Partner Spotlight: Saint Louis County, MO

The staff at Saint Louis County have their work cut out for them. With over one million residents, they know their outreach efforts need to be broad and multifaceted, yet targeted and hyper relevant at the same time.  

Margaret Lilly, Waste Diversion Supervisor at the Saint Louis County Department of Public Health, and Kim Williams, Marketing Manager, know how to reach Saint Louis County Residents with pertinent waste and recycling information. Their intensive outreach efforts encourage proper waste and recycling habits throughout their municipalities, allowing for better waste management and knowledge among their residents.  

A Planning Tool  

Using the county’s “What Goes Where” search data to strengthen and direct her social media campaigns and outreach events, Kim plans out how to involve the community: “I looked at what people searched last year during the spring and summer... so I was able to see that we need to do a lot more outreach on those [items] or bring that up in community outreach events. The data helps a lot,” says Kim.  

In the last two months, their material searches have increased by 77%, and their top searches are all electronics, with televisions in the number one spot with 275 searches. Other frequently searched items include computers and tablets, audio and video devices, household and rechargeable batteries, and microwaves. And the data serves them well: having just celebrated their 100^th electronics recycling event, Margaret, Kim, and their team have prevented over two million pounds of electronics from ending up in landfills.  

Involving The Community  

After 279 school presentations and seeing over 10,000 students per year, Saint Louis County has established themselves—and proper waste practices—in the minds of the county’s youth. On top of that, they have held 54 grant events, securing contracts to provide grants and funding to their municipalities to hold their own collection events.  

This year, they’re providing events directly to unincorporated residents as well. Margaret and Kim use Recycle Coach to send notifications about events directly to Saint Louis residents. This keeps them informed of upcoming events to boost participation and connected to the county’s waste initiatives.  

“Our goal is to get as many people to download the app as possible, so that they can benefit from all the great things we're doing,” Margaret explains. Knowing that their residents want to attend local events, they make use of the option to tailor notifications and reminders to residents in each municipality. An added benefit: through direct communication and in-person events, municipalities and the county are able to track attendees and learn more about their communities’ waste and recycling needs directly from their residents.  

Implementing Waste Technology  

Having been Recycle Coach partners for the past two years, Margaret and Kim understand how to use the platform to their advantage and encourage their colleagues to do the same.  

“Just work on educating and being familiar with all the things that Recycle Coach offers people,” Margaret recommends, “like how diverse the education offerings are.” Getting to know the app—on the municipality’s side of things and the resident side—is how Saint Louis County is able to serve their residents and show other employees how they can too.  

“Don’t be afraid to ask questions,” Kim suggests. She encourages learning where your residents are struggling by using reports, then getting into the community and asking the questions you need answers to.