OOPS! Tags Tackle Cart Contamination

Nancy Roberts

In environmental outreach work, reaching people when they are most open to effective feedback is always a challenge. Many waste agencies are using “oops tags” to indicate to residents that they have put the wrong items in the wrong carts, e.g. “OOPS – this item belongs in recycling” or “OOPS – only food scraps in the green cart, please!”

The Gigantic team has been working with clients on various kinds of OOPS tags for some years now. While we believe that customized, one-to-one outreach is effective, it is difficult to measure if the tags are responsible for positive impact.                     

We would love to experiment with taking the feedback one step further, by having haulers NOT pick up contaminated carts. This has been tried elsewhere, with positive results.

For now, we are continuing to refine and test various cart tags. Our latest effort: placing “OOPS” tags on Garbage carts, to draw attention to the large presence of food scraps and other items in the Garbage that should be recycled or composted.

Below are some examples of oops tags that Gigantic has created with various clients. We would love to discuss OOPS tags and the strategy behind them with you:

This tag, to be placed on Organics carts, is simple:

hang tag with pictues of what does and does not go in Binny

In 2023, we made a more elaborate tag that the outreach team could “customize”, depending on the contaminant. We understood from resident surveys that people were unsure or even skeptical about what happens to food scraps in the Organics cart. This tag also confirms that rich compost is made from the food scraps, and connects correct use of the organics cart with making healthy compost for farmers:

We are experimenting this year with placing an “oops” tag on the Garbage cart, calling out the items that should be in Recycling or Organics:

oops tag with comic - keep food scraps out of garbage

For Milpitas, we helped refine their tag design, which uses the same tag for all carts. Audit staff circle the appropriate cart, and provide very specific feedback on the types of items found (see image below). Milpitas staff have reported the tags are working work well, especially when they have the opportunity to speak directly with a resident, but that they need to add a few additional categories of contaminants.

While difficult to tie results directly to cart tagging, City staff noted that they are seeing some positive trends in households selected for a pilot project.  The pilot area received food waste prevention outreach and then OOPS tags shortly thereafter. Follow-up audits over two years show some improvements. The fullness of the food scrap compartment increased from 8.8% full to 24% full. At the same time, contamination decreased by 42.5%.

Milpitas oops tag with detailed examples of what goes where

There’s no one right way to use OOPS Tags, but they’re one of the most evidence-based ways to address contamination. They make a great addition to a cart-contamination reduction strategy.

Recycling: Hero or Villain? The Public Is Confused

Nancy Roberts

Environmental specialists are working, like everyone else, in a polarized world where distrust of media and “truthiness” can make us question absolutely everything.

You’ve seen the headlines in everything from business press, public radio …

“Recycling Doesn’t Work”

“Plastic Recycling Doesn’t Work and Will Never Work”

“You Can’t Recycle Your Way Out”

“America’s Broken Recycling System”

At Gigantic, we work with clients whose jurisdictions:

  • Don’t accept “compostable” plastic
  • Do accept “compostable” plastic
  • Only accept Plastics # 1, 2, 5
  • Only accept “rigid” plastics
  • Ask you to put plastic bags in the Garbage
  • Ask you to put plastic bags in the Recycling
  • Accept paper cups in Recycling
  • Accept paper cups in the Garbage
  • Put pizza boxes in the Recycling
  • Put pizza boxes in the Organics

And on and on…

We can't recycle our way out of the plastic crisis - Insta post from Story of Stuff
Source: Story of Stuff Instagram

Is it any wonder that residents are wondering what’s going on?

If we had a magic wand, we’d wave it and make all this a lot simpler: focus on just a few of the most easily identified recyclable materials so that “waste” streams are clean and easily processed. We’d like to see:

  • All jurisdictions’ carts be the same color and labels as in other jurisdictions.
  • Every jurisdiction have the same “what goes where” instructions and
  • VASTLY simplify “what goes where” messaging to focus on the most recyclable items, in order to cut down on contamination. We have seen over and over that “wishcycling” is a real thing, and a real hassle for materials facilities.

But we don’t live in a perfect world. For now, environmental communicators need to be honest about the challenges of recycling, while reassuring the public that many problems can be solved and not to give up hope.

Do Californians Get the Connection of Food Waste and Climate Change?

Nancy Roberts

Reducing food waste and diverting it and other organic materials from landfill is key to reducing methane emissions in our state (and around the world). California’s SB 1383 establishes targets for reducing organic waste going to landfill and increasing edible food recovery, and public agencies across the state are scrambling to implement it. The law, including outreach for it, was a major focus at this year’s California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA) Conference. The Gigantic team’s presentation was designed to contribute to that discussion.

