2000 Trash Cutter Awards Program Case Studies

City of Vacaville: Best Public Information Program

• Program Description
• Program Summary
• Costs
• Benefits
• Contact

Program Description

Vacaville's Curbside Recycling Program began in July 1999. Residents of the city's 20,855 single-family dwellings, duplexes, and triplexes were provided an 18-gallon yellow recycling bin for the weekly collection of glass, tin, aluminum, bimetal cans, and #1 and #2 plastic bottles. Residents were instructed to bag or bundle cardboard, newspapers, magazines, and chipboard boxes for collection by the city's franchise hauler, Vacaville Sanitary Service (VSS).

To ensure a successful program start, city staff decided that an extensive outreach campaign was needed to educate residents about the upcoming program. City staff began by interviewing design consultants in December 1998, ultimately selecting the Montague Communication Group (MCG).

Program Summary

The goal of the outreach program was to have residents of all applicable households aware that the program was upcoming, when collection would be implemented, and what materials would be acceptable. This was accomplished through a campaign progressing from general awareness outreach to specific program information using a wide range of media and commencing approximately two months prior to bin distribution. The goal was for residents to see "curbside" in as many different venues as possible.

The cornerstone of the campaign centered on a series of three graphic designs provided by MCG. These designs were amusing, illustrative, and fun, but conveyed a strong message. They highlighted the yellow bins as the focal point of the campaign to familiarize residents with the program.

Three outreach pieces were designed to go directly to the households. These included a door hanger, a magnet mailer, and a brochure with a bin sticker. These used MCG's "Where have you BIN all my life?", "Get in with the BIN crowd," and "Takin' it to the Streets" designs, respectively. Each used a different media to more effectively catch the attention of residents and were progressively more informative. The brochure specifically described acceptable and unacceptable materials, placement and set-out requirements, and included close the loop purchasing information and additional resources. 

Another major component of outreach was newspaper advertising and coverage. City staff met with the city editor and staff of the Vacaville Reporter newspaper. A fact sheet about the program was provided to the newspaper staff. The Reporter supported the program by publishing three articles about various aspects of the program, including front-page coverage and pictures of the bin distribution and the sorting facility. The program was the subject of a supportive editorial by the assistant publisher and a column by the assistant news editor. The city also worked directly with the Reporter's director of advertising to arrange a series of 15 quarter-page ads. The Reporter included one color—yellow for the bin—in the ads at no charge.

The newspaper ad campaign began the first week of May and ran three times per week on each of the five weeks of placement. It alternated with the distribution of the door hangers in the second week of May, the magnet mailers in the second week of June, and the distribution of the bins with the brochure/sticker during the last week of June. The ad designs correlated with the direct outreach pieces.

A wide variety of general outreach methods were also used. At the entrance to the city-sponsored Earth Day Fair at the community center, a 27" x 96" "Countdown to Curbside" banner with a changeable number of countdown days was placed. The fair itself centered on the judging and display of the annual endangered species animal sculpture contest entries. For 1999 the entries could be constructed only from those materials accepted in the curbside collection. There were 51 entries from all grade levels in public and private schools. The event and tie-in to the curbside program was widely covered by the newspaper.

After Earth Week, the banner was moved to the Stars Recreation Center. This large complex includes bowling, a game room, and restaurant. Stars management changed the countdown days on a daily basis. In addition, over 30 restaurants and bars throughout the city allowed the placement of mini-curbside bin banks in their establishments as tip containers.

Presentations regarding curbside recycling were given as part of the annual Public Works Week tours for third and fourth grade classes at the city corporation yard in May. Additional classes were visited at various schools. One knowledgeable second-grade class was featured in the Vacaville Voices cable television program. Students described the curbside program and when it would be starting.

TCI cable staff filmed a descriptive video scripted by city and VSS staff showing acceptable materials. The video was shown repeatedly on the local network through June. A 15-second "commercial" reminder was also shown in July. Similarly, the local 16-screen Brendan Theater complex donated placement of a "Takin' it to the Streets" advertising slide for the month of June.

The city recycling coordinator's monthly newspaper column featured a series about the curbside program beginning in May. The first column described the background and history leading up to the program and why it was chosen; the second focused on the specifics of the acceptable materials and collection; and the third discussed the sorting, processing, and use of the material recovered. Vacaville Sanitary Services' quarterly newsletter also featured the curbside program in both the April and July editions, and a curbside message was printed on city utility bills for the two-month cycle immediately prior to program implementation. Recycling truck signs also used the "Takin' it to the Streets" design.

Costs

The actual expenditures for the outreach program, including the consulting costs, totaled $53,000. Funding for the program came from franchise fees. This has been an excellent investment that will continue to pay off in the future.

Benefits

In the first month of the program, 47 percent of households on each route set out materials on a weekly basis. The total tonnage collected for the month was 280 tons of fibers and containers, representing 15 pounds per set-out. A good indicator of the outreach program's effectiveness was determined in a week-long waste characterization study of collected materials at the sorting facility. It showed the contamination level in the third week of the program as 1.19 percent for fibers and 2.16 percent for containers.

Both the city and VSS noted the volume of phone calls at program implementation was lower than expected. Questions related mainly to clarifications regarding specific material types, further reflecting the effectiveness of the outreach campaign.

For Further Information Contact:

City of Vacaville
650 Merchant Street
Vacaville, CA  95688
(707) 446-6508