Photo by Larry Strong, courtesy Recology
San Francisco is a Zero Waste city. Recycling and composting are required by law.
As of 2017 more items can be recycled in San Francisco's curbside recycling program than ever before. It was our job at San Francisco Department of the Environment to find a simple way to communicate the changes to the system to the public.
In order to do this, we needed supplement our existing print and grassroots outreach by creating an easy to use, mobile friendly resource or "one-stop-shop" for "what-goes-where" in San Francisco.
We created SFRecycles.org to meet this need. All information about what goes in the blue, green, black, or no bin at all, appears on one scrolling page.
We highlighted new changes to the system by putting them at the top of the page.
But it was more than just, "Where do I put that empty coffee cup?" We realize more than 44% of San Franciscans speak a language other than English at home, so we needed a solution that was multilingual as well.
We also wanted to use images to tell the story. We used a lightbox inhouse to photograph most of the recyclable and compostable items on SFRecycles.org and used Adobe Photoshop for image-editing and isolating objects on a white background. We're always looking to update the site with images of the objects people use and discard every day.
Now not only is it easier than ever before for San Franciscans to recycle and compost, the Department of the Environment has a new tool for getting useful data from our users.
Since launch we've had more than 86,000 visitors to SFRecycles.org. The tool has given us the ability to measure what these users are searching for (see illustration above). Milk containers, plastic bags, shoes, and polystyrene foam are the most searched items on the site.
The San Francisco Department of the Environment can use the data that we collect from SFRecycles.org to fine-tune its outreach efforts going forward.
And we're always listening to our users and getting feedback from them. We've added a print tool to SFRecycles.org which allows users to customize and publish their own recycling, compost, and landfill signs.
We're proud to live and work in a city that is taking the lead in the fight against climate change. We at the Department of the Environment know that local actions can have global impact!