How much do Californians already know about food waste and its connection to climate change? What would motivate more residents to reduce food waste? Back in 2020, we conducted a brief statewide survey of Californians to ask a few questions about their understanding of greenhouse gas emissions, landfill and food waste. We re-ran the survey with some additional questions in 2023 to see if the implementation of SB 1383 was impacting residents’ understanding of food waste and its relation to the warming planet. In comparing the data from 2023 to that of 2020 we noted:

  • 84% of respondents think that human-caused climate change is happening; this is up
    4 percentage points from 2020.
  • The number of respondents who are very or extremely worried about climate change is stable at 50%. There is an increase of those who say they are more worried than they were a year ago: 46% vs 40% in 2020.
  • Only 33% of respondents understood that food scraps break down and release methane in landfill. This is down from 42% in 2020.
  • Despite the requirements of SB 1383 that every resident have access to organics composting service, only 47% of respondents confirmed that their food scraps are collected separately from garbage. 28% said that food scraps go in the garbage and 16% said they don’t have food scrap collection service. 8% did not know.
  • When asked to select the three best reasons for reducing food waste, “The right thing to do” was selected by 45% of respondents (down from 49% in 2020). “Fighting climate change” was selected by 32% of respondents.

The survey results demonstrate that many Californians understand that climate change is happening and they are worried about it, but do not yet understand the connection between food waste going to landfill and the climate crisis. We see this as a possible opportunity for future  outreach: Many of the actions that fight climate change are quite a big “ask” for most people: “Buy a new electric car!” “Replace your water heater!” “Stop eating meat!” In contrast, cutting food waste is both simpler and has many practical benefits, such as saving money. Could outreach about cutting food waste to fight climate change be the daily action that makes people feel positive and hopeful about their actions and the future? This is a question we’d like to explore in future research.

To receive a copy of the full survey report, please email Gigantic.

Partner Power: Building Relationships to Amplify Our Messages

Nancy Roberts
image of sample partner memo with images
Sample partner memo; click to view.

For our government and non-profit partners in environmental behavior change, the good news is: we’re all in this together. When our messaging about recycling, waste reduction, energy conservation and respect for nature spreads far and wide, we all win! So it’s smart to help each other reach as many people as possible.

That’s where the partner power comes in by creating a network of like-minded organizations and a process for sharing partner messages across groups and platforms. It’s a very simple idea: compile your sharable messages into a few easily “cut and pasted” formats, such as newsletter article, Facebook or Instagram, then send the memo to a curated list of partner organizations that pick up and share the content on their channels.

It’s a Win-Win

Not only does the partner memo amplify the original sender’s message, it provides content for those of us struggling to come up with new things to say in our e-news, website or social media.

Get started!

Make a list of the top organizations that share your values and communication topics. Some might be direct “competitors” such as a non-profit with a similar focus, or local governments, more general community organizations (that would be interested in helping their constituents, such as the public library. Reach out to these organizations and explain that you’d like to share content with them and invite them to share theirs with you. Set up your memo template and start sharing!

Top Tips for Effective Partner Memos

Send regularly, but not TOO often

Send your partner memos on a regular schedule if possible, say once a quarter. For time-sensitive messages, be sure to allow plenty of notice so that your content can be included at the right time for the recipient. In other words, don’t send your Christmas post to partners on December 23rd!

Make it easy!

The easier you make it, the more likely your content is to be shared. Include suggested headlines, pertinent links and, ALWAYS, images. Link to downloadable images that are properly sized for each channel. Be sure to specify if a photo credit as needed.

Reciprocate!

Share and share alike, right? Be open to sharing other organizations’ content in your channels. Showing the world that you are a good partner concerned about your community is an excellent strategy – and it’s the right thing to do.

Sometimes the simplest tools can be the most effective. A little effort to set up the partner memo system will pay off for months to come as your partner power and messaging takes flight.

Is AI A-OK? Exploring Artificial Intelligence and Environmental Outreach

Nancy Roberts
fotor generated image of tree, cloud, water and person
This image – generated at Fotor.com – supposedly illustrates the use of AI for environmental behavior change campaigns…!

Everywhere we look these days, we see both excitement and warnings around the Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution. How will the use of artificial intelligence impact our outreach? Will it make it easy to select the best way to communicate about environmental behavior change? Will it put environmental behavior change agencies out of business? ARGH.

