Although solid waste is not the most glamorous aspect of local government, nor is recycling as in vogue as it once was, many communities are noticing that a public relations program, if done properly and creatively, can boost the image of solid waste services while educating citizens and promoting use of recycling programs.

By Susan Bush

Sarah Dowers, public affairs coordinator with the Hamilton County Department of Environmental Services in Ohio, notes that often the best public relations campaigns are those that, in some way, relate to a topic that has been in the public eye. Then, she says, the television stations are "all over it," and the department is able to convey its message to the public through the mass media.

One example Dowers provides is a recent tire cleanup. Lunken Airport, a small airport in Cincinnati, OH, is also the site of a recreational trail where citizens enjoy walking, running, and biking. In early July, it came to the attention of the press that waste tires were disposed of alongside the trails - posing a health risk as well as being an eyesore.

The county's Department of Environmental Services decided it had the resources to remove the tires and had them recycled. It put its public relations forces to work, calling all media outlets to give them a heads-up about the story and provide them with the exact location of the site. Before the department could even get the "before" pictures developed, the press had swarmed the area. The media covered the story, including an interview with Jeff Aluotto, program manager for the Hamilton County Solid Waste Management District.

When the department removed the tires, not only did it leave a positive public image, it also left the public with full knowledge of the dangers of waste tires, particularly with recent rains and the threat of the West Nile Virus. It also let the public know the Department of Environmental Services could serve as an informational resource for this issue.

Hamilton County received a slew of phone calls the day the story aired, as well as during the following days, from residents reporting piles of waste tires and asking what they could do with their own waste tires.

Another example of a public relations campaign gaining momentum due to the mass media is Hamilton County's electronics recycling event.

Last year, the county collected 19 truckloads of materials. This year, the public relations efforts were enhanced. The events were well advertised, and the public and businesses were well informed of how to register for these free events.

Unlike previous years, however, area television stations introduced the story to the public. They not only covered the actual event but informed the public about the potential dangers of landfilled electronics and the fact that it is illegal for businesses to dispose of cathode-ray tubes in landfills.

The main media focus, however, was how the department was picking up the tab for the service - saving local businesses a significant amount of money and keeping them from disposing of electronics illegally. In 2003, the county hauled away 34 truckloads of discarded electronics.

Dowers says, "[For the most part] public relations is what gets the people to the event. After they're there, or after they register for it - as in the case of the electronics drop-off program - we can provide them with education about why the issue is so important. They first have to know where and when to show up."

Taking Aim With Amnesty

For residents and business owners in the Florida Panhandle town of Fort Walton Beach who wonder what to do with their old computers, TVs, and other electronics, the area county governments banded together to co-host recycling events and provide educational materials.

Escambia, Okaloosa, and Santa Rosa Counties found that by combining resources to form the Panhandle Regional Electronics Recycling Program, they could develop a stronger, more successful campaign than if they each attempted their own program.

First, they publicize and coordinate semiannual events promoted as Electronics Amnesty Days, much like the one in Hamilton County. These typically last from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on a Saturday at the county fairgrounds or some other centralized, easy-to-find site.

A week or two before the event, the date and time are sent, via a news release, to the community newspapers in the area. In addition, the newspapers and broadcast media are invited to the event. The immediate nature of broadcast media, especially stations looking for a lighthearted, good-for-the-environment Saturday feature, helps increase participation and improve public perception of services.

To help compel residents to do the responsible thing - dispose of most computer components at the amnesty event - the Panhandle Regional Electronics Recycling Program promotes the fact that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has declared such items, when disposed of, to be a hazardous waste. Never assume the public is aware of the risk to the environment that electronics scrap poses to local landfills.

Additionally, these Florida counties promote a financial incentive to inspire people to bring their electronic items to the event. In many cases, participants can qualify for a tax deduction - saving money is a powerful motivator.

The goal of the project, according to Jim Reece, Okaloosa County recycling coordinator, is to make people aware of the increasing amount of space electronic items take up in landfills and to give residents a disposal choice.

"We want Okaloosa County residents and business owners to have access to an easy way to recycle their electronics and show a little amnesty toward the environment - thus the name Electronics Amnesty Day," he says.

Items collected include computer components, such as central processing units, monitors, keyboards, mice, and terminals; business equipment, such as copiers and fax machines; and household items, such as TVs, VCRs, stereos, and telephones.

Types of items accepted are listed in the news releases and brochures. Make sure, however, that any paper marketing materials are printed on recycled paper - with that fact noted somewhere in the layout. Nothing looks worse to the public than publicity for a recycling event not printed on recycled paper.

One of the most powerful tools the group employs doesn't require any paper at all and makes use of computers, which are one of the recycling items targeted. This tool is a Web site (www.rwbeck.com/rerp/index.htm) that posts all of the community events as well as tips for recycling, contact numbers, and so on. Web sites can be powerful information resources if continually updated and promoted to residents.

Lunch at the Landfill

Never underestimate the power of good ol' innovation.

Here's how one organization actually got reporters excited for a media lunch - an event most reporters hate. A media lunch is a lunch combined with a news conference. Reporters usually dread covering them because, in addition to ho-hum food, they're usually fed the same story that everybody else gets. Not only that, but many organizations waste the media's time with lunches to announce news that isn't very newsworthy.

"Lunch at the Landfill" was staged by Keep Tennessee Beautiful, a grassroots organization that wanted to attract media attention to its efforts to fight litter and encourage trucks to cover their loads when coming into and out of landfills. Lunch was held at a local landfill in Kingsport.

"We invited all the local media and gave them a nice sandwich, chips in a zipper-lock bag, and cookies in a zipper-lock bag, all tied up in a brightly colored fabric square that doubled as a napkin and put into a plastic container with a lid," says Edith Golson of Keep Tennessee Beautiful. "When lunch was over, we gathered up the napkins, attached them with a safety pin, called the reporters' names, and gave them the napkins as door prizes."

Reporters usually show righteous indignation when they are given anything for free. But this event was so much fun that the reporters didn't dare complain.

Another Keep Tennessee Beautiful affiliate sponsored a Solid Waste Breakfast for the media on April Fool's Day. The media event got so much attention that Jay Leno featured one of the press clippings on The Tonight Show.

Additionally, these two Tennessee tips made it into a national e-zine, The Publicity Hound's Tips of the Week, a free electronic newsletter published by public relations expert Joan Stewart that features tips, tricks, and tools for free publicity. Subscribe at www.PublicityHound.com and receive for free the handy checklist "89 Reasons to Send a News Release."

There are all kinds of free tools of the trade available on the Web, so make sure to sign up for them. The most important part of making your solid waste public relations efforts superior is to make them stand out from the crowd.

Susan Bush is an analyst with R.W. Beck in Rhode Island.

MSW - November/December 2003