Community Partnership Program
PROJECT OVERVIEW
FPI strives to develop and promote economically viable and sustainable recovery solutions for foodservice packaging. Prior to the partnership launch, FPI worked alongside the city and the local MRF to reach out to the MRF’s end markets to ensure the addition of foodservice packaging would be a viable option - including paper and plastic cups, containers, pizza and sandwich boxes, and paper bags. WestRock owns and operates the facility that processes the curbside recyclables from Chattanooga. During the year leading up to the launch, WestRock worked to make operational changes at the MRF to allow for the recovery of paper and plastic foodservice packaging. They extended their sort line and added two additional bunkers to assist in storing the added materials. These MRF upgrades helped to pave the way for a robust educational campaign in partnership with the City of Chattanooga.
In the first month of Chattanooga’s campaign, the recycling section of the city’s website received 2,342 more unique visitors than the same period a year ago, a 116% increase. The city also saw a 46% increase in the requests for a cart or bin, showing a large jump in participation for the new program.
While Chattanooga’s digital reach was impressive, the city wanted to measure the behavior change amongst their residents. Nine months after the launch of the program, a waste sort was conducted at WestRock to see any initial progress from resident participation since the communication campaign. The waste sort showed a decrease in overall residue at WestRock, from 14% to 8%, which indicates communication efforts surrounding “recycling clean materials” was a success! The sort results showed an increase in the proportion of fiber collected (such as cardboard and mixed paper), from 62% to 73%.