Key Features and Benefits:

• Statewide Coverage: All Illinois communities now have access to Recycle Coach’s comprehensive digital tools, ensuring that residents have access to timely collection schedule reminders, material search capabilities, and hyper-local educational content.
• Accessible through Mobile and Desktop: The initiative includes an interactive web widget for all local government websites and access to the Recycle Coach mobile app. These resources will guide residents on how to properly dispose of household waste, identify recyclables, and manage non-recyclables.
• Community-Specific Solutions: Recycle Coach will begin with a statewide needs assessment, working with the Illinois EPA and local entities, such as county and municipal solid waste coordinators. Recycle Coach technology will be customized to cater to the needs of 12.5 million Illinois residents and 6,835 units of local government.
• Environmental Impact: The program aims to decrease contamination at material recovery facilities, increase the diversion of materials from landfills, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Proper waste management will also mitigate contamination of waterways and land.

“The Illinois EPA is excited to offer this innovative technology that will provide Illinois residents with advanced tools to allow them to increase and improve recycling throughout all our communities,” said Illinois EPA Interim Director James Jennings. “We look forward to the full implementation of this program, which will expand the amount of recyclables properly diverted from Illinois landfills.”

“We’re thrilled to welcome the State of Illinois to the Recycle Coach movement” says Jeff J. Galad, President of Recycle Coach. “The Illinois EPA has demonstrated their environmental leadership by adopting robust digital tools that provide hyper-local waste and recycling information, notifications and education to every community, thus every resident”.

Recycle Coach is available at no cost to Illinois communities. Local governments can request an onboarding meeting by emailing successgroup@recyclecoach.com. A secure web app will be provided for municipal waste websites, and residents will be encouraged to download the free Recycle Coach app.

About the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):

The mission of the Illinois EPA is to safeguard environmental quality, consistent with the social and economic needs of the State of Illinois, so as to protect health, welfare, property, and the quality of life.

The Illinois EPA works to safeguard natural resources from pollution to provide a healthy environment. By partnering with businesses, local governments, and the public, the Illinois EPA is dedicated to continued protection of the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the land we live on.

Press Only Inquiries, please contact:

 Illinois EPA Contact:
Kim Biggs
Public Information Officer
kim.biggs@illinois.gov
217-558-1536
epa.illinois.gov

Recycle Coach Contact:
Jeff J. Galad
President
jgalad@recyclecoach.com
www.recyclecoach.com

]]> https://recyclecoach.com/resources/client-spotlight-paul-varga-and-frederick-county-md/ Thu, 05 Sep 2024 17:24:42 +0000 https://recyclecoach.com/?post_type=resources&p=21307 Frederick County, MD has partnered with Recycle Coach for ten years. Comprised mostly of small towns and farmland, the county of Frederick is the largest in Maryland and home to approximately 270,000 people. Residents are eager to learn how to recycle right–and it shows. In just the last year, there’s been an 80% increase in reminders and interactions on the Recycle Coach app.

The Challenge:   

Frederick County has created an audience for their multifaceted recycling and solid waste program, and it’s a large undertaking for a small team. They have an engaged resident base that’s dedicated to recycling and learning proper waste disposal practices, but the County runs into many issues with the all-too-common problem of wish-cycling. The Solid Waste and Recycling team in part blames the way that recycling has been painted in a “rosy” light, making it seem like an easy, one-step process. Frederick County residents want to learn and participate, but it’s creating a bigger problem when individuals don’t participate correctly.  

Watch our full interview with Paul Varga, Communications Manager for Solid Waste and Recycling in Frederick County, MD, where we sat down to chat about their success with Recycle Coach.

“Everyone is a believer [in recycling], but everyone believes a different thing.” 
– Paul Varga

The Solution:  

As Paul explains, the Solid Waste and Recycling team at Frederick County’s efforts all come down to engagement, and not relying solely on outreach alone. They are getting the word out about the Recycle Coach platform and making changes. Incorporating the web app and using the words “Recycle Coach” often, they are getting residents accustomed to their branding and marketing. For every post they make on their social media, they do their best to direct people where to go. Rather than overloading their residents with messages, they send out reminders once per week and are sure to keep their messaging standardized.  

