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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 8.1 ResidCrbsdeRecylPromo . . CITY OF DUBLIN AGENDA STATEMENT CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: January 25, 1993 SUBJECT: Residential Curbside Recycling Promotions Plan 1)() (Prepared by: Bo Barker, Management Assistant) EXHIBITS ATTACHED: ~Historical Recycling Tonnage Amounts RECOMMENDATION: Receive Staff report. Approve Livermore Dublin ~ ~isposal's proposal to implement new programs to ,{/VV promote residential curbside recycling. FINANCIAL STATEMENT: Livermore Dublin Disposal is required to utilize specified funding for the purposes of promoting the residential curbside recycling program. These costs are included as part of the monthly curbside recycling program charge of $1.34. DESCRIPTION: As part of the 1992 adopted City Council Goals and Objectives, Staff was directed to complete an evaluation of the community promotions conducted as part of the curbside recycling program. The City is responsible for monitoring this agreement. Also, it is in the City interest to have a successful program in order to achieve State mandated goals. What Other cities Do Most cities in California are faced with promoting the recycling programs with their residents. These programs seem very similar in nature. Some of the common promotions include: * * * newsletter announcements school presentations * * * * * * gift items, i.e. buttons, balloons, banners door hangers handouts telephone hotlines billing inserts community activity frisbees, magnets, pencilS, stickers, posters, etc. coloring books, promotions, i.e. fairs, parades Although recycling promotions such as these are able to advertise that there is a program in place, generally, these programs have a minimal impact on actually increasing participation rates. Recycling coordinators in other cities indicate this conclusion because their participation rates do not appear to fluctuate during promotional activities. People do not become enlightened to recycling because they receive a refrigerator magnet and a balloon. Livermore Dublin Disposal Reauirements The contract between the City and Livermore Dublin Disposal (LDD) requires, among other things, that Livermore DUblin Disposal develop, maintain a comprehensive community education and promotion program for curbside recycling. The agreement requires LDD to provide funding at the following levels; CONTRACTUAL REQUIREMENT Year 1 (90/91) $20,000 Year 2 (91/92) $ 7,000 Year 3 (92/93) $ 5,000 Funding Currently Available ACTUAL EXPENDITURE $21,187 $ 2,214 $ 0 Difference from Contract ($1,187) $ 4,786 $ 5,000 $ 8,599 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ITEM NO. -'!1.1 COPIES TO: CITY CLERK FILE ~ . . In 1991, Year 1, LDD spent $21,187 for public awareness and promotional activities. These included; 1) Design and promotion for the start up of the residential curbside program (This activity constituted more than half the cost at $11,945) 2) Kick off celebration 3) "How to Recycle" Brochures: These are brochures which LDD drivers will give to residents who are not aware of how the program works. For example, a customer may place an item which is not newspaper, glass, tin, PET plastics or aluminum in the recycling container. The LDD operator would place this brochure in the recycling bin where the customer receives the information. These are also distributed to new customers. 4) Promotional items: these include lapel pins, coloring books, coffee mugs, balloons, etc. that are given away at activities in DUblin in which LDD participates. This may include school presentations or other promotional and educational events. 5) Inserts in billings: The inserts go out with bills during certain billing cycles. These inserts describe amounts of waste diverted through the residential recycling program and generally attempt to maintain interest in the program. 6) st. Patrick's Day Parade: Funds are expended to decorate a vehicle which drives in the parade, again, in an attempt to maintain interest in the recycling program. In 1992, LDD spent a total of $2,214 for public awareness and promotional activities. These consisted of some of the same informational activities as previously conducted: 1) Promotional Items 2) How to brochures 3) st. Patrick's Day Parade General Conclusions of Current Recycling Efforts In 1991, a total of $21,187 was spent for promotional activities. A bulk of the money, $11,945 went towards the promotion of the "new recycling program." A total of $2,214 was spent in 1992, and the collection tonnage increased (see exhibit 1). It could be deduced from this evidence that the amount of money spent on promotions have marginal impact on the amount of material collected. Advertising and promotions which have