Recycling is many things. It is both a noun and a verb. To a waste professional it may be the collection and diversion of tons of marketable materials. To community members, recycling is an easy way to waste less and to contribute to the greater good. When asked about recyclables, however, most mistakenly believe that anything with the chasing arrows should go in their bin.

As the Sustainability Coordinator at Portland Community College’s Rock Creek Campus over the last seven years I have had numerous neighborhood First Lego League teams come to campus to tour our sustainability practices for ideas.  First Lego League is a global robotics competition that teaches young children

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Oregon may have a great reputation for recycling, but that doesn’t mean everyone is doing it right.

Numbers show an average of 25 percent of recycling in the United States is garbage, according to the National Waste & Recycling Association.

In the Portland metro, about 9 percent of what’s in a homeowner’s recycling bin is usually trash, according to Metro.

The Recycling Partnership has a lot of great resources to help promote your recycling programs, and get information out to your communities. 

Even better, they moderate a closed Facebook group specifically for waste diversion and recycling professionals to help share resources and ideas amongst your peers. Check out their tools below!

From The Recycling Partnership:

Looking for grab and go resources for your social media pages? We’ve got ‘em.

​New Fact Sheet:  Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) on Tribal Lands

This week, EPA released a fact sheet called Sustainable Materials Management on Tribal Lands: A Life-Cycle Approach to Managing Materials. This fact sheet is the first of its kind and it will introduce tribal governments, communities and individuals to the concept of Sustainable Materials Management, showcase tribal projects that have applied SMM principles and practices successfully and encourage tribes to consider this approach to their materials management work.

By Jason Seacat from the Scientific American Blog

AOR Legislative Chair, Pam Peck, provided testimony at the Senate Energy and Environment Committee Hearing regarding recycling markets challenges and how local communities are responding. 

From Press Released by Recycling Advocates and Zero Waste PDX

Recycling Advocates is partnering with Zero Waste PDX, a local sustainability consulting company, to organize Portland’s first Zero Waste Conference, which will take place on Sunday 14^th October at Taborspace, in Southeast Portland.

If only changing behavior were as easy as raising awareness! We know that behavior can be trickier to achieve than awareness. But let’s start with a simple ask and recognize that effective communication for recycling behavior can tap into psychology, education and marketing insights. That's a lot of insights! Fear not - The Recycling Partnership has the tools to keep your messaging fresh.