While we don’t think we’ll be out of a job any time soon, we all know that change is the only certainty and that we will all need to adapt to this new ‘entity’. Let’s look at the current state of AI with a couple of examples from Google’s Bard chatbot:

I asked Bard:

“Write a Facebook post that will incorporate food waste messaging and Livermore’s Binny.”

Bard responded:

Sure, here is a Facebook post that incorporates food waste messaging and Livermore’s Binny:

Headline: Livermore’s Binny is Helping to Fight Food Waste

Body:

Did you know that one-third of all food produced for human consumption is wasted every year? That’s enough food to feed 2 billion people!

Food waste is a major environmental problem. It contributes to climate change, water pollution, and deforestation. It also wastes resources that could be used to feed people.

Livermore’s Binny is helping to fight food waste. They donate food to local food banks and soup kitchens. They also compost food scraps, which helps to reduce methane emissions.

If you’re looking for ways to reduce food waste, there are a few things you can do:

    • Plan your meals ahead of time so you don’t buy more food than you need.
    • Cook only what you need and save leftovers for later.
    • Donate food to local food banks or soup kitchens.
    • Compost food scraps.

By taking these steps, you can help to reduce food waste and make a difference in the world.

Call to action:

To learn more about how you can help fight food waste, visit Binny’s website or follow them on social media.

While the information is not totally incorrect, it seems as if Bard could not distinguish a Facebook post from a 185-word blog post. Despite having instant access to the entire Internet, Bard did not know that Binny is a mascot for Livermore Recycles, representing the Organics Cart; Binny himself does not “donate food to local food banks and soup kitchens.” While this post draft gives some ideas, it certainly requires human intervention.

I tried to push the AI to make decisions about which content to include in a short format, asking:

“Please write a tweet with the most important action an individual can take to combat the climate crisis.”

Bard’s response was very big-picture – for whatever reason, it did not focus on recycling or reducing individual carbon footprint, but on political action:

The most important action an individual can take to combat the climate crisis is to vote for climate-friendly candidates. Vote in every election, from local to national, and let your elected officials know that climate action is a top priority for you. #ClimateAction

So far, these responses are reasonable but not earth-shattering. Can AI provide the spark that really grabs attention? I tried to elicit some more creativity from Bard, asking:

“Please write a limerick about sorting waste at home.”

Bard responded with:

There was a young lady named Sue
Who sorted her waste into two.
She said, “I’m a bit green,
But I’m doing my scene
By recycling and composting too!”

Well, Bard,  I think “doing my scene” is a bit weak, but this has a spark of life in it.

Finally, selfishly, I asked Bard, “When will AI replace the need for environmental outreach professionals?”

Part of Bard’s reply was appealing:

Here are some ways that AI can be used to support environmental outreach professionals:

    • Create engaging and informative content:AI can be used to generate content that is tailored to the needs of different audiences. For example, AI can be used to create infographics, videos, and articles that are both informative and engaging.
    • Track the effectiveness of outreach efforts:AI can be used to track the effectiveness of outreach efforts by measuring things like website traffic, social media engagement, and donations. This data can be used to improve future outreach efforts.
    • Connect with people who might not otherwise be reached:AI can be used to connect with people who might not otherwise be reached by environmental outreach efforts. For example, AI can be used to create chatbots that can answer questions about environmental issues or to create personalized email campaigns.

Some interesting promises here that we will explore further. But, we also like Bard’s conclusion:

Overall, AI is a powerful tool that can be used to support environmental outreach professionals. However, it is important to remember that AI cannot replace the human touch. Environmental outreach professionals are still essential for building relationships with people and communities, and for creating lasting change.

Amen!

P.S. Bard does not yet create images, but I asked Fotor.com to “Create an image for a blog post about the use of AI for environmental behavior change campaigns.” The result (see above) is, well, interesting!

#  #  #

 

Selling Nothing: Outreach to Reduce Consumption

Nancy Roberts
Survey questions asked about current consumption attitudes and habits.

We love working on all kinds of waste and sustainability issues with our clients, and we especially enjoy the challenge of moving people toward a more zero waste lifestyle. Our most recent presentation for the CRRA Conference (see slideshow below) looked at the challenge of “selling folks” on the behavior of buying less stuff. “Selling Nothing” introduced some ways of encouraging less consumption, such as by focusing on specific items, or reminding people of the positive feeling that comes from sharing or helping others, or by focusing on specific behaviors, for instance holiday gift-giving, to encourage buying less stuff.

We then presented results of a brief survey of Californians about their feelings around any recent changes in their consumption habits. Many of the questions were borrowed – well, reused — from a 2015 survey done in New Zealand about the connection between buying and people’s feeling of well-being.

