Small Community - Residential Education & Outreach Toolkit

THIS TOOLKIT IS PROVIDED BY RECYCLE, MICHIGAN—AN EDUCATION AND OUTREACH INITIATIVE OF THE MICHIGAN RECYCLING COALITION

RESIDENTIAL EDUCATION & OUTREACH TOOLKIT

SMALL COMMUNITIES • POPULATION <10K

QUICK LINKS

Guidance for Small Communities

Small communities have unique infrastructure needs due to their often dispersed population. Meeting the weight or volume requirements for cost-effective collection services can be challenging, especially for rural communities.

That's why outreach and education to residents in small communities is so important. Higher participation in recycling means more material, which makes the program more effective. Effective programs ultimately lighten the burden to the community of managing materials.

This toolkit is designed to help communities of all sizes improve their communication and outreach strategy, whether they have a big staff and lots of resources or (as is often the case), a small staff and modest resources.

Navigating the Toolkit: Use the accordion menu below for resources curated for small communities. However, you can always click on the "Resources" menu at the top of the page for the full list of resources which you can filter by topic. Not seeing what you're looking for? Fill out the resource request form on the "Support" page!

GETTING STARTED

Getting started with recycling outreach and education in your small community doesn't have to be intimidating. This toolkit exists to help you overcome the challenges you might be facing, such as lack of staff, time, or resources. These ready-made assets can help!

Drop-off Recycling is common in many smaller communities. If that is true for your community, one advantage is that participation is voluntary, which means participants are motivated. They just need the information to help them make the best choices. Check out the Drop-Off Recycling resource for information about improving education and communication for drop-off sites.

Similarly, you may be in an area that generates a lot of organic waste. Whether your community has access to a compost drop-off site or not, you can always consider ways to promote composting at home, as well. If this is a focus for your community, check out the Organic Management resource.

And finally, if your community is a little less online due to a variety of factors, such as lack of access to fast internet, there are options for custom printed materials that can help you in an educational campaign to spark pro-recycling behavior change in your community!

EDUCATOR CHECKLIST

EDUCATOR PLANNING

Keep your end goal in mind. It's easy to get caught up in details, but the goal is to divert materials from the landfill and keep them circulating in our economy. Use this waste diversion checklist to help in your planning as you educate residents.

Unsure about language to use? You'll find standard language peppered throughout this entire toolkit, but to find it all in one place, check the recycling glossary.

COMMUNICATING TO THE PUBLIC

Consider reaching out to residents with a survey to find resident perceptions of recycling, their level of knowledge, and other issues that may be helpful.

Do you have access to social media? Social media is a great way to get casual interaction with residents who may not otherwise engage with the recycling program in that way. If you have access to social media but have struggled to find the time to actually engage with it, our expert-crafted social media posts are a simple plug-and-play option for those who may have limited time and resources for creating that type of content.