Recycling Signage Tune-up

Where do I put my apple core?

Laminated images and written instructions have been added to our recycling stations. Every effort has been made to keep our recycling stations intuitive, and easy to use.  "Compost" is a clear message to some people, and perhaps not to everyone.  To help users know where to put apple cores, or milk cartons, or the remnant of their sandwich, we have added new labels.

Big images of fruit or milk cartons lure the student to the correct bin. When the student gets closer to the "COMPOST" sign, the simple written instructions help confirm we are at the right place.  Just under, "COMPOST" is the small print, "food scraps and milk-cartons"  please."

Can I recycle my engine oil here? It says recycling!

No engine oil recycling right here. But Livermore Sanitation will collect engine oil from residences.

So, what material should go in the "Recycling" bin?  On the LHS campus outdoor recycle stations, our "Recycling" sign means plastic bottles and aluminum cans. We are working to remove aluminum and plastic from the waste stream headed to the landfill. Paper, cardboard, batteries, eye-glasses, ink cartridges are all recycled somewhere else on campus. 

To clarify our message, we improved our signage. Plastic bottles and aluminum cans are "low-hanging-fruit", meaning they are an easy first-step to reducing the waste stream. Plastic and aluminum are also important because they have a decent redemption value, which encourages student clubs to help collect plastic and aluminum from these bins and earn money for their club.

The Recycling side of our stations now has pics of water bottles and aluminum cans. To reduce the amount of odd entries in the Recycling slot, we added "plastic bottles and aluminum cans, please".  Adding "please" just sounded less bossy.