A Guide to Recycling On the Go In Indiana

A Guide to Recycling On the Go In Indiana

Table of Contents Introduction 3 The Recycling Coordinator 4 Targeting Materials To Recycle 5 Haulers, Volunteers, and Staff 6 All About Recycling Bins 8 Setting Up Your Recycling Program 9 Promote and Educate About Your Program 10 Developing An Awareness Program 11 Monitoring and Evaluating 12 Celebrating Success 12

Introduction to Recycling On The Go Away from home, recycling on the go, public space recycling,-- no matter which phrase you use, each one means providing the opportunity to recycle outside of the home or work place, in a public space such as a park or on a city street. With some curbside programs approaching 20 + years of operations, waste reduction and recycling is moving outside of the home and branching into the community in order to reach higher diversion levels. Targeting places where people enjoy their free time such as parks, golf courses and sporting events are all Recycling on the go promotes a positive image for customers, visitors, users, and attendees who are used to recycling at home and work. HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE This guide will provide you with the steps to establish a successful recycling on the go program. As you the next level. ABOUT THIS GUIDE The Indiana Recycling Coalition works to support source reduction, reuse, composting and recycling activities in Indiana. To learn more about the IRC, visit www.indianarecycling.org. This guide was developed in conjunction with the award of Public Space Recycling grants by the Indiana Recycling Coalition, made possible by the Alcoa Foundation. The 32 grant awardees received recycling bins to assist with the collection and recycling of beverage containers this program. Produced by Resource Recycling Systems (recycle.com) on behalf of the Indiana Recycling Coalition 3

In the Driver s Seat - The Recycling Coordinator In general, a recycling coordinator is responsible for the oversight of a recycling program from planning to evaluation. This individual will design the collection program, arrange for transportation of materials, coordinate staff and volunteers, facilitate education and outreach, and measure the results. Most likely the responsibility of coordinating recycling on the go efforts has already been assigned to you. Good news! The tools you need are right here in this guide. Pedal to the Metal! As the Recycling Coordinator, you are in the best position to make more than just recycling happen at your event or location. Long term efforts can be put in place through policies and procedures developed by you. Consider restricting the use of non-recyclable products or require recycling as part of vendor contracts. Putting policies in place will contribute to making your event or location more environmentally sustainable. 4

Checking Under the Hood - Target Materials to Recycle Understanding what is in the waste stream at your event or location is essential to planning your program. This vital information will allow you to determine how and where to set up your event or location s recycling program. One of the easiest ways to determine what should be targeted for recycling is to simply look in the trash. If there are a lot of bottles and cans, beverage containers should be targeted. If the trash contains plenty of newspapers and cardboard, then those become your targeted materials. For the most part, recycling on the go will target bottles and cans. However, some venues such as special events like a festival may generate significant amounts of cardboard from vendors. In this case, you will need to consider materials generated in both areas open to the public and also behind the scenes. 5

Assembling the Pit Crew - Haulers, Volunteers, and Staff Selecting the right team members for your crew will only increase your chances for successful recycling on the go. Just like a pit crew is comprised of individuals with a specific task, so is your recycling team. Contractor/Hauler A contractor or hauler provides collection and transport of recyclables to a recycling facility. Depending on your location, you may need to contract for these services. If this is the case, there are several key questions you should ask when inquiring about these services: What method of recycling collection is preferred? Single-stream or dual stream? What materials do you collect? What do you charge for collection? Do you pay for recyclables? How do you calculate their value? What is the allowable amount of contamination? What is your collection schedule? Do you pick up on call? Do you provide collection containers? Do you provide a lower price for both trash and recycling collection services? Be sure to inquire about providing reports on volumes of recyclables and trash. This data is important as part of your monitoring and evaluation of the recycling efforts (see The Checkered Flag section). Pedal to the Metal! Working with Vendors and Concessionaires The beverages, snacks, souvenirs, and pamphlets sold and distributed at public venues and special events can turn into heaps of trash. To avoid this, establish a recycling program that builds upon a synergistic relationship with concessionaires, vendors, and exhibitors. Here are a few ideas of how to reduce waste and increase diversion of your location s recycling program: Require that vendors sell beverages in recyclable containers. If using plastic cups, use cups made from plastic materials that your hauler or recycling center accepts. Require collection and recycling of cardboard and other packaging, even if it is not part of the general public recycling program. Source: EPA Recycle on the Go program. 6

Volunteers Volunteers are a valuable addition to your recycling effort, especially at a special event. Volunteers help ensure recyclables end up in the right containers, educate attendees, and transfer recyclables from bins to collection points. Start recruiting volunteers several months before your event so you can recruit as many as you can, and to provide adequate time for training. Use resources in your community for recruitment scout groups, church groups, and other local clubs may be in search of a project to support. Staff If you are incorporating recycling on the go at a park, golf course, or school, you are probably using your current staff to assist with the collection of recyclables. New programs are not always well received. You will need to help your staff understand that recycling is not MORE work, recycling is DIFFERENT work. Be sure to include your staff as part of the planning process and gather their input so they can also take ownership of the program. Staff input will help make the program better. 7

The Vehicle - All About Recycling Bins Select a Recycling Container You cannot have a race without the car! That s what your recycling bins are the star of the show and the vehicle for your program. The recycling bin is the key visual for your program. It will serve as a reminder to potential recyclers that they can recycle there. There are many recycling containers and vendors to choose from. The Indiana Recycling Coalition offers a reference list of recycling containers, available at www.indianarecycles.org, under Products and Services. A few sample container types are illustrated below* *The containers pictured here are those that were offered as part of the 2011 Alcoa grant program. color of Containers A recycling bin should be a different color than the trash can, so it is clear to the user that the container is for a different use. Blue is the industry standard for recycling containers. Number of Containers To supply an adequate number of recycling bins at your event or location, it is recommended that*: 0-1000 attendees use 10 recycling containers 1,000 5,000 attendees use 20 recycling containers 5,000 10,000 attendees use 30 recycling containers 10,000 20, 000 attendees use 40 recycling containers 20,000 30, 000 attendees use 50 recycling containers * Source: ilivehere Event Recycling Guide, Waste Commission of Scott County (Iowa) 8

