Move Beyond One-Size-Fits-All Engagement
Recycling isn’t one-size-fits-all. And neither are the people who participate in it.
The Recycling Partnership’s Audience Segmentation framework helps communities better understand the motivations, barriers, and behaviors that shape recycling participation. This work builds on more than a decade of research and field testing that has transformed how we approach recycling education and outreach. By looking beyond demographics and focusing on psychographics, communities can develop more effective outreach, reduce confusion, and design programs that support residents where they are.
Originally developed in partnership with Ipsos in 2022 and refined through our 2025–2026 national research with OpinionWorks, The Partnership’s residential recycling audience segmentation research provides a practical framework for designing more effective recycling programs and outreach.
How Have the Segments Evolved?
Over time, the size of each segment shifts as the public’s attitudes, perceptions, and experiences with recycling evolve. That’s why The Recycling Partnership continues to track and refine its audience segmentation, making updated insights and trends available to practitioners.
A recent enhancement expanded the framework beyond single-family curbside households, validating that the five audience segments apply across residential audiences regardless of housing type or recycling service. The original 2022 research focused on single-family households with curbside recycling access. Through our 2025–2026 national research, we expanded the framework to reflect a broader cross-section of Americans, including residents with curbside, multifamily, and drop-off recycling services.
Today, the framework reflects a nationwide sample of 5,717 adults, making it more representative of how people recycle across different housing types and access models.
The research also shows that while the five segments remain consistent, their distribution has shifted over time.
2022 to 2026 Comparison: Audience Segments for Single-Family Curbside Recycling Households
| Audience Segment | 2022* | 2026** | Change |
| Committed Followers | 24% | 17% | ↓ 7 pts |
| Eco Activators | 25% | 22% | ↓ 3 pts |
| Detached Abiders | 16% | 21% | ↑ 5 pts |
| Discouraged Self-Doubters | 18% | 14% | ↓ 4 pts |
| Conflicted & Overwhelmed | 16% | 26% | ↑ 10 pts |
*2022 Ipsos research among single-family households with curbside recycling service.
**2026 results filtered to the same single-family curbside population for direct comparison.
What Changed?
Based on our latest national research, we’re seeing a modest shift away from the two segments most dedicated to recycling—Eco Activators and Committed Followers—compared to five years ago. Combined with broader trends in recycling confidence, these findings suggest that more residents need clearer guidance, practical support, and stronger evidence that recycling works. Audience segmentation provides a framework for designing communications and interventions that meet residents where they are and help improve participation.
What the Research Means for Communities
For years, much of the recycling education developed across the industry has unintentionally been designed for residents who are already the most engaged—Committed Followers and Eco Activators. It’s a natural outcome, as many recycling professionals share similar motivations and perspectives.
Audience segmentation provides a different lens. It shows that many residents experience recycling differently and need different types of support to participate successfully.
As the Detached Abiders, Discouraged Self-Doubters, and Conflicted & Overwhelmed segments make up a larger share of today’s recycling audience, communities have an opportunity to rethink education and outreach. Designing communications and interventions around the needs of these audiences, not just the most engaged recyclers, programs can reach more residents and improve participation where the greatest opportunity exists.
How Can Communities Use Audience Segmentation?
Audience segmentation isn’t just a research exercise; it’s a practical planning tool.
Communities don’t need perfect data to begin applying these insights. Multiple sources can help identify resident needs and inform more effective education and outreach strategies.
Build Your Understanding of Your Audience Segments
Use information such as:
- Resident surveys and recycling confidence data
- Property and housing characteristics
- Route-level tonnage and contamination trends
- Smart camera and cart feedback
- Community demographic and equity data
- Resident interviews and community conversations
Research Spotlights
- Tailoring Messages for the Right Audience
- Using audience segmentation insights, we developed messaging and interventions specifically for Conflicted & Overwhelmed recyclers in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, and Muncie, Indiana. By addressing the unique barriers and motivations of this audience, these communities achieved measurable improvements in recycling participation and material capture.
- Matching Interventions to Recycler Behaviors
- In Springdale, Arkansas, we combined audience segmentation with smart camera technology to identify household recycling behaviors and deliver targeted interventions. Households that rarely recycled—Conflicted & Overwhelmed—were invited to opt-in to receive a free in-home recycling bin and instructional kit, while frequent recyclers—Eco Activators—received recycling tips by mail. This targeted approach contributed to a 23% increase in household set-out recycling rates, showing how matching support to resident needs can drive measurable improvements in participation.
Two Ways to Apply Audience Segmentation
Community-Wide Campaigns
Sometimes the most effective approach is one message delivered to everyone but intentionally designed to resonate with the audience that needs the greatest support. Rather than speaking broadly to every resident, communities can prioritize the motivations and barriers of a specific recycler segment while still reaching the full community.
Targeted Interventions
When communities have access to local data, outreach can become even more effective by tailoring messages and tools to specific recycler groups.
Targeting education and outreach where it will have the greatest impact helps communities maximize resources while improving participation.
From Insights to Action
Understanding your audience is the first step toward designing programs that work.
Audience Segmentation helps communities move beyond assumptions to better understand the people they serve. Whether planning community-wide education, testing behavior-change strategies, or designing targeted interventions, this framework helps align communications and program design with residents’ real motivations and barriers.
When outreach is designed around people, not assumptions, communities can reduce friction, improve participation, and achieve stronger recycling outcomes.
Continue Exploring Behavior Change
- Learn why recycling education has evolved – Recycling Education & Outreach: Our 12-Year Evolution Story
- Optimize your recycling program with data and ready-to-use solutions – Recycling Program Solutions Hub
- Explore the original research – 2022 Foundational Audience Segmentation Research (within the Knowledge Report)
- Explore national trends in recycling confidence – Recycling Confidence Index
- Turn audience insights into action – Recipe for Community Engagement in Residential Recycling
- Access tools and guides – Education & Outreach Toolkits
- Improve recycling in multifamily communities – Multifamily Recycling
- Reduce contamination at drop-off sites – Drop-Off Contamination Reduction
- Increase curbside recycling quality – Curbside Contamination Reduction
- Partner with our team – Community Engagement Consulting