In the past year, there were 3.1 million interactions with reminders and notifications, up from 2.5 million the year before. Every month, there are nearly 150,000 interactions with Recycle Coach content. 20,000 of these account for activities and quizzes, and not only that, but there is an 81% correct response rate when asked about disposal rules. Frederick County has no plans to slow down, however. “There is always room for improvement,” says Paul. He explains that they strive to incorporate recycling information into their other communications as well and emphasizes that the important thing is to “remain transparent, be engaging, and always tell the truth.”

To learn more about our technology and how to work with us, please reach out to us here. (And if you missed it, make sure to check out our sit down with Cliff Walls from the City of East Lansing, MI!)

When information is easy to access, it’s no secret that users will stick around and engage – and your waste and recycling information should be no different.

By putting info at the fingertips of customers, you can lower call volume, increase efficiency, and save money.

Connect with customers (without connecting to a landline)

Enhance your customer experience with game-changing features like:

• Mobile Notifications to communicate service interruptions quickly and efficiently
• Customizable Calendars so there’s never a question about pick-up day
• Fully branded app solutions (or leverage the Recycle Coach app)
• Premium educational modules to build better habits and reduce contamination

And with dedicated 1:1 support, getting started is a breeze.

Ready to learn more?

Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did your career get started?

It sort of happened by accident! I had finished university and wasn’t quite sure where I was going to end up. I was looking for a job when I got the opportunity to be an Educational Coordinator for a recycling company that was getting ready to launch the first single-stream program in Saskatchewan.

It was a complete crash course, and I very quickly became fascinated with the MRF and the entire recycling process. From the challenges of contamination and just how difficult it is to keep a clean recycling stream, to the implications of not recycling and how that impacts landfills and the community — and I’ve been in the industry ever since.

Over the last ten years, I’ve worked with hundreds of organizations to solve their local problems through digital tools and modern technology. Long story short, I feel like I’m a recycling guy at my core. When I talk with Recycling Coordinators or Sustainability Directors about getting residents to understand their recycling program, that’s my lived experience.

What surprised you most about the industry?

The sheer amount of technology in a MRF. When I started, I had no clue about where recycling goes and the rate at which it’s processed into marketable commodities – which is ultimately what makes something recyclable – and I was fascinated by that aspect. Recycling isn’t magic. It’s a business. And helping people understand that is a game changer.

The MRF workers are the unsung heroes of the industry. The amount of labour it takes to process recycling and remove contaminants from a stream is incredible, and incredibly difficult. That’s what motivated me as an educator to make their lives easier, because of how dangerous and fast that job is. We’d see things like car parts, bulky items, sharps – so many different items people would throw into dumpsters that didn’t belong. And that all stems from the lack of education in a municipality on what goes where and what happens to the material after it leaves the curb.

What would you say is the key to success for a recycling program?

Taking the time to tell the story behind recycling. The more residents understand about the chain of custody, the better the recycler they’re going to be. People are looking for a quick answer. Modernizing the approach and watching the tide shift from more traditional methods to utilizing digital tools has been really interesting and what’s been so successful for a lot of cities I’ve had the pleasure of working with.

What about your work now do you enjoy the most?

I love helping people solve problems. Every municipality, every waste hauler, every university – they all deal with getting a handle on contamination or call volume about their collection day, or helping new residents find information about their waste program. It’s a tall order for small teams with limited resources to answer those calls and emails or to be able to proactively reach every single resident.

I feel like I’m less of a sales guy and more of a recycling industry guy at large, and I love being able to help people based on what I’ve learned over the last decade – here’s what I know works and what’s been successful.

What excites you most about joining the Recycle Coach team?

The focus on strategic partnerships and the openness to work with any organization that shares our goal of ending contamination. Whether they are a customer or not – how can we work together and continue to innovate in the space? Let’s find a way to do that.