negligible impact on actual participation numbers still serve as a mechanism to "get the message out" in the community. It is estimated the long term effect of these methods may contribute to the overall success of recycling efforts. It should be noted that the city has also contributed to these activities in the form of press releases, newsletter artiCles, and the community calendar. The cost of these activities were not recovered from LDD. It is in the City's interest to have a successful program in order to meet state mandates. In general, the amount of recycling tonnage collected thus far appears to have little to do with the amount of money spent on promotional activities except, perhaps, at the beginning of the program. Billing inserts and "How to Recycle" brochures are necessary so customers know what to do. In fact, no promotional activity is completely worthless as it keeps the idea of recycling in the public view. However, it is estimated that the people who are recycling are participating because they simply want to recycle, not because one of the current promotional activities. Dublin's Residential Recyclinq Proqram Dublin's recycling program has been successful since the beginning of the program in september of 1990. This is based on the fact that the diversion . . of material from the landfill through residential recycling is estimated at about 4% of the total waste stream as of November 1992. These numbers will change with the actual amount of material collected. Overall, the tons of recycling material from month to month fluctuate. This pattern would indicate that recycling collection tonnage is due to market conditions, consumer preference, and convenience more than being due to any promotional activity. For this reason Staff has supported LDD's proposals for new programs in an attempt to increase participation in the residential recycling program. ,Proposed 1993 Promotional Proqram Activities LOD currently has $8,599 available under the contractual requirement, to spend on promotional activities for 1993. The following are basic promotional elements which the company has suggested be continued. 1 . 2. 3. 4. Promotional Items How to Brochures st. Patrick's Day Parade Recycling inserts $ 300 $ 250 $ 425 $1,300 Sub-Total $2,275 Proposed New Recvclinq Promotion Proqrams 5. 6. 7. Earth Day Tree Planting School Curriculum Plans Recycling Contest Sub-Total New $ 300 $4,500 $1,500 Programs $6,300 $8,575 Total Proposed 1993 Estimated Funds to be Carried over to 1994 Programs $ 24 Recent analysis suggests that current promotions serve as a good information tool, but probably do little to increase participation rates. The following proposals from Livermore Dublin Disposal attempt to set foundations for long term participation as well as stimulating short term participation levels. A description of the new programs is presented in the following. Earth Dav Plantinq Trees: This proposal has been deferred in the past due to water shortages. Water shortages will be addressed this year by attempting to place the trees in areas which are currently watered and not in need any additional maintenance. MCE has indicated they would be happy to suggest proper locations as well as types of trees conducive to certain areas of the City. The theme for planting trees is that of recycling and the regeneration of paper materials. Estimated cost for this activity is $300. Proper publicity is important to gain the maximum amount of exposure. School Curriculum Proqram: One of the key areas it was felt which previous promotions did not address to the maximum extent possible, was in the area of lesson plans for school children ages K-6. Schools have had presentations and other information types of activities, but no formalized lesson plan where children are given activities for the classroom. It is believed that school children are the recyclers of the future and tend to have an impact on parents who are not currently recycling. Staff and Livermore Dublin Disposal propose to meet with school district officials to organize lessons plans, developed by a consultant hired by LDD, which will be effecti ve as a real learning tool for the young people in Dublin. Involvement by school personnel is imperative to a successful program. The cost of the program is estimated at $4,500. This represents a relatively large proportion of the budgeted money and will be well spent if an effective lesson plan is implemented. This program is estimated to begin with the new school year in September, 1993. . . . ~ Recvclinq Contest: As stated previously in this report, promotional gimmicks such as stickers, buttons, balloons, etc tend to be good reminders that recycling is available but do little to actually get people to recycle. Building on this premise, LDD proposes that one