A few findings from our July 2021 survey, which gathered 350 responses from Californians:

  • A majority of respondents (53%) confirm they are consciously reducing the amount of stuff they have bought in the last 3 months.
  • Unsurprisingly in this time of economic uncertainty and pandemic effects, over half of those who bought less did so because they had less money to spend or wanted to save more. These answers could give us some ideas about how to position non-consumption.
  • More than two-thirds of respondents agreed with statements about over-consumption’s negative impact on “future generations” and “the planet.” So seemingly awareness is not the issue in cutting consumption, it’s more a question of persuasion.
  • The final question of the survey was “Do you consider yourself an environmentalist?” — asked at the end so as not to prejudice responses to the other questions. 43% said yes, 34% said no, and 18% weren’t sure if they considered themselves environmentalists. The comments revealed some tensions: some considered being “green” too hard or that environmentalists are too radical, while a few were outright hostile to the label.

Key takeaways include:

  • “Selling” not buying in general is a tough challenge; try focusing on specific actions, items or situations in order to chip away at the social pressure to consume.
  • While we encourage source reduction to tackle the issues of waste and climate change, there are many reasons people may reduce consumption that could be included in a source reduction campaign. A primary driver is saving money.
  • A majority of respondents understand that rampant consumption is harmful to people and planet in the long run. BUT…
  • A majority also acknowledge that buying stuff makes them happy. So that clarifies the challenge for outreach campaigns that aim to reduce consumption – how can we offer a form of happiness to replace the happiness of buying?

Our research and efforts continue!

See the presentation:

 

When in Doubt: The Power of Subtraction

Nancy Roberts

“When in doubt, take it out” is a rule I apply as often as possible when editing my own writing and that of others. By removing words or seeking simpler vocabulary or constructions, writing often becomes more clear, comprehensible and even beautiful.

Subtract book cover
The suitably simple cover design for Klotz’s Subtract.

A new book by Leidy Klotz, professor at the University of Virginia, takes the idea of ‘taking away’ to a whole new level.  Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less posits that humans are programmed to solve problems by adding stuff – elements, ideas or things – whereas subtracting them often clarifies and eases a problem. One of the book’s first examples is the removal of the Embarcadero Freeway in San Francisco. The project was opposed by a majority of citizens and politicians on a number of operational and economic grounds. Yet once the freeway, damaged in the Loma Prieta quake, was removed, the benefits became obvious – and huge. Klotz notes “The decade after removal saw a 50 percent increase in housing and a 15 percent increase in jobs around the waterfront. (p. 3)  A beautiful space was created, businesses thrived, people flocked and … traffic became less snarled.

Are there environmental problems that can be addressed by removing rather than adding? Klotz addresses this possibility and gives some examples. He suggests applying subtraction to the 3Rs: “When the current situation exceeds planetary boundaries, we need to subtract first. Remove must become the first R.” (p.210)

Klotz’s research is introduced in the video below. While subtraction is not the answer to every problem, it’s another tool we can use when approaching environmental outreach…and everyday life.

Gigantic is Hiring a Marketing and Public Outreach Associate!

Nancy Roberts

We’re hiring! GIS logoThe Marketing and Public Outreach Associate (MPOA) will be in charge of developing strategies for delivering communications and advertising content to the intended audience. Our campaigns promote environmental programs and behaviors on topics such as wildlife protection, recycling, waste reduction, local ordinances, gardening workshops, composting, litter prevention, water pollution prevention and more.

The MPOA associate enjoys planning and executing both online and offline strategies to reach diverse audiences. From running social media and digital ads and sending e-blasts, to working with local and online influencers and community, businesses or business organizations, our goal is to create community-based outreach plans for our clients that deliver measurable engagement. Our campaigns range from hyper-local (cities, neighborhoods) to regional or California-wide.

Ideal candidate has experience in planning, managing and reporting online and off-line marketing, including:

  • Managing paid promotions in house: set up ads on Google/YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok; and expand reach to other platforms, as appropriate
  • Managing media buys with vendors
  • Implementing E-blasts, e-mail campaigns
  • Placing and managing streaming audio or video ads
  • Staying current with best practices of social media and digital advertising, and updating the Gigantic team
  • Familiarity with and ability to negotiate, purchase and place ads for print, outdoor, point-of-sale and other offline promotions

Additional experience or interest in one or more of the following is also highly desired:

  • Setting up/managing webinars or online workshops
  • Planning and posting social media content
  • Creating social media/media content
  • Copywriting

