Recyclepedia

In a recent poll conducted by Keep America Beautiful, 9 in 10 Americans reported that they recycle regularly. While 72% of these respondents recycle at home using curbside or community bins, only 51% recycle at public spaces, and approximately 40% recycle when visiting other people or when they’re at public events.  

There is a reason for this: those that feel negatively toward recycling find that they experience anxiety and stress surrounding the concept and practice. In general, recyclers feel more confident in recycling at home, where they know the rules better and feel assured that the items they put in their recycling will actually be recycled.  

Anxiety in Younger Generations

Overall, younger people feel more confused, overwhelmed, and anxious than older people when it comes to recycling. 42% of Gen Z and Millennial respondents agreed with the statement “I get anxious trying to figure out if something is recyclable or not,” while 46% of Gen Z respondents agreed with feeling “overwhelmed and unsure about where to put items in public recycling bins.” This trend continues throughout the poll: of the 2 in 5 Americans who have skipped recycling an item for fear of doing it incorrectly, Gen Z leads the pack with 58% of these respondents.  

A Lack of Trust

While recycling education used to be straightforward and simple (“reduce, reuse, recycle!”), everything changed dramatically several years ago. Before 2018, North America used to send our much of our collected recycling materials over to China. When that agreement ended, we were responsible for our own recycling. From there, every municipality had different rules. Courses had to be modified for students, and during this time, studies and exposés came out showing that huge percentages of recyclable materials are not recycled at all.  

This lack of transparency around recycling allowed for rules to be overlooked or even unknown to recyclers. This caused many people, especially those belonging to younger generations, to become apathetic toward recycling.  

Clear, standard education surrounding recycling seemed to disappear; confusion and “wish-cycling” took its place. Older generations, who were always taught that recycling is beneficial, continued to do it. Younger generations, feeling overwhelmed by the changes, the doubts, and even the lack of convenience, slowly dropped off on their recycling habits.  

Making Changes

With smartphones being a part of our daily lives--particularly for younger generations--we’re afforded the opportunity to learn on the go. Recycle Coach allows for simple, effective recycling education. Municipalities, haulers, schools, and organizations can take advantage of waste information being easily accessible and in younger generations hands at all times.  

Recycling education can make all the difference. Knowing what you can and can’t put into the recycling bin helps keep contaminants out of the recycling stream and allows for a smoother recycling process.  

Recycle Coach provides a space for our partners to educate their residents, clients, and students. Our “What Goes Where” tool, educational resources, and waste pickup calendar allow users to learn how to recycle waste properly and become confident in their recycling knowledge.  

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The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Recycle Coach have teamed up to provide residents access to digital technology, aimed at revolutionizing waste management across the state. The llinois EPA is committed to help all Illinois residents understand how to properly recycle or dispose of household materials. This initiative will include a statewide study, a tool kit, an interactive map, and a smartphone app to identify recyclables and what to do with non-recyclables. The tool kit, map, and app will each be tailored to the unique opportunities available to participating communities.

Key Features and Benefits:

• Statewide Coverage: All Illinois communities now have access to Recycle Coach's comprehensive digital tools, ensuring that residents have access to timely collection schedule reminders, material search capabilities, and hyper-local educational content.
• Accessible through Mobile and Desktop: The initiative includes an interactive web widget for all local government websites and access to the Recycle Coach mobile app. These resources will guide residents on how to properly dispose of household waste, identify recyclables, and manage non-recyclables.
• Community-Specific Solutions: Recycle Coach will begin with a statewide needs assessment, working with the Illinois EPA and local entities, such as county and municipal solid waste coordinators. Recycle Coach technology will be customized to cater to the needs of 12.5 million Illinois residents and 6,835 units of local government.
• Environmental Impact: The program aims to decrease contamination at material recovery facilities, increase the diversion of materials from landfills, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Proper waste management will also mitigate contamination of waterways and land.

The Illinois EPA is excited to offer this innovative technology that will provide Illinois residents with advanced tools to allow them to increase and improve recycling throughout all our communities,‚said Illinois EPA Interim Director James Jennings. We look forward to the full implementation of this program, which will expand the amount of recyclables properly diverted from Illinois landfills.

We're thrilled to welcome the State of Illinois to the Recycle Coach movement‚ says Jeff J. Galad, President of Recycle Coach. The Illinois EPA has demonstrated their environmental leadership by adopting robust digital tools that provide hyper-local waste and recycling information, notifications and education to every community, thus every resident.

Recycle Coach is available at no cost to Illinois communities. Local governments can request an onboarding meeting by emailing successgroup@recyclecoach.com. A secure web app will be provided for municipal waste websites, and residents will be encouraged to download the free Recycle Coach app.

About the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):

The mission of the Illinois EPA is to safeguard environmental quality, consistent with the social and economic needs of the State of Illinois, so as to protect health, welfare, property, and the quality of life.

The Illinois EPA works to safeguard natural resources from pollution to provide a healthy environment. By partnering with businesses, local governments, and the public, the Illinois EPA is dedicated to continued protection of the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the land we live on.

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Press Only Inquiries, please contact:

Illinois EPA Contact:

‍Kim Biggs

Public Information Officer

‍kim.biggs@illinois.gov

‍217-558-1536

epa.illinois.gov

Recycle Coach Contact:

‍Jeff J. Galad

President

jgalad@recyclecoach.com

‍www.recyclecoach.com

Last year, Americans spent more than 200 billion hours on mobile apps.

When information is easy to access, it's no secret that users will stick around and engage‚ and your waste and recycling information should be no different.

By putting info at the fingertips of customers, you can lower call volume, increase efficiency, and save money.

Connect with customers (without connecting to a landline)

Enhance your customer experience with game-changing features like:

• Mobile Notifications to communicate service interruptions quickly and efficiently
• Customizable Calendars so there's never a question about pick-up day
• Fully branded app solutions (or leverage the Recycle Coach app)
• Premium educational modules to build better habits and reduce contamination

And with dedicated 1:1 support, getting started is a breeze.

Ready to learn more?