Recycling Education and Promotion in Oregon

Oregon lawmakers recognize the important role education and promotion play in ensuring the success of recycling programs. This is why the state's recycling laws include specific education and promotion requirements that apply to cities and counties. Oregon Administrative Rules 340 Division 90 (0030 & 0040) can be found at: www.deq.state.or.us/wmc/solwaste/cwrc/regstext.html#30. This fact sheet gives a description of these requirements, information on how to meet them, examples of how others have met them, and contacts for program assistance.

General Recycling Education and Promotion Requirements: Oregon cities, counties and Metro must provide recycling education and promotion to all residential and commercial generators of recyclable materials within their service area, not just garbage collection customers. This general education and promotion program includes the following elements:

Initial notification to all generators about why recycling is important, what materials are accepted, how they are prepared, who to contact for on-route collection service, and where depots or other convenient areas are located for recycling, including a telephone number for contact.

Semi-annual notification to existing residential and commercial customers of materials collected, schedule for collection, and methods and reasons for preparing materials for collection.

Information to disposal site users (if site is attended) that includes why people should recycle, what can be recycled, and how to prepare recyclable materials. Additionally, signs must be posted at disposal sites indicating hours of operation, materials accepted and proper preparation methods for the facility.

Identify and establish a procedure for citizen involvement in the development and implementation of the education and promotion program.

Notify and educate local media and other groups that maintain regular contact with the general public about recycling program logistics (i.e., neighborhood associations, radio, television, trade publications, etc.).

Identify an education and promotion representative available to answer questions relating to the promotion of recycling and education.

School Recycling; St. Paul, MN

Eureka Recycling - recycling education and programs

Reading, Writing and Recycling

Providing recycling opportunities at school is a great way to help tomorrow's citizens learn about protecting the environment and managing waste wisely. There are many free resources available to help teachers bring recycling education into the classroom. Contact the Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance (OEA) to learn about their Waste Education Clearinghouse: (651) 215-0232.

Start Recycling at Your School

Recycling is mandatory at all properties in the city of Saint Paul, including schools. A city ordinance requires that at least 3 materials be collected and recycled by your school. The Saint Paul Public School District offers a recycling program for public schools in Saint Paul. Call Facilities Operations at (651) 603-5005.

Private and charter schools must arrange for their own recycling pick-up service. Recycling collection often costs less than trash disposal, so you can save money by recycling more and paying less for trash service. Technical Assistance is available: Contact us for more information. Also, Ramsey County provides technical assistance for schools and businesses that want to begin a recycling program at (651) 773-4466.

Small schools may also consider collecting materials themselves and delivering them to Saint Paul's Recycling Drop-Off Site for FREE.

EE Link: EE-Link Introduction

EE-Link, Environmental Education on the Internet, is a resource designed to support "students, teachers and professionals that support K-12 environmental education, such as media specialists, inservice providers, nature center staff and curriculum developers." The site contains Internet environmental based school projects, classroom activities including many lesson plans, environmental facts and data from many sources, curriculum directory guides, organization and audio visual catalogs, software, conference and workshop announcements, higher education links, facts, grants, literature pointers, regional information, and pointers to other environmental sites.

Excerpts from the Trash Cutters’ Award Winners of the California Integrated Waste Management Board:

Public Information

2001: Los Angeles County Department of Public Works

2000: City of Vacaville

1999: Santa Cruz County

1998: City of Burbank

City of Burbank: Best Education Program

Program Description

Free recycling and green waste collection are just some of the services the City of Burbank promotes through its comprehensive education program. To effectively get the word out, the City staff publishes a biannual newsletter; attend frequent business and apartment workshops, and 20 citywide events a year; network with the local Chamber of Commerce; speak before engagements of local community groups; visit schools and provide lesson plans for teachers; and conduct tours of its Learning Center. Open to the public, the Learning Center serves as a clearinghouse of recycling and waste reduction information and a site of composting workshops. The city also honors businesses and individuals as "Recycling Heroes" during the April City Council meeting.

Program Summary

Recycling and green waste collection containers and educational materials/assistance are available free to the entire Burbank community. Recycling carts are available in three sizes and bins in four sizes. The city's automated refuse recycling and green waste collection program distributes recycling containers for totally commingled materials to all Burbank residents in single-family houses and multi-family residences of five units and under (26,000 residential units). Residential refuse rates are based upon the size of the refuse cart only. Automation tripled the amount of material collected within the program's first year.

The city promotes its free recycling and green waste collection service to all Burbank addresses regardless of who their waste hauler is through twice-yearly newsletters (Burbank Recycles) mailed to all addresses; frequent business and apartment workshops; a booth at the Chamber of Commerce showcase and letters to all new chamber members; attendance at almost 20 city-wide events each year (fairs, marathons, car shows, mall happenings, summer camps; etc.); speaking engagements at local clubs; visits to schools; teacher packets with lesson plans; and center tours. The results is at least one-third of the 17,000 larger multifamily residential units are recycling with the city, as are many businesses.

Burbank Recycles, a newsletter, published twice a year, is mailed to all Burbank addresses. Staff attends almost 20 public events annually, has written and designed brochures, utility bill inserts, phone book pages, a coloring book, "on-screen" movie ads, newspaper ads/articles, and public service announcements. Staff consists of a recycling coordinator, specialist, secretary and utility worker for a city population that has now reached 104,000.

Burbank's curbside/buyback/drop-off recycling program began in 1982. In October 1992, however, Burbank completed a user-friendly, state-of-the-art recycling center with a MRF, buyback/drop-off center, 1,000-gallon underground used oil tank, and Learning Center, increasing the number of jobs at the center by at least 20. The automated collection program was originally presented through a series of city-wide public hearings at neighborhood schools.

Open to the public, the Learning Center serves as a clearinghouse of information (including materials exchange); a lending library of videos, books, and magazines; and a composting workshop and demonstration site. There are interactive exhibits that entertain an average of 1,500 visitors a year--many of them school children. The main attraction, Recyclamania, features a "Junkaranda" tree, which houses a computer, TV monitor, microscope and macroscope; a walk-in compost bin and "worm condo"; buy recycled and reduce/reuse exhibits. Bill Rey Cycle, the center's mascot who appears on the side of some automated vehicles, received his name through a city-wide contest.

Free recycling bins and collection are given to all Burbank schools, public and private. City staff speaks to classes, provides teaching curricula, holds writing and poster contests, offers teachers a recycling and composting workshop. Each year, four classrooms receive transportation to the City's recycling operations.

In 1994 the city began offering all businesses free containers and collection for commingled recycables, either curbside/alley carts or bins, for all size businesses. The U.S. Post Office, for example, which began recycling with the city in 1995, after a brief hiatus, is again recycling 8 tons of paper a month.

Public Education Resources:

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