The Recycling Zone

About the Program

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

Year: 2015

Recycling reduces waste, saves energy, conserves natural resources and more. That’s why Dakota County is serious about going green. To remind our residents about the importance of recycling and the convenience of dropping off items for free recycling at The Recycling Zone, the County’s hazardous waste collection facility, we developed our “What’s New?” campaign. It highlighted new items that could be recycled for free, and new and expanded hours of operation at the facility. We began the campaign in March 2014 with the goal of achieving a 10-percent increase in participation at The Recycling Zone from the previous year. We know that having more people come in means we’re getting more of our residents to understand the importance of recycling. We’re likely collecting more materials, as well. We were right: We blew our goal out of the water. By the end of 2014, more than 61,500 people had visited The Recycling Zone — marking a 20-percent increase from the year before. We also collected hundreds of thousands more pounds of batteries, electronics and fluorescent bulbs — just a few of the newest items we started accepting for free. That’s when we knew that “What’s New?” was worth the effort.