Detox Your Home Educational Campaign

About the Program

Category: Civic Education and Public Information (Best in Category)

Year: 2020

Many household products that are purchased by residents can be harmful to the environment. Placing home chemicals and other hazardous materials into a household garbage cart can eventually lead to adverse environmental consequences that could not only affect the end disposal site but it could also pose a danger to solid waste industry staff transporting or handling the waste as it is being processed. For these reasons, Miami-Dade County established two Home Chemical Collection Centers where any Miami-Dade County resident, regardless of municipal boundary, can bring their household chemicals, used motor oil, paint, solvents, rechargeable batteries, fluorescent light bulbs propane tanks, and other potentially hazardous household materials to be disposed of properly and safely. Although this free service is available to all Miami-Dade County residents, the Department of Solid Waste Management (DSWM) realized that the facilities were not being utilized as much as they could be.To share the information about DSWM’s Home Chemical Collection Centers, the department created the Detox Your Home educational campaign. The campaign features radio, television, print, online and transit advertising. This diversified marketing approach allows the department to educate residents about what items should not be discarded with their regular household garbage, while providing information on the locations where those materials can be brought to be safely disposed of or in some cases recycled. The outcome of this campaign has been higher customer traffic at the Home Chemical Collection Centers and a higher volume of materials collected at the centers.