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Reaching for
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Once the necessary infrastructure and management are in place, the key challenge to achieving zero waste is motivating individual behavioral change. Effective education is the key to that inspiration. The first step in enforcement should also be educational. That is, before receiving a fine, a resident or business should be told what they did wrong and how they can avoid a fine in the future. Enforcement activities are very direct and occur at the community level, thus should be understood to influence all community based education efforts. (For more on this, see Chapter 7, Enforcement). New Yorkers must be educated not only on what to do (the mechanics of reduction and recycling) but also on why to do it (the environmental, social and economic benefits of zero waste). Comprehensive educational programs should achieve the following objectives:
New York City’s recycling and waste prevention education programs to date have been inconsistent and underfunded. Participants in the November 2002 Roundtable on the Future of Recycling in NYC noted that most cities spend $1 to $1.50 per capita on recycling and waste prevention education (Center for Economic and Environmental Partnership, 2000). NYC’s efforts are minimal by comparison, with an average of $2 million allocated or $0.25 per capita (in good budget years) for a City of more than 8 million residents, and more than 12 million persons on any given workday. Consistent and sufficient funding will be critical in maximizing people’s participation in waste prevention, reuse, composting and recycling programs and moving toward zero waste. In general, the City of New York Department of Sanitation (DSNY) has produced some very high quality educational materials, most notably the "RRR You Ready" curriculum for schools. However, as long as we have limited budgets for education, we need to shift the emphasis away from expensive, multicolor print materials to making sure that basic educational materials are getting to those who need them. A comprehensive program will include, at a minimum, the following elements implemented and funded consistently:
The following section provides more detail on the areas outlined above. Large-Scale Public Education Advertising and/or Mass Media Messages Simple messages on the importance of a zero waste future and the path to get there can be effectively delivered through conventional advertising venues, such as print, radio, television, bus shelter and subway ads. While these types of ads, on their own, do not provide enough information to ensure that people reduce, reuse, recycle and compost properly, they are a valuable part of a larger campaign, particularly when reinforced by community-based education efforts--that is, if the messages seen in advertisements are followed up by personal contact and assistance. One barrier to implementing large-scale public education campaigns, especially in a city like New York, is the substantial cost. Some of this cost can be reduced by using Public Service Announcements (PSA’s) on radio and TV, or by partnering with others to sponsor ads. Several recycling industries, most notably paper and plastics, are lacking sufficient supply to feed their recycling facilities. In other communities, they have partnered with the municipality to provide artwork and technical support, and to sponsor advertisements that help generate more recyclables. Residents will benefit from knowing where their recyclables go–dispelling rumors that it all goes to a landfill. New York City should pursue such partnerships to finance public education campaigns. Proactive speeches by the Mayor and other elected officials can also utilize public forums to take advantage of free media opportunities. Implementation Schedule:
Reuse Public Awareness Campaign In conjunction with plans to develop a network of reuse complexes and neighborhood reuse centers, it is important that the City promote the benefits of buying used goods and confront some of the negative perceptions of buying second hand. A multi-pronged approach should include support for existing and new community-based education activities (see below), targeted education campaigns on reuse (see below), and professional public relations assistance. The City would be well served by investing in a public relations firm to research public perceptions and develop a campaign to promote reuse and the purchasing of reused products. Implementation Schedule:
School-Based Programs DSNY has developed an excellent waste prevention and recycling curriculum package. "RRR You Ready" is aptly named because it is ready for use by teachers in all schools Citywide. The use of this curriculum should be made mandatory. In addition, the curriculum should be updated as the City’s programs change to reflect a focus on zero waste. Opportunities to integrate the educational materials into science and math classes should not be lost. Implementation Schedule:
