Survey reveals barriers to curbside recycling participation.

The city of Kansas City, Mo., and the Aluminum Can Council (ACC), a coalition formed by the Aluminum Association and Can Manufacturers Institute, have partnered to conduct a survey among residents of the city's "urban core." The survey intended to gather input about issues related to KC Recycles, the city's curbside recycling program, and to identify common patterns among inner city residents in regards to curbside recycling.

Key findings indicate that the city's urban core residents do not recycle because they do not have a recycling bin, do not think recycling is necessary and do not know enough about the city's recycling program. The survey also shows that 90 percent of urban residents in Kansas City's lowest area of participation believe it is important to recycle.

The survey also indicates that residents are more likely to recycle if they are given incentives, they have access to recycling bins, they are provided with information about the recycling program through direct mailings, local newspapers and commercial TV and if the frequency of recycling pickups increases.

"These survey findings show that there is an opportunity to increase participation in Kansas City's most urban areas. This is the first such research we've conducted in this area, and the findings are positive," Dee Ann Gregory, KC Recycles coordinator, says.

"During the first year of the KC Recycles curbside program, we experienced high participation rates in the suburban neighborhoods," says Gregory. "This demonstrates that we just need to adjust our messages and the way information is distributed, and the urban areas are likely to become just as avid participants," she adds.

KC Recycles is Kansas City's curbside recycling and household waste disposal program, which was phased in beginning March 1,2004, and now extends throughout the city.

Kansas City is a member of the Curbside Value Partnership (CVP), a national program led by the aluminum industry to combat declining recycling rates in curbside programs. As part of the partnership, the industry has been working closely with KC Recycles staff to identify solutions to increase participation rates among urban and ethnic communities.

"As we're working with communities across the country to improve participation in their curbside programs, we realized that a common problem is low participation in the urban communities," says Steve Thompson, director of recycling initiatives for the Aluminum Can Council.

"Many people in these communities rent and tend to be more transient, making it more difficult to get a large portion of consistent recyclers, not to mention the numerous language barriers," he notes. Adds Thompson, "When the ACC learned of Kansas City's interest in conducting research on this urban core, we were eager to get involved. We believe these findings are applicable to other cities struggling with similar issues."