Enhanced Residential Curbside Recycling

About the Program

Category: County Resiliency (Best in Category)

Year: 2010

In April 2009, Arlington County’s Department of Environmental Services Solid Waste Bureau enhanced its residential curbside recycling program to make it more convenient for residents to trash less and recycle more. The program was upgraded in order to increase the number of participants in the County’s curbside program and to encourage regular recyclers to increase their amounts. Residents received new wheeled blue carts, were able to recycle additional materials, and were no longer required to separate bottles and cans from paper products. Rather than outsourcing, Solid Waste Bureau staff took on the tasks of planning, consulting, and educating residents of the new program changes, to save County resources during tough economic times. Among other tasks, this included a focus group and education campaign which was comprised of a press release, an information packet that arrived with every cart, a video that illustrated the changes of the new program, as well as extensive coverage in the County’s Citizen Newsletter.