Shopper Campaigns In order to prevent waste, consumers must be aware of both the products and packaging that are wasteful and the alternatives to their use. Environmental labeling, shelf labeling and advertising programs can help to raise that awareness. One successful model is the "Save Money and the Environment Too" campaign (previously known as ShopSmart) initially implemented by the City of San Francisco in 1995. The campaign is a multi-pronged approach to educate consumers about wasteful products and encourage the purchase of waste preventing, reusable, recycled and recyclable alternatives. It includes billboard, print and radio ads, as well as messages printed on shopping bags and milk cartons, and shelf labeling of waste preventing products. The campaign was so successful that the governments in the Bay area worked collaboratively to expand it to include more than 110 municipalities and 400 supermarkets. Success was measured by tracking sales figures that demonstrated an increase of nearly 20 percent in sales of well-packaged products in 1996. In 1999, 61 percent of the campaign’s target audience received its message 3.3 times (Liss et al, 2000). Other successful consumer campaigns have focused on junk mail reduction. Generally, these campaigns educate consumers on strategies to reduce or eliminate junk mail, like contacting the Direct Marketing Association and requesting to be removed from lists. With thousands of catalogs available via www.catalogs.google.com, people have other means of accessing the information. New York City should implement a comprehensive consumer education program, like Save Money and the Environment Too. It should follow campaigns with others, such as a junk mail reduction campaign, to achieve even greater waste prevention and cost savings. Implementation Schedule:
Neighborhood-Based Education Community-based education offers something that public advertising cannot address–an on- the-ground personal and practical touch. This approach provides residents with immediate feedback on things they do not understand, identifies important barriers to participation, and enables community educators to make immediate corrections. Many communities with successful recycling and waste prevention programs, such as Boulder, CO; St. Paul, MN; Seattle, WA; and San Jose, CA, have programs that engage residents to help their neighbors reduce, reuse, recycle and compost properly. Sometimes called "Block Leader" or "Building Leader" (in the case of multi-family) programs, or referred to as Master Recycler, Reuser or Composter programs, they all include a focus on neighbor-to-neighbor education. Leaders or Masters are trained in the mechanics of waste prevention, reuse, recycling and/or composting, as well as in the benefits of these programs. They are prepared to reach out to their neighbors, to answer common questions and to direct people to the proper outlets for their materials. These programs have proven effective because of the personal connection involved-- if a person is unsure about how to handle a material, they are more likely to ask someone they know than to wait for a response from an automated telephone hotline. Some websites discussing block leader programs are: http://www.raleigh-nc.org/sw/recyclinghome.htm; http://www.townofcary.org/news/blokled.htm; www.ecocyle.org/volunteer/blockleader.cfm; www.ci.austin.tx.us/sws/block.htm The Zero Waste Coordinators, proposed in Chapter 1, Waste Prevention, should recruit and train the volunteer Block and Building Leaders or Masters in their districts of focus. Essential to the success of any volunteer program is adequate support with materials, programming and training. The City should provide printed materials, including suitable articles for newspaper publications. To further their education and outreach objectives, Block and Building Leaders could also submit educational pieces on their various zero waste programs to neighborhood newspapers. It should be noted that DSNY has spent considerable effort preparing booklets and brochures that are very helpful but have not been adequately distributed. The Block and Building Leaders would provide an effective distribution system for these materials. Implementation Schedule:
Targeted Campaigns In a city the size of New York, broad scale public education on the details of what and how to reduce, reuse, recycle and compost can be difficult and expensive. The City and its zero waste programs would be better served by targeting intensive outreach to key actors listed below. Materials targeted to different groups should be prepared, distributed and made available through community boards, libraries, and zero waste coordinators.
Implementation Schedule:
Evaluation and Research Public education efforts should be informed by sound opinion research. Only if the City understands public perception of its messages on recycling, reuse, waste prevention, and composting can it design messages that will inspire broad participation in achieving zero waste. Opinion and waste composition research should be coordinated, so that opinion research is focused on materials and products that the composition analyses identify as comparatively difficult to divert. Sound educational research should supplement opinion research evaluating the success of campaigns aimed at specific populations and identifying the impact and best method of delivering multiple educational messages and programs. Identifying all barriers to participation in zero waste programs is a very important component of this research, so that these barriers can be removed. Implementation Schedule:
University-Based Education Programs City and state universities should be encouraged to develop certificate and degree programs for zero waste professionals, waste auditors, environmental purchasing staff, natural resource managers, etc. Developing qualified individuals is important to ensure that we have the professional educators and program leaders we will need in the future. Implementation Schedule:
References Center for Economic and Environmental Partnership. 2002. Making Recycling Work: A Roundtable on the Future of Recycling in NYC. Roundtable Proceedings Report. Liss, G. and Associates. 2000. "Innovations" Case Study: Save Money and the Environment Too. California Integrated Waste Management Board.
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