Mapping the Course - Setting Up Your Recycling Program Location, Location, Location First, recycling must be as convenient as throwing something away. Ideally, every garbage container is paired with a recycling container. Single bins of either type are likely to attract the wrong material. Tip #1: Co-locating trash and recycling bins also makes it easier for emptying containers. Tip #2: If you do not have as many recycling bins as trash cans, consider reducing the number of trash cans or create a group of trash cans with one recycling bin. Next, consider the placement of the trash and recycling bins. Collection bins should always be placed where high traffic areas occur, places most convenient to the user and locations where recyclables are generated. Key spots to target include: At entrances and exits Before areas where food and beverages are prohibited Near where food and beverages are sold Tip: If recyclables are not sold by vendors, a recycle bin may collect more trash than recycling. This is an exception to the earlier rule. In parking lots 9

Over the Loudspeaker - Promote and Educate About Your Recycling Program You have developed a great program so far, and now it is time to ensure that users of the program understand how it works. Education and communications about the program require the following: Keep messages and directions simple. Publicize your recycling message to attendees. Use announcements, signage, and displays. Keep message and publicity tools consistent by using the same signs and colors throughout the venue. Remember recycling varies from community to community, so be clear about what your program accepts. Labeling of Recycling Bins Be sure to label your recycling bins as Recycling and include a standard chasing arrows or recycling symbol. Large signage above or on the bin should include a list of acceptable materials or photos of recyclables will help reduce contamination and also work well where multiple languages are spoken. This guide includes several signage templates for your use. For locations such as parks, golf course, and the like, signage will be very important, along with other messages that you release to the public. Developing a schedule of communications to provide information about the program, its progress, and its success throughout the year will help to promote your program. Press releases, social media, websites, and newsletters are all tools to communicate to potential recyclers. 10

Putting Your Program in the Pole Position - Developing an Awareness Campaign Education is the key to any recycling effort. A strong recycling program always has an equally strong communications plan for education and outreach. Effectively planning and executing your recycling on the go communications plan will contribute to program success. Communications about recycling on the go requires a dual approach. There is a need for immediate impact and long term awareness. Since your target audiences may only spend a few minutes in your location, the impact of education and outreach efforts must be immediately effective in driving recyclables into the correct container. Labeling containers and onsite information about recycling on the go are crucial for this action plan (see previous section). In order to build consistent recycling on the go behavior, an awareness campaign that supports your location s recycling activities must also be developed and executed starting well before the program is rolled out, and continue long after the program is in operation. Remember that communication about your program is never over it must be frequently ongoing! Get the message out early and often Depending on your location, awareness should begin weeks or even months ahead of the official program launch. Consider the following as part of your plan: Pedal to the Metal! Media Coverage How can you attract the attention of the local media? Consider doing a waste sort in a high visible area of your location. The waste sort will identify what is currently in the waste stream, but may also attract the media. It may be hard to get media out to see new recycling containers, but add people knee deep in trash to the mix, and you just might be in business! Press releases about the program to local media Integrate recycling messages into all materials about your location-flyers, posters, email announcements, and the like Highlight the program on your website Host a press conference to launch your program 11

Draw Attention to Your Containers Once the program launches, continue to draw attention and create awareness about the new recycling on the go program. Highlight recycling containers with flags, balloons, or even staff with volunteers to draw attention to the new program and provide accurate information about how to use it. Review & Evaluate After the program has been operating for a month or two, review and evaluate the effectiveness of the program. By looking in the trash and recycling containers, you may see a need to provide different communications about common contaminants in the recycling bin, or if there are more recyclables in the trash, the current tools are not working well. Remember that communication about your program is never done, and you may need to consider redirecting some of your efforts based on what your waste and recyclable streams reveal to you. Ongoing Efforts Don t forget to publicize your success! How many pounds or tons have you diverted? Keep a running tally at your location to show the impact of your location visitors and users. Be sure to credit your sponsors and supporters. Consider an annual focus on your recycle on the go program, perhaps around Earth Day (spring) or America Recycles Day (fall). 12

The Checkered Flag - Monitoring & Evaluation Monitoring and evaluating the recycling program will help you identify both successes and problems. Periodically inspect recycling and trash bins and observe: Contamination levels in recycling bins Amount of recyclables thrown in the trash Cleanliness of recycling bins Signage on recycling and trash bins Level of fullness of trash cans and recycling bins Interviewing concessionaires, vendors, exhibitors, volunteers, staff, and patrons can provide great feedback. Talking with people is a great way to evaluate and monitor your program. The last step is to calculate your recycling rate. Below is the standard formula. Calculating this rate will help to measure success and be a useful piece of information for promotion of your program. Recycling Rate = Amount Recycled Amount Recycled + Amount Disposed The Winner s Circle - Celebrating Your Success You did it! Your recycling on the go program is now set up and operating. However, this is not the end of the road yet. Be sure to thank everyone involved with the development of the program, especially staff and volunteers. Share your success and recycling rates so everyone is aware of how they also contributed to the program. Finally, seek ways to continually improve your program. For questions or comments, please contact the Indiana Recycling Coalition at (317)-632-5915. 13