Partner Spotlight: Brandi Arguello and the SCSWA in Las Cruces, NM

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The South Central Solid Waste Authority in Las Cruces, NM serves a population of just under 115,000 residents, though that number is getting higher as the region goes through significant growth. With the rise of new industries and an influx of new residents, Brandi Arguello, Education and Outreach Coordinator, and her team at SCSWA have their hands full with reaching new audiences and adapting to their changing region.  

“We have to grow to keep up,” Brandi explains. In addition to getting their own materials recovery facility (MRF) in the near future, a second transfer station is also being built. But Brandi and her team have another focus to support their community’s growth: outreach. “A big part of the outreach piece for education is not being afraid to get out into the community. So every presentation that I do—every conversation that I have—I make sure that I have the [Recycle Coach] QR code to scan and download the app.” Brandi helps Las Cruces residents set up the app and makes sure they know how to use it, utilizing the features, like the Recycle Right game, to demonstrate the functionality and ease of the app. And she’s getting positive results: contamination rates have been steadily decreasing.  

Not being afraid to go out into the community is ever present in Brandi’s work: the SCSWA partners with local schools, and Brandi’s goal every year is to get to all 40 public schools in the district. At the end of each of her presentations, she awards each student with a take-home certificate, which includes praise for learning about recycling, as well as a QR code for parents. In addition to this, she even went door to door when she learned that diapers were ending up in the recycling bins in a certain area, informing residents and caregivers of proper recycling practices. “When it comes to outreach, you have to be able to pivot, and one of the strengths SCSWA has is thinking outside of the box. This is kind of twofold: the first is being in great communication with your drivers… and being active within your community.”  

A recent audit showed that Las Cruces processes over 8,000 tons of recycling material over the course of one year and that their contamination rate has dropped from 24% to 21.6%. Brandi feels that there is always room for improvement, though, and having real-time access to data via the Recycle Coach client portal is something she uses to gauge how Las Cruces residents are recycling. Translating the information she gets from the app into targeted outreach efforts enables Brandi to reach Las Cruces residents with solutions catered to their waste habits and demonstrate how to dispose of waste properly.

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