Being a smaller team, we have a unique opportunity to be more agile when it comes to product innovation and development and to help build solutions.

As a previous Educator, Recycle Coach has always been known for focusing on empowering the residents it serves. Having engaging activities like quiz questions or short lessons being incorporated seamlessly into the app is huge for the industry.

What is your best recycling tip?

It all comes back to the MRF. Across Canada and the United States, there are so many different systems. Taking that extra 5-10 minutes to do some research and understand where your recycling goes and how it’s processed is huge. The more you understand your MRF and the concept of processing, the better you’re going to understand the do’s and don’ts of your program and the better recycler you’re going to become.

Anything around the house or in your day-to-day life?

To me, zero waste is a mindset. How can we reduce waste as much as possible? Of course, I try to avoid single-use items like straws and bags, but I apply that mentality to every purchase and try to avoid buying things I don’t need. As a father of a two-year-old, it’s easier said than done, but I try to be as conscientious as I can when it comes to consumer choices, the packaging products come in and not buying things I don’t need.

Best piece of advice you’ve received at work?

Getting the answer ‘no’ doesn’t mean no forever. It goes back to starting my career at the MRF when I had a lot of crazy, huge ideas, and it taught me how to articulate my vision, rather than ask for something. Crawl, walk, run is something that I think is important, especially when working with communities that want to take on a digital solution. We need to start with the foundation and then build on that, piece by piece.

What would you say to someone who is interested in getting into the solid waste industry for the first time?

You’re never going to get the smell off of you. It’s such an interesting industry and offers so many different career opportunities that it’s hard to leave, and even harder not to come back if you do. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. Going into a MRF for the first time can be a bit of a shock – it’s hot, dusty, fast-paced – but that’s where everything happens.

It’s a very humbling experience. Wear gloves, cover-alls, nose plugs, whatever you need – but it’s something you have to do to understand what MRF workers do on a daily basis, and to understand what’s really going on in your community and how residents are participating in your program.

Bonus round time. Favorite ice cream flavor.

Haagan-Dazs chocolate peanut butter. I can destroy an entire pint like it’s nothing.

What was your dream job as a kid?

It changed over and over and over – but stand-up comedian.

Do you know any recycling jokes?

Recycling is no laughing matter!

Who is Spooky?

Spooky is my cat! He was famously recycled in Saskatoon in 2016.

Working in the MRF, I had this thing called the Wall of Shame. The workers on the line would bring any weird item that came through down to my office. I had a samurai sword, a Super Nintendo, all of these trinkets. It was my guiding light that reminded me I still have work to do!

One day, they brought down a live kitten. He’d had quite a journey since the only way in is from a truck that captures residential curbside material, so from the curb to the tipping floor, scooped up and dropped into the drum feeder, and then rescued from the pre-sort conveyor belt. They brought him down to me and thankfully, he was totally fine, albeit a little dusty and a little stinky.

My girlfriend at the time – now wife – was in veterinary school, so we obviously took him home after having no luck at the SPCA. We named him Spooky after my original childhood cat and he’s been our best bud ever since.

Through the survey, Recycle Coach sought to track evolving trends and identify areas of misunderstanding, enabling municipalities to deliver targeted recycling education. Residents were quizzed about the recyclability of more than 20 materials based on their local guidelines, from common items like plastic bottles to more challenging items like light bulbs and batteries.

Interested in seeing the full Annual Survey results? Please complete the form below.




Hooper’s career spans over 24 years in the waste management and recycling industry. With a profound understanding of the challenges faced by communities, he has consistently worked towards creating solutions that enhance recycling participation and reduce the environmental footprint of waste. Under his leadership, Recycle Coach has grown to serve more than 1,500 cities across North America and Australia, empowering millions of residents to be better recyclers and better stewards of the environment.

“Creighton’s commitment to ANJR has included many behind-the-scenes activities such as launching our membership directory, modernizing our membership outreach, and building new revenue streams for our not-for-profit association,” says Gary Smalley, ANJR Board President.