obvious way to get someone to recycle who normally would not do so, is to offer an incentive of real value. LDD has proposed a contest which would consist of a drawing. Each month five winners would be randomly selected to receive a $50 savings bond. As proposed, each customer would receive three coupons in their quarterly garbage bill good for entering the drawing once a month. The customer will place the coupon in the recyCling bin along with the recycling material. On the normal pick-up day the LDD employee will collect the coupons. At the end of each month the City Clerk will draw two winners from those who chose to participate. The winners would be presented with a $50 savings bond at the next appropriate City Council Meeting. The press should be included from the beginning of the program as well as during the awarding of the prizes to maximize exposure. The rules of the contest will include exclusions such as no LDD, Oakland Scavenger, or City Employees can win and an individual can only win once per year. Contest rules will be printed on the back side of the coupons sent to each resident. . The basic idea behind the program is that it will stimulate increased participation because people will want to win money. The $1,500 in prize money, ($25 per savings bond) will be funded by LDD's promotions account. If the City Council approves this proposal, the program could be in place by the next billing cycle, or the beginning of April. It is recommended that the program be conducted on a monthly basis because: 1) Monthly awards will stimulate continuing interest. The main target market for this program are those individuals who currently do not recycle. If they recycle because of the opportunity to win a contest, they will be more inclined to recycle on a consistent basis because they have more opportunities to win. If the contest were done for example, on a quarterly basis, it is estimated the contest would not gain any momentum because people would simply forget that they were even entered into a contest much less remember to place a coupon in the recycling for the next quarter. It is also recommended that the contest awards not be given on a more frequent basis. If coupons could be placed with recycling on a weekly basis, for example, residents would tend to only throw in a few bottles, etc with the coupon. This would not result in a greater amount of recycling being collected. Typically a resident will have a significant amount of recyclables at least once per month. Placing a full container at the curb remains the most efficient means of collecting recyclables. 2) A key aspect in making the promotion successful is the extent to which there is press and publicity around the program. 3) The award of the prize at the City Council meeting would only take a small amount of time and would generate a positive activity for the City Council. The contest is intended to be a pilot project set up for one year. To the extent possible, an assessment will be conducted at the end of a year to determine the impacts of the program on participation rates. Recommendation: The City Council receive this staff report, and approve Livermore Dublin Disposal's proposals for new promotional activities in conjunction with the curbside recycling program for 1993. . . RECYCLING PROGRAM DATA 1990 Newspaper Glass Tin Aluminum PET Plastic Totals September 34.50 16.24 50.74 October 41.85 23.48 2.58 1.17 69.08 November 60.49 27.44 8.06 1.40 0.62 98.01 December 36.42 18.74 3.97 1.00 0.39 60.52 TOT ALS 173.26 85.90 14.61 3.57 1.01 278.35 I Oct. - Dec. 138.76 69.66 14.61 3.57 1.01 227.61 I 1991 Newspaper Glass Tin Aluminum PET Plastic Totals January 50.74 33.61 4.43 1.08 0.47 90.33 February 37.28 30.92 5.75 1.17 0.52 75.64 March 36.47 22.59 3.62 0.61 0.46 63.75 April 44.96 22.07 3.06 0.81 0.40 71.30 May 50.10 30.63 2.74 0.63 0.80 84.90 June 42.83 33.26 5.98 0.56 0.96 83.59 July 40.20 28.61 4.33 0.85 0.63 74.62 August 40.58 25.57 4.20 0.50 0.42 71.27 September 49.94 24.73 3.03 0.90 0.56 79.16 October 46.42 20.28 3.08 0.30 0.82 70.90 November 39.26 21.19 3.01 0.90 0.52 64.88 December 47.90 22.16 5.80 0.59 0.25 76.70 TOTALS 526.68 315.62 49.03 8.90 6.81 907.04 1992 Newspaper Glass Tin Aluminum PET Plastic Totals January 44.82 24.53 3.40 0.86 0.85 74.46 February 42.94 31.54 6.37 0.34 0.95 82.14 March 52.78 21.13 5.21 0.53 1.00 80.65 April 52.29 31.59 5.97 0.59 0.84 91.28 May 48.20 25.71 6.16 1.20 1.63 82.90 June 63.62 32.82 8.98 1.20 0.83 107.45 July ~ 58.82 34.49 4.93 2.62 1.50 102.36 August 46.49 43.18 5.22 1.20 0.91 97.00 September 59.21 38.37 5.45 5.75 0.92 109.70 October 68.19 25.56 5.75 1.2 0.96 101.66 November 64.97 22.37 5.39 0.59 0.72 94.04 December * 47.90 22.16 5.80 0.59 0.25 76.70 TOTALS 650.23 353.45 68.63 16.67 11.36 1100.34 * Used December 1991 Figures (Est.)