2005 Recycling Pilot Program Report

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Pieces For This Study The pieces for this study took the concept of social marketing to heart. But social marketing typically requires 7-8 exposures before influencing behavior and it makes use af mass media. ' ;�� ; ., ��,�� The pieces for this study needed to be narrowly tailored so they on�y reached the �� `"..�`� _� ��!. � participants in the designated education test area. ....F.'i . ,. �.$.�..��,__ Figure Five "Where Your Recycling Goes" Brochure The intent was for the pieces to catch the eye of homeowners 35-55 years old so the designer used lats of pastel colors and fun thenaes and images. The original thoughts were refxned after being reviewed by focus groups of homeowners who fit the target age range. One piece builds on the RMP study and informs residents about all the types of paper that can be recycled at the curb. The goal was to end confixsion about what types of paper could be recycled such as the residenis who had no idea that junk rnail was accepted. In the 2002 survey a number of residents asked for more information on what happens to their recycli.ng after it leaves the curb. So the study included a piece (see illustration at left} that explains what new products are made out of res�dents' recyclables. A notable result of the focus groups was the people wha said they were ardent recyclers and did so to help the environment, but had no idea what happened to the material they put out at the curb. The third piece aimed to clear up the confusion about what types of plastic aze accepted as part of the curbside program. Many residents t�irn over their container and look for the plastic code. _ Lots of people believe this is a recycling symbol and that if the code is on the product it is okay to put that item in their recycling. Actually the code represents the specific type of t�- plastic polymer used to manufacture this item. And not all products with the same code can be recycled. For instance milk jugs and ice cream pails are both made with high density poly ethylene (HDPE). However, each item has a separate mel.t flow index which : ; means that when melted the two products are incox�npatible. ��`�� ;` Manufacturers primarily want PET and HDPE that has the properties associated with blow molding which is used to make bottles. So, no ice cream pails, yogurt cups, etc. The American Plastics Council (APC) developed what it calls an "All Bottles" progxam to educate people on the types of plastic to put out for collection. Their educational material tells residents to "Check for the neck," and if the container is a bottie with a neck, put it in the recycl�izag bin. T'here are some plastic bottles that are made using other types of polymers. But studies have shown that 95% of containers collected by municipali�ies that use al1 bottle programs are PET and HDPE ("Breaking Bottlenecks in Plastic Bottle Recovery," Resource Recycling, June 2000). Roseville sought to couple the information from the APC's "All Bottles" campa.ign h://www.all lasricbottles.or ) with a more contemporary design. The result was the third educational piece that plays off the theme of the children's game "Duck, duck, grey duck" to remind residents only plasiic bottles wi#h a neck are accepted in the curbside recycling program.