{"id":17465,"date":"2017-01-27T10:27:15","date_gmt":"2017-01-27T15:27:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wasteadvantagemag.com\/?p=17465"},"modified":"2017-01-27T10:27:15","modified_gmt":"2017-01-27T15:27:15","slug":"green-is-for-organics-voluntary-container-color-standard-recommended-by-consortium-of-organics-collection-organizations-and-agencies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wasteadvantagemag.com\/green-is-for-organics-voluntary-container-color-standard-recommended-by-consortium-of-organics-collection-organizations-and-agencies\/","title":{"rendered":"Green is for Organics: Voluntary Container Color Standard Recommended by Consortium of Organics Collection Organizations and Agencies"},"content":{"rendered":"

National nonprofit Keep America Beautiful and the United States Composting Council (USCC) announces that they, along with five other participating nonprofits and government agencies, recommend designating green as the voluntary container color standard for organics collection containers. \u00a0This initiative was simultaneously announced at the USCC\u2019s 25th Annual Conference in Los Angeles and at the Keep America Beautiful National Conference in Washington, D.C., both taking place through Jan. 26.<\/p>\n

The voluntary standard has been established to address one of the key barriers to more effective recycling and organics collection, beyond convenience. Key factors supporting the recommendation of green as the preferred container color for organics collection containers are:<\/p>\n

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  1. A distinct, consistent color for organics containers provides a visual cue for program participants that studies indicate will likely increase recognition of the purpose of the container and the quality of recovered material;<\/li>\n
  2. A distinct color that is different from the color used for trash and recycling collection containers can increase recovery; and<\/li>\n
  3. Consistency in messaging across jurisdictions \u2013 including the use of container color \u2013 helps to minimize confusion and contamination.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The initial organizations joining Keep America Beautiful and USCC in recommending this voluntary standard include: the City and County of San Francisco, GreenBlue, National Recycling Coalition, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Seattle Public Utilities and the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. Additional organizations are expected to join the \u201cOrganics Collection Container\u201d working group and support adoption of the voluntary standard throughout the year.<\/p>\n

    \u201cAccording to the U.S. EPA, food waste makes up 21 percent of municipal solid waste that is landfilled,\u201d said Brenda Pulley, senior vice president, recycling, Keep America Beautiful. \u201cWhile consumers\u2019 first effort should be to reduce food waste, once the food waste is generated we\u2019ll improve organics collection by taking the simple step of standardizing the color of the organics collection containers. And we\u2019ll have the residual benefit of providing quality feedstock for composting.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \u201cEducation and identification of containers and proper ways of recycling food scraps is critical to one of the compost manufacturer\u2019s biggest challenges: contamination. This project will help to clarify organics containers and capture more organics for composting,\u201d said Frank Franciosi, USCC Executive Director.<\/p>\n

    Importance of Color
    \n<\/strong>
    \nAccording to an online survey regarding trash and recycling container color, shape and signage, 79 percent of survey participants identified blue containers as recycling bins. Survey respondents were least certain about the color of a compost container \u2013 51 percent selected brown and 41 percent selected green. \u00a0Brown was also associated with trash for many respondents, suggesting that green may be the most appropriate color for organics collection.<\/p>\n

    The study was conducted online by Keep America Beautiful in partnership with Monique M. Turner, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Prevention and Community Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, at The George Washington University, and included 697 participants.<\/p>\n

    Additional research on color, cognition and recycling, conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan, hypothesized that the visual salience of recycling bins encourages recycling behavior, presumably through a peripheral route of persuasion. In this study, recycling bins and trash bins of the same shape and size were paired as either \u201cGreen Recycling Bin\/Grey Trash Bin\u201d or \u201cGrey Recycling Bin\/Grey Trash Bin.\u201d All bins were labeled as either \u201cTrash\u201d or \u201cRecycle\u201d in black on white background. Forty-eight undergraduate students participated in the study and were randomly assigned to either the high-salience (green\/grey) or low-salience (grey\/grey) conditions.<\/p>\n

    Researchers found that:<\/p>\n