Community Partnership | Athens-Clarke County, GA
Foodservice Packaging Materials Accepted
Paper cups*Paper take-out containers*
Paper bags
Pizza boxes
Molded fiber carriers/takeout containers
Molded fiber egg cartons
Aluminum foil containers/pans/trays
Plastic cups
Plastic clamshells/containers
Rigid plastic cups
Rigid plastic clamshells/containers
*New items added during partnership
Background
Athens-Clarke County (ACC) extends single-stream curbside recycling collection services to its 47,000 households, employing a pay-as-you-throw pricing model. These recyclables are transported to the Athens-Clarke County Recovered Materials Processing Facility (RMPF), a facility owned by the ACC government and operated by Recycling & Disposal Solutions (RDS).
In 2015, ACC successfully achieved its 45% diversion rate goal and aspired to elevate it to an impressive 75% by the year 2020.
Operational and End Market Planning
ACC's RMPF efficiently processes around 75 tons of recyclables daily, operating within its 120-ton capacity. These recyclables are sorted, baled, and sold to various end markets including paper mills, where paper items are recycled into new products.
Crucially, ACC's longstanding partner mills readily accepted bales containing paper cups. FPI facilitated discussions between RMPF and the mills, and ACC broadened its list of acceptable items to include paper cups and paper take-out containers.
This decision yielded high-quality fiber, which found a new purpose in Pratt Industries located in Conyers, GA. Here, it is transformed into fresh cardboard boxes and various other paper products.
Outreach & Education
In 2020, Athens-Clarke County initiated a focused educational campaign to inform its residents about the changes to the recycling program. This campaign was made possible through FPI's communication grant, and encompassed social media outreach, the creation of a recycling best practices video, the placement of wrap ads on hauler trucks, restaurant window clings, local media placements, updates to the County's website graphics, and the installation of outdoor signage promoting the recyclability of the new material.
The campaign was officially launched during a drive-thru recycling promotion and education event, held to celebrate the inclusion of paper cups and containers in the recycling collection. Participants were treated to complimentary Jittery Joe's hot coffee and/or cold Coca-Cola beverages, accompanied by valuable recycling education materials.
Results
ACC’s outreach campaign generated great engagement – the Facebook ad campaign received over 5,000 engagements and 300 clicks; the recycling video received over 4,800 plays; and the coffee shop kick-off event had over 50 attendees.
Post-campaign MRF audit results are pending and will be updated when complete.
Next Steps
In 2022, Clark County opened a new waste and recycling center in Charlestown, Indiana. The new facility provides a safer option for truck drivers to dispose of waste in a controlled environment compared to an open landfill. The facility has a grapple machine that can sort through construction debris to remove recyclable materials like concrete, steel pipes, cardboard, and other metals.
November 2022
