3 ways to promote the May long weekend collection changes to residents

With the May long weekend approaching, municipalities will have to consider how to remind their residents about holiday collection schedule changes. Residents can become frustrated if they miss curbside collection dates for waste and recycling with Canada’s Victoria Day on May 21st and the U.S.’s Memorial Day on May 28th.

Here’s how municipal government officials can help reduce stress and create a more enjoyable holiday experience for residents:

1) Promote holiday changes on your municipal website

Residents have busy lives and are looking to find information easily. Consider that the average page view on a website is less than 5 seconds. With this in mind, local government websites should post information on upcoming curbside collection dates and any holiday changes in an easy to find spot.

The best place to post this information is on your main webpage or on the central waste and recycling information page. If you’re unsure about where to post this information, ask yourself: where you would go on the municipal website as a resident to post this information? Now think about adding the information on that specific section of the website.

2) Actively post on social media

Facebook and Twitter are excellent ways to promote holiday changes and collection date changes to residents. 67% of Americans and 58% of Canadians used social media in 2017, with Facebook being the most widely used social media network.

Take advantage of how many residents are using social media by posting long weekend collection changes in the weeks and months leading up to the event. Here are two sample social media posts that you can modify and use for your community:

• Curbside collection has changed for the Victoria Day long weekend to Thursday, May 24. Use #RecycleCoach to find out what to dispose of where.
• There’s no recycling collection on Monday, May 28 due to the Memorial Day weekend. Recycling collections have moved to Monday, June 4. #RecycleCoach

3) Send cellphone notifications to your residents

You can also use the Recycle Coach platform to send your residents real-time notifications to remind them of collection day changes. Residents receive notifications on their cellphones with in-app notifications, texting or voicemail. They can also check to see when their pick-up schedules are available with the Recycle Coach web app.

Here are two sample notifications that you can modify and send to your residents:

• We’re excited that Victoria Day weekend is coming up soon! Don’t forget that your waste and recycling curbside collection dates have changed from Monday, May 21 to Thursday, May 24 due to the holiday.
• Memorial Day weekend is quickly approach! Remember that recycling collection dates have changed from Monday, May 28 to Monday, June 4 due to the holiday.

With a little bit of planning, you can help create an enjoyable and stress-free May long weekend for your residents. This may also reduce the number of phone calls that your municipal team may receive about waste and recycling curbside collection pick up dates for the Victoria Day and Memorial Day long weekends.

About Recycle Coach:

Recycle Coach is trusted by 3,000+ communities across the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand to make their local waste and recycling management programs more efficient. Our digital technology platforms extend to web and mobile, along with digital assistants and voice technology.

We educate and encourage residents to become better recyclers, with the goal of inspiring positive and lasting change in communities around the world.