Why Magnets Don’t Work Anymore

Nothing conjures up images of in-home interactions than the family refrigerator covered in notes, artwork, educational information, and magnets.

Letter magnets, poetry magnets, insurance broker magnets… recycling magnets. Yes, it used to be a common practice for waste management operations to pass along consumer recycling education through magnets.

In theory, magnets that promote recycling make a lot of sense. The fridge is a high-traffic appliance, seen by many people during the day. The kitchen is also the place where a lot of waste diversion activities take place: opening packaging, preparing food, and disposing items.

Fridge magnets clearly support community-based social marketing tactics like prompts and communication.

But there is a major drawback to magnets.

Thanks to HGTV, DIY and countless home decor shows, more and more people are using stainless steel fridges. One retailer even indicates that “95% of its sales are in stainless.”

But, magnets don’t adhere to stainless steel.

And placing the magnet on the side of the fridge kind of defeats the purpose of it being “front and centre.” Even the supposed future trends for kitchens (fridges with panels that match cabinetry or glass-front fridges), aren’t going to help make magnets more usable. So, can you recycle magnets? And how can you educate customers now?

One alternative that some municipalities are starting to use is static cling or low-tack decals.

Made from a soft vinyl or plastic, static cling decals adhere to smooth surfaces, usually lasting one to two years before the “cling” wears off.

Low-tack decals use a very light glue and can be easily removed from most surfaces. As a result, they tend to last longer than the static cling option.

Another benefit of static cling or low-tack decals is that they can be lighter than some magnets, and therefore less costly to mail to residents.

Does your municipality use recycling magnets, static cling, or low-tack decals?

Want to learn more about recycling communications? Get started with Routeware’s waste management software solutions.