Resource Recovery wins award for Let's recycle RIght! campaign

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The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) has named Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation (Resource Recovery) winner of the 2018 Gold Excellence Award in the Awareness Campaign category. This is the highest award given for an awareness campaign by the industry association.

The Excellence Awards Program recognizes the creation and implementation of outstanding education campaigns relating to solid waste management across North America. The award will be presented at SWANA’s annual conference, WASTECON, on Wednesday, August 22, at the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville, Tennessee.

“Since our inception, Resource Recovery has been committed to educating Rhode Islanders about proper recycling,” said Joseph Reposa Executive Director of Resource Recovery. “I am proud to be part of such a talented team and it is an honor to be recognized by SWANA for our efforts. We look forward to increasing the public’s awareness of the importance of recycling right.”

After widespread conversion to automated recycling collection, contamination in Rhode Island’s mixed recycling reached an all-time high. Resource Recovery’s Let’s recycle RIght! campaign aimed to simplify and standardized messaging used to raise public awareness about recycling right. Resource Recovery partnered with the nonprofit organization Recycle Across America and adopted their Let’s recycle Right! campaign and standardized label solution to bring greater awareness to the importance of proper recycling and to make it easier for the public to do so.

“We’re thrilled that Rhode Island has been the first state to begin implementing the society-wide standardized labels for their recycling bins and to adopt our Let’s recycle right! ® campaign,” says Mitch Hedlund, Executive Director of Recycle Across America.  “Rhode Island clearly understands that, similar to standardized road signs throughout society and messaging about driving safely, it’s critical that we begin making the instructions and messaging about recycling standardized for people to be able to do properly across the country if we want recycling to succeed.  We value their leadership in the national mission and we congratulate them for winning the SWANA Gold Excellence Award.”

With the help of several notable Rhode Islanders, including Lt. Governor Dan McKee and Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea, RI’s Let’s recycle RIght! campaign launched in July 2017. Campaign highlights included over 390,000 bilingual mailers, radio ads, digital and static billboards, online banner ads, and social media posts via Resource Recovery’s Facebook and Instagram page. Elements of the campaign were seen across the Ocean State over 26 million times, and when compared to the same time period a year earlier, tons of recycling rejected from Resource Recovery’s Materials Recycling Facility decreased by 18 percent.

The Excellence Award marks the third SWANA award win for Resource Recovery, adding to the 2016 Biggest Safety Improvement Award and 2013 Gold Award for Recycling Systems. To view Resource Recovery’s Let’s recycle RIght! award submission, visit swana.org/Awards/Excellence/awarenesscampaign.aspx.  To learn more about proper recycling in Rhode Island, visit www.recycletogetherri.org or call 942-1430 x775.

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