Fb and The Recycling Partnership launches its newest initiative
The national initiative is to bring real-time, personalized and hyper-local recycling information to Americans through Facebook’s Messenger experience
In honor of Global Recycling Day, The Recycling Partnership launched Communities for Recycling, an innovative national initiative to bring real-time, personalized and hyperlocal recycling information to Americans through the Facebook Messenger experience.
The initiative is the result of a collaboration between The recycling partnership, Social media platform Facebookand leading consumer brands like PepsiCo.
The Recycling Partnership, a national nonprofit committed to changing recycling forever while enabling a circular economy in the U.S., notes that despite decades of recycling, there aren’t any centralized guidelines to help Americans find the right one Way to Recycle – as every US community has its own policies and procedures for waste and recycling.
These 9,000 or so local recycling programs force recyclers to check “on the spot” whether or not a particular material is accepted in their neighborhood program – an increased obstacle to participating in efforts to protect our planet, support our economy and conserve natural resources .
“Americans want to recycle and they want to recycle the right things. Often the public is just confused because recycling varies from place to place, ”said Keefe Harrison, Founder and CEO of The Recycling Partnership.
“That’s the exciting thing about Communities for Recycling – it allows us to locate recycling information in a tool that will soon be available nationwide. It enables the public to know what is recyclable in their city, and it connects with companies who are doing more to make their products more recyclable. “
Communities for Recycling is a national initiative aiming to help individuals influence locally when they see recycling as a global challenge.
Through a special program as part of the personalized Facebook Messenger experience, people in Atlanta and Fort Worth can find out if and how common items like plastic bottles, cardboard, and metal can be recycled, and learn more about the recyclability of less commonly recyclable items like yogurt cups , Pizza boxes and egg cartons by entering questions into the messenger experience for real-time guidance on recycling at their location.
“Knowing how to recycle everyday objects is a complex problem, but also a way of equipping people with hyper-local solutions to help shape the future of sustainability,” said Arielle Gross Samuels, Head of Global Business Strategy and Engagement at Facebook.
“We are excited to partner with the respected organization The Recycling Partnership and use Messenger to provide consumers with practical information on recycling best practices that will benefit themselves and their wider communities.”
The digital tool was launched this month in English and Spanish for Facebook and Instagram users in Atlanta and Fort Worth. The recycling partnership plans to expand the experience to more US communities later this year as a national database of accurate recycling information is introduced. including accepted materials for thousands of communities across the country.
“The introduction of Communities for Recycling lays the groundwork for a new national standard for hyperlocal recycling education and pollution reduction that will help communities like Atlanta recycle more and better,” said Kanika Greenlee, director of environmental programs at the City of Atlanta, Public Works Division and Executive Director of Keep Atlanta Beautiful.
“Communities like Fort Worth are recognizing that social media is an increasingly important communication tool in reaching new audiences for certain programs like recycling,” said Robert Smouse, associate director of code compliance for Solid Waste Services.
“Fort Worth is proud to be one of the pilot cities selected to bring this personalized, hyperlocal recycling information to our residents. Recycling and waste minimization are important issues in our city. To reach the largest possible audience, who better to do that with than Facebook. “
In addition to providing real-time localized recycling training, Communities for Recycling features local heroes giving back to their communities through recycling to capture all of the three-step gates (access, knowledge, engagement) required to influence positive recycling behavior. outlined in a recent report.
Participating brands will help expand the message of recycling education by including information on products that are fully recyclable in the pilot communities.
