Education / Promotion Promoting the idea of recycling/waste reduction and your program, is essential to the success of this practice. Unlike most operational areas, recycling/waste reduction require a change in the cultural behavior. In order to implement this system, creative education and promotional activities must compliment the operations. Not only are we dealing with training folks to incorporate a new practice into their daily activities, but also the goal includes re-focusing our way of thinking. Recycling is just one step from the garbage can and it is just a stop gap measure Check out the list at the bottom of this page for all the links to the educational and promotional ideas.

.The larger picture involves waste reduction and material reuse. This involves precycling, which is consuming less by buying products that are not disposable and instead choosing things that can be fixed. Precycling also involves choosing products that are minimally packaged in recyclable packaging. Additionally, in order for recycling to be successful, there needs to be a demand for the materials. This demand is only created through consumers demanding recycled content products.

As you can see, recycling is more then just another garbage can, it involves closing the loop. Reduce, Reuse and Recycling...this maximizes resources. The key to the success in closing the loop is through excellence in education and promotion of these ideas to the culture while stimulating a consciousness that follows this path: Buy Recycled Products So We Can Recycle The Products We Buy.

WHERE TO BEGIN? When considering educational opportunities, remember there is not one panacea for getting the word out. People respond to different cues. Some folks respond to pictures, others to printed words. By diversifying educational/promotional activities, you increase the percentage of people that will be reached.

There are many opportunities to implement waste education into all campus practices. Incorporating this information into all program materials and operations is just the beginning. There are several things that can be done with through printed materials but promoting waste reduction and recycling is also something that can be coordinated into actual activities and events such as Earthday and America Recycles Day. There are many opportunities to promote the idea of waste reduction and recycling and also promote your school and program in the process.

Promoting recycling and waste reduction can be a very inexpensive project or can involve higher costs. There are many options that are effective. The key is to be creative and resourceful but be sure and not limit yourself to just one item. Being on a college campus is a plus. There are numerous resources just by nature of being in an educational institution. Professors are always looking for practical application projects for their classes. This is especially true in journalism and advertising classes. The University of Oregon has worked with an advertising professor for years.

His classes have consistently produced ad campaigns, displays and posters that have been very useful for program promotions. Additionally, with the new generation of computer literacy, there is a huge opportunity to get students to produce graphics and web site materials at little or no cost. Your program gets some free PR materials and the students get an opportunity to see their work published and thus build their portfolios and get practical experience.

Program Visibility *Recycling Programs on college campuses serve another important function for the Universities: great PR! Often recycling programs have a difficult time making inroads on college campuses because though they are operational, they often end up in facilities areas, which do not traditionally understand the concept of administration, education and promotion. Recycling Programs offer great PR opportunities for Universities just merely by the presence of recycling systems on campus. When students preview Universities to attend, seeing recycling containers gives a message that the school has an environmental awareness which also indicates that the school cares for the campus community. Additionally, as institutions of higher education, our job is to create contributing community citizens. At the University of Oregon, this is modeled through our motto: "Recycling is Higher Education!"

*Create a program name. Many campuses call their recycling department, Campus Recycling. Others incorporate the name of the school for example: "Vermont Recycles". Due to the inconsistency of where recycling programs end up being administered, it is important to create a name that makes the program accessible. Folks do not automatically know that the recycling department is located within facilities or the administration or student government. Additionally, recycling programs are very unique in that they are an operational function that involves much more administration then typical trade functions or even custodial functions. Recycling Programs also incorporate ed/promo into their operations and involve other aspects such as creating conservation practices within existing University procedures. With good PR and convenient collections, waste management will become an economic success.

*Create a catchy program logo. This can be put on all recycling collection stations, program vehicles, signs, printed materials, employee T-shirts, newsletters, posters, recycling containers. A program logo is the foundation for building a recycling program. It identifies the program and also inspires the practice. This could just be as simple as utilizing the generic recycling symbol with the name of your school.

Earth Friendly Activities for Kids		Educating Children about Recycling
Kids' Page Office of Water		National Geographic Kids
Recipes for Reuse		Wastruments

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