Hooper joined ANJR in 2018 and shortly after that, became a board member in 2019. In 2020, he took on the role of Vice President of Development, helping to build ANJR’s membership base and dedicating himself to identifying and meeting the needs of the recycling community.

This recognition is a testament to his outstanding contributions and the positive change he continues to bring to the industry at large. The entire team at Recycle Coach congratulates him on this well-deserved honor.

As the home of Michigan State University, East Lansing sees its population swell by thousands every school year. Not only are these residents transient, but most are environmentally-minded students with an enthusiasm for eco-friendly habits that often results in wish-cycling.

Watch our full interview with Cliff Walls, Environmental Specialist for the City of East Lansing, MI, where we sat down to chat about their first year with Reycle Coach.

Some key highlights: 

• In just one year, East Lansing has amassed 2,000+ residents using Recycle Coach app and sends close to 3,000 reminders monthly
• Cliff uses every channel available from social media to word of mouth, to working with neighborhood presidents and including materials in water bill inserts to help drive downloads (as Cliff says, “find the unique ways to get the word out and let the magic happen.”)
• Inbound calls from residents are in the single digits since implementing Recycle Coach

To learn more about our technology and how to work with us, please reach out to us here. (And if you missed it, make sure to check out our sit down with Kim Johnson from Olympia, WA!)

You can check out the full interview below: 

Some key highlights: 

• The city sends on average 20,000 to 30,000 reminders every month!
• To get the word out, Olympia uses an always-on strategy to encourage resident adoption by featuring Recycle Coach on their annual collection calendar, on all of their acceptable items lists, and in their utility billing inserts to make sure residents are taking notice
• Kim uses data from her residents material searches to include specific information on utility billing inserts, and recently saw success in communicating about a change to glass items 
• For anyone interested in serving their municipality and getting involved in the waste industry, Kim says the most rewarding part of her job is being able to educate customers and see the light bulb go off with residents on why recycling is so important for the environment

More than 15,000 residents in Olympia are part of the Recycle Coach ecosystem, and we are so proud to call them a partner!

Interested in learning more about Recycle Coach? Please reach out to us here. 

1. Start Early: Begin promoting the event several weeks in advance. Use social media, flyers, and posters to spread the word. Encourage local businesses and organizations to promote the event as well. If your community uses Recycle Coach, you are able to send out notifications to residents through the Recycle Coach mobile app to let them know an event is coming up. Make sure to add your event to other websites that list clean-up events so that you reach a broader audience.

2. Identify Target Areas: Identify areas in your municipality that need the most attention. This could be a local park, beach, or even a street that needs litter clean-up. Use this event as a way to not only clean up litter, but teach residents about proper recycling in your program. Make sure to have clear signage at the event that teaches residents about proper recycling as they pick up litter.

3. Provide Supplies: Make sure you have enough gloves, garbage bags, recycling bins, and other supplies for volunteers. You can ask local businesses to donate supplies in order to become sponsors of your event. Make sure to have plenty of water and snacks on hand for volunteers too. You can also use this event to promote the Recycle Coach App to your residents by making our QR code visible. This way you can encourage residents to utilize our year-round recycling education.

4. Make it Fun: Encourage volunteers to bring friends and family members. Make it a fun event by providing music, competitions, and prizes. Consider having a photo booth or other fun activities to keep volunteers engaged. This is also a great opportunity to teach residents in your area about sustainability practices they can use all year long. Think incorporating games that can encourage people to switch to more sustainable practices by showing them how those new habits can help the environment.

5. Thank Volunteers: Make sure to thank volunteers for their hard work. Consider hosting a post-clean-up event to celebrate their efforts. Provide certificates of appreciation or small gifts to show your gratitude. These are great ways to show them you appreciate their commitment to their community and that their efforts to better the environment are not going unnoticed.

Overall, getting residents involved in an Earth Day clean-up event is a great way to promote environmental awareness and encourage people to take action to protect our planet. By following these simple steps, municipalities can help make a positive impact in their communities.