Partner Spotlight: Kalamazoo, MI

In Kalamazoo, MI, home to nearly 74,000 residents, the goal is clear: find a second home for as many waste items as possible.

Teaming up with not just Recycle Coach, but recently Prairie Robotics as well, Kalamazoo is pulling out all the stops to not only streamline their waste education practices but keep their residents aware of how their recycling habits affect their community. And they’re seeing results: in recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in households participating in their recycling program and a decrease in recycling contamination.

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‍An All-In-One Communication Tool

‍“Recycling” is more than the traditional materials for Chris Broadbent, City Solid Waste Coordinator for the City of Kalamazoo. “When I think of recycling, I also think of composting: organic materials, food, yard waste, garden waste... repurposing, finding a second life or a second use for materials of various types.” This is evident in the way the city approaches its waste collection and education; as a city that practices single-stream carted service, they focus on simplifying processes for the residents and reaching them where they are. Using Recycle Coach, they inform their residents on:

• Waste collection days
• Proper waste disposal
• Unexpected municipal events, such as sanitarysewer overflows and road blockages or closures
• City programming

“The recycling industry is always evolving, always changing,” Chris explains. “Recycle Coach is a great tool that allows us to—as we need and want—update and communicate those changes.”

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‍Using Every Avenue

‍A common challenge municipalities face is where to reach their residents. Residents want to recycle, and they want to be able to find answers to their questions, but when they aren’t provided the means to learn, it increases their community’s contamination rates. “Residents and city users are looking for this information,” says Chris. “And I think it would be naive of us to think that they're only going to be able to or need to find it in one spot.” So Kalamazoo makes use of their website, printed publications, mailers, and, of course, the Recycle Coach app to consistently and effectively reach their residents where they are.

Through a recent grant, they partnered with Prairie Robotics. Prairie Robotics uses AI-powered smart cameras and GPS installed on waste collection trucks to identify contamination in recycling bins. Excited about what this new technology means for contamination reduction in Kalamazoo, Chris and his team can now communicate beyond the cart. When Prairie Robotics’ technology captures a photo and item analysis of every cart tip, they can pinpoint which households have higher numbers of contaminants. Before the next week’s recycling collection day, Chris and his team have sent out a direct mailer to let these residents know what items should not be appearing in their recycling bins. In 2025, they sent out 1,400 direct mailers to residents about the contamination issues.

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‍Seeing Results

‍Nearly ten years ago, the City of Kalamazoo switched to single-stream recycling to simplify collection day for their residents.Continuing this effort, they partnered with Recycle Coach two years later, and then Prairie Robotics in 2025. Since then, they’ve seen not just a 20% increase in recycling participation, but a 54% decrease in contamination.

Chris explains that because so much of the responsibility of determining the recyclability of items is now on the consumer, accessible technology is what residents need to aid them in their waste disposal. “Recycle Coach really helps us break down those barriers... I believe Recycle Coach can plug into that to increase accessibility for our residents as well.”

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‍Chris’s Recommendations: Outreach is Key

‍“I don't think there's ever enough outreach that can be done,” Chris says. “You can always improve. You can always find a new way to communicate about what's going on.” While Recycle Coach and Prairie Robotics are two major tools they have to make reaching residents easier, they also go into public spaces to meet their residents at drop-off locations, apartment complexes, and community events, which they schedule through the Recycle Coach calendar.

At these events, they spread the word about their recycling program and the Recycle Coach app—particularly the notifications feature, which they use extensively. Chris encourages the use of Recycle Coach as a one-stop-shop for waste communication needs: “We've established Recycle Coach into our workflow for the outgoing communication... So, if you want a great way to communicate direct with your residents… Recycle Coach is a fantastic way togo about doing that.”