We sat down with Jack Meotti, Director of Sales and Marketing at Cal-Waste to talk about their educational outreach, their marketing efforts, and their dropping contamination rates.
Based out of Galt, CA, Cal-Waste Recovery Systems has served the Greater Sacramento Area for decades. Sustainability is top of mind: they were one of the first companies to install curbside recycling programs in California, and they continue to make a concentrated effort to educate their communities on the importance of proper waste disposal. To aid in their educational outreach, they partnered with Recycle Coach in August 2024; it’s now become a major component of their educational efforts.
Contamination Down 43%: The Difference Targeted Education Makes
When Cal-Waste first partnered with Recycle Coach, their contamination rates were 19%. Just over one year later, their contamination rates now sit at 11%.
Cal-Waste provides a robust recycling education program—not only in the areas they service, but also where their MRF customers are located as well, including rotary clubs, youth groups, nonprofits, and community organizations. But the core of their program is schools: their education team goes into public, middle, and high schools in over a dozen districts to provide a comprehensive course on recycling that involves the students. One component of their programming is asking participants to download their branded mobile app. There, they access quiz questions and all other educational assets the app has to offer, increasing their knowledge of proper waste and recycling practices. And there’s the added benefit of bringing this new knowledge home to their families.
Challenges in Disseminating Information
“Everyone processes information differently,” Jack Meotti, Director of Sales and Marketing explains, and because of that, one of the major education and marketing challenges they face is getting information outthrough a wide variety of media channels. Cal-Waste is continuously trying to develop social media content, but their main method of connecting with their customers has become the app, which has also aided in launching in new municipalities. After recently expanding to a new municipality of over 1500 households, the app was instrumental in introducing new customers to the Cal-Waste brand and their services.
Connecting with Customers
Jack feels that a key component of their success comes from their connection with the communities they serve. Taking pride in the work they do, they work hard to be active members of the community and reach their customers where they are by sponsoring community events and providing educational efforts for any group that asks.
Everybody cares so much about the customers we serve. Everybody cares about the community. There’s just a strong connection between the company, the employees, and the communities we serve… That’s why we picked Recycle Coach… We were like, 'This is it. This is who we need to work with. They’re just like us.'
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