3 Strategies to Raise Recycling IQ

When compliance numbers are low, it’s easy to get discouraged. But raising the recycling IQ of your  community on your own doesn’t have to be daunting.

While it can seem overwhelming to be single-handedly responsible for educating an entire municipality, there are plenty of strategies, within your reach (and within your budget), that you can use to help you in the process.

Here are 3 tactics to help raise the recycling IQ of your residents on a tight budget:

1. Leverage the potential of technology 

While print materials, newspaper articles and local events and presentations are classic ways of educating residents about your recycling programs, they are not the only tools at your disposal– and they are definitely not the most effective. With the rise of digital technologies, you have a number of dynamic tools that you can leverage as part of your recycling education outreach, such as Recycle Coach’s free outreach and education technology.

Affordable recycling mobile apps are now custom designed and tailored to the needs of your specific recycling program. And the same companies that create these apps are also able to provide useful item disposal search tools that fit into your municipalities already existing website. Using digital tools like these give your residents 24/7 access to waste and recycling information, allowing them to learn about your program and elevate their recycling IQ at a time that is convenient for them.

2. Outsource the creation of educational content

A huge part of the “digital revolution” has involved the advent of educational content–blog articles and video material that allow online users (and in your case, residents) to learn about and explore any topic under the sun, via the internet. You, for example (right now) are engaging in educational content.

Similarly, there are companies out there today, who are solely dedicated to creating similar content for your residents about efficient and effective recycling practice.  Outsourcing already written articles spanning topics from e-waste to bottle caps to pet waste, is a great way to save money on your educational outreach. And another advantage to exploiting free online content like this, is that you can use it to populate and share on your own municipalities social media channels (like Twitter and Facebook) if you have them.  

3. Outsource the development of a personalized learning system

A new strategy for keeping residents engaged throughout the recycling education process is digital personalized learning. Similar to grade levels in school, recycling education is streamlined online according to a resident’s pre-existing knowledge set or according to their personal recycling goals.

For example, a “master” recycler, looking to brush up on a few facts, should not have to go through “the beginners guide to recycling”. Similarly, someone who does not know much about recycling at all, should not be presented with a learning program that requires a lot of before-hand understanding. Learning programs like these test residents throughout each “course” or module at their own pace, while encouraging them along the way– all to create a more meaningful and impactful learning experience. To learn more about personalized learning systems available to you, read “How Recycle Coach technology can raise the recycling IQ of your residents.”

Here are 3 strategies to help elevate the recycling IQ in your community. Which one are you most interested in for your program?

Would recycling EdTech help boost your municipality’s recycling IQ? Find out through the eGuide below:

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