Looking to create a cleaner and greener city? From forming fun contests to customizing recycling bins, there are a variety of creative things you can do to promote recycling around your city. After all, recycling is an important way to reduce waste in landfills and can even help reduce pollution in your local waterways, parks, streets and so forth.
Creative Ways to Promote Recycling Around Your City
1. Turn it Into a Game
Everyone loves a game, so why not make recycling into a fun competitive game where people can earn prizes and get acknowledged for recycling? Divide your city into different neighborhoods or host a competition for businesses, schools, and other groups in your town to see who can recycle the largest number of products. The winner could receive anything from a banner in town to a pizza party.
2. Get Custom Recycling Bins for Your Community
Custom recycling bins can help make throwing away recyclables more fun while also making your city look better. Just picture a collection of faux wood receptacles with your city’s logo, slogan, or name on them. It will also help promote feelings of endearment within the community, reminding people that this is their home and so it’s important to keep it clean and green.
At TerraCast we make it super simple to customize recycling bins and receptacles. Learn more
#3. Add as Many Recycling Bins as Possible to Public Places
The best way to make people more excited about recycling is to make it easier for them to do so by adding receptacles in easy to access locations – and in as many locations as possible. If someone has to walk all the way down the street to recycle their soda cup, they just might not do it. But, if there are plenty of recycling bins within reach, there’s nothing in the way of doing the right thing and recycling goods.
Place recycling bins near trash cans in public parks, parking lots, along piers, and so forth. Otherwise people are more prone to throw away recycling in trash cans simply because it’s the easy thing to do. If there are recycling bins next to every trash can it makes it much easier for people to make the right choice.
Check out your local curbside collection program and see if it’s possible to get extra recycling bins for neighborhoods. In addition, you might be able to set up a recycling collection service for your neighborhood or community. If you don’t have a standard recycling program, you can talk it over with your local disposal and waste management company.
4. Make it Public News
Write about your mission to recycle more in the local newspaper or in a community newsletter. Submit an article that explains the benefits of recycling for your community. You could highlight local waterways that are polluted or in need of help. You could also write a blog about it for a local news website or on your own personal blog. Share it on social media through local community Facebook groups and other applicable spots where locals are likely to see and share it.
Another way to make it public news is to set up signs around town that explain the benefits of recycling and why it’s so important for your town to recycle more.
5. Promote Recycling in Schools
Get kids in local schools involved in the fun by asking schools to partake in the recycling endeavor. Children are the perfect place to start because if they learn to recycle young they can make lifetime habits out of it. Plus, kids are naturally excited about things and will talk to friends and their parents about it, thus spreading the enthusiasm.
Offer to host a speaking engagement for local schools to help spread the word. Once again, you could host a competition at the school for students to partake in.
6. Create a Recycling Club
Don’t go at it alone! Find other people in your community that are concerned about recycling and ask them to form a club with you to help spread the word and promote recycling. You can have weekly or monthly meetings to discuss actions you can take such as repurposing crafts, cleaning projects, or hosting clothing drives. Remember, there are so many ways to recycle! Set goals for your club and when you achieve them have a reward waiting, such as going to a fun theme park, the movie theater or a nice dinner.
TerraCast cares about the environment, that’s why we use recycled materials and sustainable manufacturing practices on our products made here in the USA. Learn more