Additional qualifications:

  • Great communication and presentation skills are a must: the Associate will communicate and present media plans and campaign results to committees, clients and our internal team.
  • Multi-cultural media experience and/or bilingual in another language is a big plus.
  • Ability and interest in further training and skill-building is also a must. We are small firm and ideal candidates like the flexibility of doing more than one type of task/role within our tight-knit and supportive team. We are willing to provide training for the right candidate to attain optimal job performance

We offer:

  • Competitive compensation based on candidate’s experience, portfolio and references.
  • A supportive small-team company culture.
  • Benefits include health insurance, IRA contribution, paid vacation, sick and holiday time
  • We are open to discussing arrangements from 30 to 37 hours/week.
  • Associates can work from home at this time, but we prefer some days in the office when we get to post-COVID conditions.

Please submit a resume and cover letter, and include a description and results of one sample campaign that you implemented. Email to [email protected]

 

Do As I Say: How Influencers Affect Behavior Change

Nancy Roberts

In case you haven’t heard (!) – it’s election time. The season has been particularly intense this year. One approach for reaching voters and potential voters is through influencers – individuals who have built up a relationship with devoted fans who take cues from them. Observing how these powerful people affect behavior and outcomes can be very relevant for those of us working for environmental behavior change.

Our environmental campaigns often feature people who share likes, interests and world view and demonstrate the behavior we want to see. We may target occasional gardeners to get them to use less toxic pesticide, or campers to get them to use recyclable propane containers. These folks often take cues from someone they admire, who shares their interests and values – that is, from influencers.

This article in Behavioral Scientist notes that (in general) influencers don’t have universal influence; but, they have impact and authority with those in their group who identify with them.

The article suggests:

One way to strengthen a group identity is to help people understand the causal connections between that group and other important aspects that people use to define themselves. Peaceniks should be told how important belonging to the group is to fostering world peace; football fans need to associate their local club with achieving football glory.

A recent CNN article gave several examples of nonprofits working to encourage influencers to get young people to register to vote. Being a successful influencer means you identify with the population you are trying to reach, and you are comfortable with the channels (such as TikTok or Animal Crossing.)

Influencers don’t have to have millions of followers:

“We’ve found a way to build a program of influencers big and small; most have around 1,000 followers. Makeup bloggers, Greek life on campus, doggie Instagrams, drag queens and everyone in between have been really receptive to us sliding into their dm’s [direct messages] to save democracy. Our influencers are typically nonpolitical and have audiences who trust them, so when they are providing links to register or pledge to vote we see really great engagement levels,” said Heather Greven, communications director at NextGen America.

And then there are the questionable incentives that some influencers offer their millions of followers in return for an action. The YouTube star David Dobrik  got 120,000 people to register to vote…by offering a sweepstakes to win a Tesla! David got the idea from a fan, who posted the idea on TikTok. Ironically, as a Dreamer immigrant from Slovakia, Dobrik cannot vote himself. 

What does this have to do with those of us working for environmental behavior change? The advantage of engaging with influencers for waste reduction or energy savings are the same as those to encourage voting: find and work with influencers – not necessarily eco-people – who already have a relationship with a target group and help them (don’t tell them to) create behavior change. But maybe cool it with the extrinsic motivation – no promising folks an electric car if they give up single use bottles…!

 

Food Waste’s Impact on Climate: What Do Californians Know?

Nancy Roberts

Reducing food waste and diverting it and other organic materials from landfill is key to reducing methane emissions in the state. California’s SB 1383 establishes targets that many businesses are  now working to meet. The implementation of SB 1383 was a major focus at this year’s California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA) Conference. As results come in, communicating about SB 1383 implementation and the efforts to reduce emissions will be important; but how much do Californians already know about food waste and its connection to climate change? We conducted a brief statewide survey of Californians to ask a few questions about their understanding of greenhouse gas emissions, landfill and food waste. Some responses were heartening, some were a bit depressing, but data emerged about how to communicate these concepts to different segments of the population.

See the slideshow:

To summarize, we noted:

  • Most Californians do acknowledge that climate change is happening, and that human activity is a major contributor.
  • However, 40% of respondents do not connect food waste with the climate.
  • Many people are unclear about what happens to food waste in a landfill.
  • Messaging about “doing the right thing” may resonate with several different audience segments.

As with any outreach effort, it’s best to understand how much your audience knows and how they feel about a particular issue before designing a campaign. This survey is just a first step in thinking about how to message about food waste reduction efforts and their relationship to the climate crisis.

If you would like a copy of the survey report, please email Gigantic.