Community Partnership | Tulsa, OK
Background
Tulsa Recycle & Transfer Inc., a subsidiary of American Waste Control, provides recycling services to eight municipalities in the Tulsa metro area, covering more than 252,000 households. The materials recovery facility (MRF) nicknamed ‘Mr. Murph,’ processes an impressive 53,000 pounds of recyclables every hour.
Mr. Murph’s recycling program plays a critical role in strengthening Oklahoma’s economy and generating employment opportunities, as nearly 95% of recyclables delivered to the MRF stay within the state.
Social media image from outreach campaign
Operational and End Marketing Planning
Before partnering with FPI, Mr. Murph was already accepting a broad range of foodservice packaging items, including paper and plastic cups and containers, pizza and sandwich boxes, and paper bags. To build on this strong foundation, an outreach campaign was launched to raise awareness about these accepted materials, with a specific focus on paper cups. Since paper cups already had a viable recovery pathway, challenges related to end markets and operations were not a concern. Once paper cups entered the MRF, they were baled with other paper materials and sent for conversion into new products, such as paper towels, toilet paper, and napkins.
Outreach and Education
To maximize material recovery and address contamination challenges, additional residential outreach and education were needed. With support from an FPI communications grant, Mr. Murph launched a campaign to educate Tulsa metro residents on proper recycling practices.
Social media image from outreach campaign
The campaign used the Mr. Murph character and tagline “Feed Mr. Murph.” The MRF had previously featured Mr. Murph in past campaigns to promote the importance of recycling right.
Metro residents saw various messages from the Mr. Murph campaign, reminding them that all recyclables should be clean and empty when placed in recycling carts. Communication methods included a customized recycling video, social media posts, digital ads, an infographic highlighting the circularity of recycling take-out containers, updates to the popular “Feed Mr. Murph” recycle-right education game, and an interview with a local TV news station. Many materials were also translated into Spanish to reach a broader audience. Additionally, a pre- and post-campaign residential awareness survey was conducted to evaluate the campaign’s effectiveness in improving residents’ knowledge of what can be recycled and how to properly prepare items for recycling.
Results
Mr. Murph ran a two-month outreach campaign starting in May 2023. The campaign garnered significant engagement across the Tulsa metro area, reaching an estimated audience of over 250,000 and generating more than 450,000 impressions through various tactics.
Screenshot of News On 6 article posted 5/22/2023.
The residential awareness survey results showed positive shifts in recycling behavior, with 24.79% of respondents reporting that they always recycled their paper cups and 70.25% indicating they had started recycling their paper cups after the campaign announcement. Additionally, there was a 37% increase in the number of people recycling their paper cups correctly, reflecting the campaign‘s effectiveness in encouraging proper recycling practices.
Mr. Murph received numerous inquiries about recycling foodservice packaging items, driven largely by the ads, social media graphics, and TV news segment. The campaign generated meaningful responses that informed ongoing engagement efforts, including feedback from survey respondents and high engagement on posts about circularity.
Next Steps
Even after the campaign concluded, efforts to promote foodservice packaging recycling continue. Messaging remains a priority for the Tulsa Recycle & Transfer MRF, with the infographic and recycling foodservice packaging video featured on the program homepage for ongoing visibility. Insights from the surveys are being used to further tailor outreach strategies, ensuring that communication remains effective and relevant.
December 2024
Foodservice Packaging Materials Accepted
Paper cups
Paper bags
Pizza boxes
Molded fiber food packaging
PET cups
PET clamshells/containers/trays
Polypropylene cups
Polypropylene tubs/containers/tray
