given their hectic schedules and the overwhelming competition for their attention. However, once engaged they can be a tremendous asset in planning and organizing campaigns, and getting the message out to their peers.

HOW DO I DO IT?:
Many students already participate in community service activities, so getting them involved in curbside recycling is yet another way to engage a demographic that is already making a difference. Schools (and colleges) often require students to have community service or service learning credits. Recycling is an easy opportunity as it is readily available. Additionally, teen-oriented groups and clubs often require community service projects or exposure to community issues as part of their membership requirements.

Also, take advantage of how “wired” teens are. For example, an individual teen or group may be able to help you find new ways to reach potential recyclers in your community. Ask teens to blog about the impact recycling can have on a community, encourage teens to reach out to their peers using on-line social networks and chat rooms, think creatively and get these teens involved! A good place to start may be simply organizing an informal focus group of area teens where you can get their firsthand recommendations on ways to increase curbside recycling. They might even feel honored to know their
insights matter!

Once they are on board,
here are some ways to utilize them:

Work with teens in your community to plan a school
or community recycling event to get the word out
about the curbside recycling program in
your community.

Ask them to organize a service project in
your community or neighborhood that focuses
on recycling.

Offer an unpaid internship after school where a teen can help you develop marketing materials targeted at their age group, or help with events. And in turn they gain valuable experience they can use when applying for colleges.

Partner with community centers, sports organizations, youth groups and any other organization that works with teenagers to put together a plan of action for getting them involved.

Whether it’s an after-school event or a month-long community challenge, teenagers are ready to take on the responsibility of doing their part to protect their environment. They just need to be asked and included. Don’t leave them out!

Don’t go it alone! There are plenty of resources out there to help you reach and engage youth in your community. To get started, visit www.recyclecurbside.org and click on “Tools You Can Use” or visit any of the sites listed below.

WWW.P2PAYS.ORG/RECYCLEGUYS
Brought to you from the NC Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance…meet the Recycle Guys! This imaginative Web site teaches students the ABC’s about how to R-E-C-Y-C-L-E!

www.re3.org
RE3 is North Carolina’s “older sibling” of the Recycle Guys. Using social marketing techniques, the NC Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance designed RE3 to increase participation in recycling through positive behavior change.

www.cancentral.com
You can download curriculums for various age groups around recycling the aluminum can that include fun classroom games, facts and more.

www.epa.gov/epaoswer/education/teen_facts.HTM
Information on the 3 R’s — Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, and facts about recycling and the environment.

www.scholastic.com
Tons of resources for teachers and parents for children of all ages on a variety of topics, including the environment.

www.epa.gov/teachers
Another source of information and materials to order or download on-line to use when teaching kids about recycling.

www.kidsrecycle.org
Clearing house for educational and fun materials on recycling. Check out their kids links page for different ways kids have gotten involved in recycling.

www.dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/ce/eek
The Environmental Education for Kids page gives children a continual stream of on-line activities to teach them about recycling. Be sure to check out the “Recycling Story” for a behind-the-scenes look at recycling!

www.recycleyourcans.org
Fun, interactive game for kids where they can test their “recycling IQ” and receive a free Jimmy Neutron recycling certificate.

www.epa.gov/recyclecity
Recycle City is an interactive site that takes a hands-on approach to teaching children about recycling and includes a Recycle City scavenger hunt.

www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/swfa/kidspage
The Washington State Department of Ecology’s home page for kids and recycling. With fun games and trivia, links to other cool sites and a breakdown of recyclables by commodity. This is a one-stop shop for teaching kids about the fun of recycling!

www.kid-at-art.com
This creative Web site takes dozens of different materials and teaches children how to reuse and recycle them in inventive ways!

www.eco-cycle.org/schools
An all-inclusive resource from Boulder County’s Recycling Program for teachers. With lesson plans, activities, slide shows, overheads, experiments and games, this toolkit is full of creative ways to teach children about recycling.

Paul Ferguson is Arlington County, Virginia’s 2007 Board Chairman. He is championing Fresh AIRE: Arlington Initiative to Reduce Emissions, a collaboration between county government, businesses, organizations and individuals to reduce Arlington County greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent from 2000 to 2012. We recently sat down with Paul to discuss how communities can leverage their curbside recycling programs as part of the larger discussion of global warming.

Q: Mr. Ferguson, we applaud your Fresh AIRE initiative and see recycling, especially via curbside programs, as one of the easiest and most immediate things Arlingtonians can do to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. What advice do you have for those in the recycling community trying to link their issue to the popular global warming issue?

PAUL FERGUSON (PF): We all know landfills emit considerable amounts of greenhouse gases. I suggest communities focus on savings from recycling across the product life cycle as opposed to simply comparing recycling to disposal. One has to take into account the energy expended during raw material extraction, manufacturing, distribution and more, as they all contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and global warming.

