Sign Up to Access the New Guide and Free Resources
By Craig Wittig (he/him/his), Director of Community Programs
Today, more than 22 million American households call multifamily properties home, which means that communities who are dedicated to improving their household recycling streams must have strategies that reach beyond single-family homes.
For communities across the country that have begun committing to waste reduction strategies, including prioritizing recycling, there has never been a better time to reach, inspire, educate, and engage multifamily residents and properties about recycling.
That’s why The Recycling Partnership unveiled the beta version of its Multifamily Recycling Guide and Community Toolkit at the August Virtual Resource Recycling Conference. Sign up now to receive the free guide and resources.
Lessons in Multifamily Recycling
Multifamily recycling programs pose unique challenges due to a lack of necessary systems for collections, differing levels of awareness from property managers and residents, and logistics for required infrastructure. But, with more than 80% of Americans viewing recycling as a valuable and essential service, demand for equitable recycling access has never been higher.
Within this new free guide, you will find lessons learned from Orlando, Florida, which has a high percentage of multifamily properties and has set an ambitious goal to become a zero-waste community by 2040, and Tacoma, Washington, a community striving to divert 70% of its solid waste from landfills by 2029.
As communities, property managers, and industry leaders continue to pilot strategies and evaluate what works in multifamily recycling, this guide provides a starting point for consideration of best practices and tips from communities that have begun this work.
Free and Practical Resources for Your Community
In addition to the two included community case studies, The Partnership’s Multifamily Recycling Guide and Community Toolkit features free customizable resources and templates for communities to use in their outreach to multifamily property owners, managers, and residents.
- The materials provided in this toolkit have been designed so that communities, property managers and multi-property ownership groups can utilize them.
- The included messaging and resources have been tailored to residents and include information on how to use common area recycling locations, door-step collection and/or in-home recycling bin, if provided, according to various multifamily property recycling setups.
Once the free toolkit is downloaded, users can assess which materials will be of greatest benefit based upon previous successes and localized expertise. You are welcome to use all of the materials or select which ones best work for your community.
Customizable resources include:
- Infocards – Both standard infocards and infocards with call-out box for door-step recycling collection schedule can help serve as a visual aid to show residents recycling dos and don’ts. These can be disseminated as an email attachment or printed and shared with households.
- Postcard with recycling instructions – This postcard provides a step-by-step set of instructions to show residents how to recycle, using the appropriate receptacle at the multifamily property.
- Full-page flyer with recycling instructions – This version is printable on standard 8.5” x 11” paper, with step-by-step instructions on how to recycle.
- Door hanger – These can be placed on residents’ doors as a highly visible way to spread awareness and invite residents to participate in a new or existing recycling program.
- Recycling container illustration set – This will allow you to use icons and images that match your local needs (e.g. recycling bins v. totes, front-end load containers, roll-off, etc.)
Other Helpful Resources
As with any campaign or initiative, capturing metrics is key to understanding success and informing next steps. This free guide and resources include practical tools and resources to capture needed metrics in addition to considerations to keep key internal and external stakeholders informed.
Multifamily recycling streams are a valuable, yet often overlooked, opportunity to unlock valuable supply for the circular economy and create more equitable recycling access. Whether you’re just getting started in engaging multifamily residents or searching for new tools and resources, the beta version of this free guide and toolkit is now available for your use. By signing up to access the new guide and free resources, you’ll be among the first to know about future planned enhancements for the multifamily toolkit.
About Craig Wittig
Craig Wittig (he/him/his) is Director of Community Programs at The Recycling Partnership. There, his role is focused on efforts to increase multifamily recycling, including developing the first comprehensive community guide to multifamily recycling and launching the free toolkit to promote recycling for multifamily properties. Craig has more than 25 years of recycling experience in the university, private, and public sectors. His experience includes commodity sales, program management for residential recycling, environmental education, electronics recycling, public school recycling, and commercial recycling.
Interested in improving and increasing recycling in your community, especially at multifamily properties? Contact Craig at cwittig @ recyclingpartnership.org.