Greensboro Recycling Survey and Recycling Program Assessment Alex Arnett Waste Reduction Supervisor City of Greensboro

Today’s Topics Part I: Recycling Survey – Why we conducted a survey – How we did it – What we learned from it Part II: Recycling Program Assessment – Assessment purpose – Key findings – Recommendations

Part I: Recycling Survey

Recycling Survey: The Need Program Rebrand/ new outreach Need to know: – Residents’ knowledge level – Barriers to recycling – Attitudes – Behaviors

Recycling Survey

Process Created survey in-house Printed 90,000 copies in-house Mailed via water bill Received responses: – Direct mail – Returned with water bill payment – Survey available online

Survey Response Overwhelming response- around 10% Most popular response method: with water bill payment

Data Entry Used Survey Monkey to enter data Over 8,000 paper responses- needed help Hired temps, enlisted light-duty employees About 10 weeks to enter all data

Survey Response Map 9 Recycling Survey Response

Survey Results What’s Acceptable “Quiz” Portion “C” Average

MaterialPercentPercent CorrectGrade Cardboard95.56% A Glass Bottles94.60% A Newspaper, Magazines, Catalogs94.54% A Aluminum Cans93.23% A Chipboard (Cereal Boxes, etc)86.57% B Office and School Paper, Junk Mail80.61% C Steel/ Tin Cans78.61% C Milk & Juice Cartons75.23% C Plastics # % D Plastics # % F Pizza Boxes59.94% F Aluminum Foil & Pie Pans52.93% F Aerosol Cans (empty)45.41% F Plastic Bags26.11%73.89%D Paper Towels, Tissues25.02%74.98%C Styrofoam20.23%79.77%C Empty Motor Oil Bottles8.92%91.08%B Yard Waste4.39%95.61%A Tires, Rubber3.54%96.46%A Clothes3.12%96.88%A Food Waste1.26%98.74%A OVERALL 81.00%C

Write-In Responses I AM A HARDCORE ENVIROMENTALIST AND THERE COULD NEVER BE TOO MANY MEASURES OR EFFEORTS TO SAVE THE PLANTET. I COMMEND THE CITY OF GREENSBORO ON ITS EFFORTS TO KEEP THE GREEENS IN GREENSBORO.

Write-In Responses Put simply, I sometimes don't recycle - on purpose - because the City does not REQUIRE it. It's my form of a passive protest because I feel strongly that by recycling currently I am condoning the fact that it's an optional activity…Until common sense is legislated however, I will continue to intentionally not take measures to recycle when I easily could.

Write-In Responses

Attitudes Everyone knows that recycling helps the environment Less sure about where recycling goes, financial benefits of recycling Feel unsure about what to recycle (know the basics, unsure about specifics)

Part II: Recycling Program Assessment

Program Assessment: Purpose Rebrand Identify strengths and weaknesses Establish performance benchmarks Make recommendations that: – Strengthen program and improve performance – Improve customer service and access to programs – Make financial sense, i.e. return on investment 17

Program Assessment: Key Indicators Metrics Community Input Programs Education and Outreach Marketing Policy and Code Enforcement Performance Measurement Technology

Metrics Contamination Rate Recycling Pounds Per Household Set-Out Rate (participation rate?) Recycling Rate 19

Metrics- Map

Summary Resident confusion and lack of knowledge Low participation, non-participation High contamination (20%)- two kinds of contamination

Key Recommendations Blue Cart Conversion project Direct mail marketing Code enforcement upgrades New policies Multi-Material Drop Off Center

Implementation

Questions? Alex Arnett City of Greensboro- Field Operations Waste Reduction Supervisor (336)