Aluminum is a great example here as it takes energy to mine the bauxite from the earth, transport this material to an aluminum manufacturing facility and subsequently produce the aluminum can. If that same can was manufactured from recycled aluminum, you would avoid the energy associated with mining altogether and you would save energy in the manufacturing process, reducing the energy needed to make a can by 95 percent. This equates to real greenhouse gas reductions as the EPA estimates that recycling 500 tons of aluminum is equivalent to removing 1,569 cars from the road for one year. In addition, manufacturing cans from recycled aluminum reduces air and water pollution by 96 percent.

Q: Mayors, city commissioners, county board chairs and other political leaders face so many important issues. What prompted you to select global warming as one of your major platforms?

PF: The urgency of taking action against global warming becomes clearer with every new scientific study. I want Arlington to be a small piece of the puzzle in trying to solve or mitigate the problem. Like many other localities, I believe that we cannot wait for the federal government to act; we must take concrete steps that will truly help reduce global warming. Here in Arlington, we have already achieved a 2.6 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from County operations — in a time of growth… proof that it is achievable! If everyone does their part, we can make a tremendous difference.

Q: From your perspective, how can those running recycling programs better motivate their residents to more actively recycle through curbside programs?

PF: Convenience and ease of use are two very important motivators of a successful curbside recycling program. Recycling program managers must keep putting out recycling information. Arlington has had curbside recycling since the early 1990’s, so one might assume residents know how to recycle and whom to call to get a bin. Last summer, our staff sent residents an easy-to-understand brochure with pictures of what to recycle and how to request a free recycling bin. The response was amazing: our recycling bin requests increased by 256 percent over the following month! Now the same brochure is also sent to new residents when they open a utilities account to motivate them to recycle at the curb as soon as they move to Arlington. We need to continue to motivate residents to recycle all their recyclables and communicate how much their efforts make a difference to our community and the earth.

Q: What advice would you give to other counties and municipalities who do not have political leaders that are as environmentally aware that are trying to win support for their curbside recycling programs?

PF: Make economic arguments. If there are short- term costs, explain the long-term gains. Even if the gains aren’t financial, talk about the positive environmental effects. If political leaders aren’t receptive, ask environmental groups to start grassroots campaigns to convince them. If political leadership doesn’t act, hopefully it will become an election year issue for them. Also, I would suggest finding out what is important to their elected officials and then tie recycling back to those issues. For example, in Arlington we recycle because it is both a part of our local and state waste management strategy and it is the right thing to do. However, another benefit of our curbside program is the financial savings associated with avoiding trash disposal costs at our Waste to Energy facility. Staff estimates that recycling is 45 percent cheaper than trash comparing costs per ton.

There are also a number of economic benefits downstream in the form of manufacturing jobs and recycling-related businesses. Recycling creates four jobs for every one job created in the waste management and disposal industries. If a supply of recyclable materials were created in your community, you may be able to attract new businesses that could use the material as a feed source that in turn benefits the local economy.

Also, previously mentioned, there is significant energy savings associated with recycling. I have heard a number of communities using the “Recycling is Patriotic” message. Not only is energy saved through recycling, but less crude oil is needed to manufacture plastics, for example. If you can find out what is important to your elected leaders, I really believe you can convince them that recycling is a benefit to them and the community.

To find out more about Arlington County’s Fresh AIRE initiative, visit www.arlingtonva.us/climate

theCVP Wants You!
CVP’s new English and Spanish radio PSA strikes a chord with communities across the country

From Morristown, NJ to Chicago, IL, communities all over the country have taken advantage of the free PSA provided by the Curbside Value Partnership, and so can you! We have developed a radio PSA about curbside recycling that can be localized to your community for free! In the spot, consumers are educated on the ease and importance of curbside recycling and are asked to go on-line to find out how they can participate locally.

It works! To date, our “Desperate Housewives” PSA has aired a total of 965 times with 10.1 million total impressions made. Additionally, the PSA was just picked up by both Sirius and XM Satellite Radio and will air numerous times on several of their channels over the coming weeks.

Check out our Web site (www.RecycleCurbside.org) to listen to the spot and order a localized copy free of charge. You can easily add your phone number or Web site to the spot, thanks to our partnership with Earth 911.

Last year, Americans threw away over $6.4 billion worth of recyclable materials.*
Average participation rates in curbside programs nationwide is 58 percent.**
Americans earn nearly $1 billion annually from recycling aluminum cans!****
Recycling one ton of newspaper saves 17 trees.***
If a community of 200,000 households grew curbside recycling volume by 10 percent in one year, they would save over $100,000 in landfill fees (based on tipping fees) and earn over $65,000 from the sale of recyclables.**
In 1972, 53 million pounds of aluminum cans were recycled. Today, we exceed that amount weekly.****
For each new bin you set out on the curb, you could earn up to $94 from the revenue of those materials over one year.**

Sources: *www.recyclenet.com **Curbside Value Partnership ***American Forest & Paper Association ****Novelis