Concerned about recycling confusion, Connecticut鈥檚 RecycleCT program, run by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, created the 鈥淲hat鈥檚 In, What鈥檚 Out鈥� campaign late last year to spread the word about what to recycle and how. Along with plastic bags, other no-no鈥檚 are styrofoam cups, foam peanuts, and disposable razors.
鈥淭he campaign is really focused on helping people know what goes in your curbside bin and what doesn鈥檛,鈥� says Sherill Baldwin, who runs RecycleCT for DEEP. Working with the state鈥檚 recycling companies and others, 鈥渋t was the plan of the department to create a statewide marketing campaign around recycling. However, we realized that every town is different. It became almost a joke.鈥�
So RecycleCT took on the problem and created its in-and-out list after consulting with the state鈥檚 recycling companies, known as materials recovery facilities. There鈥檚 even a widget on its website, which can be installed on municipal and other sites, where you can find out whether something is in or out. Each item was discussed with the facilities operators in terms of whether it was 鈥渄etrimental to your staff or [might] cause harm to your employees鈥� and whether it might be hazardous to the company鈥檚 equipment, Baldwin says.
鈥淚 think overall it鈥檚 a sound and strong program,鈥� she says. A survey was recently sent to find out whether consumers and municipalities are using the RecycleCT鈥檚 list and its materials, including sticker templates, brochures, videos, social media images and bin stickers and hangers. Baldwin says municipalities are making changes as contracts come up for renewal.
鈥淥ur program is about outreach and education but it鈥檚 also about changing behavior, and that is a long-term process,鈥� she says.
RecycleCT recently won an award from the Northeast Recycling Council for its multimedia campaign, which has received 70,000 website visits, 104,000 searches on its website widget and 1.9 million video views since its launch Nov. 14, 2017. 鈥淐onnecticut鈥檚 effort to simplify the communication about what to recycle is a major step forward,鈥� Rubinstein says. 鈥淎s far as I know, it was the first in the country to pull this off.鈥