Put power in the hands of your communities to increase recycling rates

Municipalities and haulers across the country are encouraging their communities and customers to recycle more. With global municipal solid waste (MSW) volumes set to increase by 70% in the next 30 years, and less than 20% of waste currently being recycled, according to the World Bank, the scale of the problem is obvious.

As North Americans, we are the leading producers of waste in the world. The United States comes first in the list of countries with the highest amount of daily per capita MSW with 2.58 kg, followed by Canada (2.33 kg/per capita). If we are to increase the amount of waste that is recycled, it’s imperative we empower our customer and citizen communities to be part of that change.

But people find it hard to know how to recycle right.

Education is critical

The fact is that people find it hard to comply with what their municipality or hauler is asking them to do. Figures on recycling attitudes and reported behavior from 2020 revealed that over four in five (82%) of residents add one or more items to their recycling collection that their operator cannot recycle.

Education campaigns focused on leaflets and community events have long been the mainstay of communication programs, and still have an important part to play, but to get messages to stick in an increasingly busy and complicated world, municipalities and haulers need to also communicate with citizens online – through apps on their phone and engaging while they are using the internet or social media. 

Not only is technology allowing for more effective, efficient, and environmentally sound handling of resources, but it’s overhauling the way those within the industry think about resident and customer communication, and better informing them about the behaviors and needs of the people they serve. 

Waste handlers, haulers, educators, operators and others are watching as technology and data disrupt the waste and recycling industry itself and change the challenges and opportunities for their roles within it. 

Websites and apps are putting power in the hands of those who do the work of reducing, reusing and recycling in our communities.

Moreover, technology gives the consumer of waste and recycling services – in other words, all of us — more opportunity than ever before to learn and contribute to the community of recyclers online and via smartphone applications.

Ultimately, the industry can leverage technology to create and deepen connections between those being served and those seeking to serve, enhancing the customer experience along the way.

Rogue Disposal, The University of Michigan, and The City of Durham all used our solution to empower real-time communication and information sharing among customers, students, and residents – respectively – and office staff. This reduces friction and improves efficiency. 

Laura Leebrick, Governmental Affairs Manager for Rogue, says “Tools that help us be more flexible in how we respond to changes in the marketplace around recycling — and communicate those changes to customers — (are) vitally important. Material streams are always changing, and they will continue to change.”

Jim Reingruber, Assistant Director of Solid Waste Management for the City of Durham, says “Our ReCollect tools give residents information the way they expect it today, help us meet people where they are, and save us time and FTEs.”

Check out our Customer Stories page for more information on how our tools drive a 400% ROI, improved efficiency and process, and happier citizens and staff.