When contamination rates are high and your municipality’s staff are inundated with ongoing phone calls from residents asking about picking up bulky items, what items go where, and missed pickups, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and have other important tasks put on the back burner.  

High contamination rates and high call volumes aren’t inevitable; they’re signs of a community that is trying hard to do the right thing by disposing of their waste properly. They just need to learn how.  

The Pitfalls of Relying on One Method of Outreach

What’s holding your residents back isn’t just one thing: it’s a combination of learned behaviour and lack of clear access to information. And one major stumbling block we notice is when municipalities rely on one method of outreach over all others.  

Social Media

We hear this time and again: “We use Facebook to reach our residents.” Although it still has three billion monthly users, Facebook has become less of an informational platform and more of a shopping, chatting, and entertainment platform, with many users—particularly Gen Z and Millennials at 23% of users—visiting it solely to scroll through reels or to use its Marketplace and Messenger features. Organic reach is declining, with paid ads taking up more space on users’ homepages; organic posts only have a 0.06-0.31% engagement rate.  

As more Gen Z and Millennials become homeowners, reaching these demographics is essential, and it can’t be done by relying solely on a platform that has declining organic reach.  

Posting across several platforms may have a wider reach, but relying only on social media might not serve your municipality well. It’s not necessarily on residents’ radars to follow their local municipality or hauler. Even if they do follow your municipality’s page, the algorithm might not work in your municipality’s favour; not only can it prevent new users from seeing your municipality’s posts, but it can also prevent existing followers from seeing them. Algorithms are based on sets of data and rank posts by the following elements:  

• Engagement  

• Relevance and Personalization  

• Platform goals  

• Algorithm Training  

This means that what users are most likely to see is from pages that are already popular, relevant to their location, in line with what the platform wants to promote (i.e. post format), and related to what the user has previously shown interest in.  

For example, Instagram’s algorithm prioritizes reels and carousels over other posts. Combining that with the algorithm prioritizing larger accounts and interest level regarding page posts, smaller municipalities’ social media pages can be overlooked.  

Despite all of this, there is still value in having a social media presence. Many of your residents are on social media and may navigate to your page to learn more about their local waste and recycling program—particularly if it’s being promoted elsewhere. Social media works best when posted to frequently and used in conjunction with other methods of outreach, such as in-person events and traditional media. Use social media to promote events, and—in return—promote your municipality’s social media at these events and through mailers and handouts.  

Traditional Media

Reaching users through traditional means—such as flyers, brochures, and newspaper ads—can be an effective way to disseminate information, but there is a disconnect here: residents need the opportunity to interact, ask questions, and provide input. While your team may have a wider reach sending out paper materials, the fact is that mailers can quickly end up in the trash and ads are skimmed over by readers. Impersonal mailers provide little incentive or motivation for residents to learn about their community’s waste program.  

To truly reach your residents, a blend of outreach methods is needed to find what works for your community. This can look different for everyone depending on their community. Our partners in Las Cruces, NM engage youth in their community by visiting schools every year; our partners in Mercer County, NJ host "recycle nights” with their residents; in Centre County, PA, they reach their residents where they are with ads on coffee cups, at popular venues, and on municipal vehicles.  

With attention spans shrinking to a median of just 40 seconds,  municipalities are learning that they need to put increasingly more effort into captivating their residents’ attention.  

Broadening Your Reach

Layering your tactics means employing a range of outreach efforts to most effectively reach a wider audience. This doesn’t just mean social and traditional media: it means getting out into your community and interacting with your residents too. Finding a reliable means to reach your audience is essential to informing your residents, and it can take some experimentation.

In advertising, there exists a “rule of seven": a theory that a potential customer needs to see an advertisement seven times before they consider making a purchase. Similarly, residents need to see a piece of information several times before it sticks. And when the information is available and in front of your residents, it’s important to ensure that it is clear and understandable. Providing spaces and opportunities for residents to provide feedback is one way to involve your residents and know if the information you’re putting out there is something they understand.  

Experiment with reposting on social media, sending out regular flyers, advertising in community spaces, frequenting community events, and becoming more involved in the goings-on in your community. Increasing your presence and implementing a blend of tactics and channels will ensure your team is meeting your residents where they are.  

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