MEMORANDUM

To: District Policy Committee Members

From: Jeffrey W. Aluotto, Manager
Hamilton County Solid Waste Management District

Re: Public Awareness/Outreach Grant Opportunity from ODNR

Date: February 22, 2002

This memo is to inform you of a grant opportunity which the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) has recently made available to the Hamilton County Solid Waste Management District.

ODNR is seeking to study the effect of radio advertising - specifically advertising through major sports venues - on District recycling rates. The grant comes as a result of ODNR's attempts to increase overall state recycling rates as well as the recycling rates of individual plastic single-serve bottles (sold in large quantities at various sports venues). The grant proposal is a pilot project and is being offered solely to our District because of Hamilton County's "great reputation for data collection and reporting efforts, efforts that are extremely important in this pilot project." (See attached ODNR Grant Proposal). Depending upon the results of this program, ODNR may consider expanding this program to other major sports venues as well.

The proposed grant would provide the District with $75,000 to implement an advertising campaign with the Cincinnati Reds through their radio network. While ODNR has provided some specific detail on the scope of the advertising, the District will have ultimate control over the message conveyed in that advertising. The District would be required to put up matching funds in the amount of $54,525. Our Public Affairs Division has reviewed the scope of the advertising provided through the grant and has concluded that the required matching funds are extremely low in comparison to the amount of promotion this program would provide for the District and its programs. ODNR, it seems, has been able to broker quite a deal with Reds-on-Radio. It is the opinion of our Public Affairs Division that the amount of coverage provided in this program is to the scale that would typically cost the District well over $220,000. The Prosecutor has also reviewed this grant and has indicated their support of the effort.

This opportunity comes at a unique time for our District. In the last month, we received our most recent data on residential recycling rates in Hamilton County. This data, for the year 2001, shows the third consecutive year of declining residential recycling tonnages in the County. Based upon evidence from recent survey research, District staff believe that the primary reason for this decline, while unexpected, is very basic - residents lack information on the recycling opportunities available to them. This is information which, for the past several years, we have attempted to convey through the effective use of publicly available, community-oriented means of advertising (community newsletters, PSAs, press releases, attending community events, etc.). While these methods were initially effective, it has become difficult to secure adequate coverage through these mediums and even more difficult to present the message in such as way as to affect personal behavior.

ODNR's grant opportunity comes at a perfect time to attempt to reverse this negative trend. In addition to providing information on recycling opportunities available to residents, the District would be free to tailor messages to promote various other programs as well. Some of these messages may include:

* Educating residents on proper handling of Household Hazardous Materials.

* Promoting The Interchange materials exchange catalog to area businesses.

* Advertising special events such as the District's mercury thermometer exchange and computer take-back programs.

Primarily, however, the campaign would be geared around basic recycling awareness. Recent data show that of the Hamilton County residents who do not recycle, 25% do not recycle because they either don't know how to get a curbside bin or believe that recycling is not offered in their community (to our surprise, cost was much further down on the list). These are areas where I believe we can make a significant impact in increasing recycling participation and awareness in the County.

With the above information as background, I would like to ask your assistance. Obviously, due to the matching funds involved, this is an item which will be presented at our next Policy Meeting. In addition, staff will be taking this proposal to the next meeting of the Recycling Outreach Committee (scheduled for late February) to gain their input. However, because of the relatively short notice we received on this grant, we need to begin performing some administrative work if we are to take advantage of it. Therefore, I would ask that you please convey your thoughts/concerns/support/questions on this grant concept to me as soon as you are able (ideally by the morning of Tuesday the 26th).

After reviewing the potential cost/benefit to the District involved with this program, I feel this is a fantastic opportunity and would strongly recommend that the District proceed. However, because of the amount of administrative work involved, I do not want to commit our resources toward such an opportunity without first receiving your input.

I can be reached by phone at 946-7719, fax at 946-7779, or e-mail at

jeffrey.aluotto@hamilton-co.org. Please accept my apologies for not contacting each of you personally with regards to this proposal.

Thank you for your time in this matter.