Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
DAN ESTY It's a great pleasure to have you all here today. I think all of you know I am Dan Esty, and I am, for a few more days, Commissioner of
Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, and one of the things that I'm very proud of and a number of you have told me, as
I've talked to you in kind of my planned transition, how much you've enjoyed this Commissioner's Lecture Series, but I have found it to be very
exciting, very interesting, and a real way for all of us to make the commitment that we all want to make to continue with improvement and to ongoing
education, so it really has been fun for me to have the series of speakers we've had, to hear how they're approaching their part of the environment
challenge or the conservation challenge or the energy challenge, and we continue that series here today with an extraordinary speaker, Brenda Pulley,
who is the senior vice president for recycling in Keep America Beautiful, one of the great environmental organizations out across this Country. KAB,
as they sometimes call themselves, is one of the leading community minded organizations. It is, or course, a nonprofit, and it has a broad mission
of bringing people together to build and sustain vibrant communities that are sustainable and attentive in particular to their natural beauty. This
is an organization that is probably most famous for its antilittering campaigns, and I think it's had a strong voice in environmental debates,
particularly in waste debates over many, many years. Some of you will recall, I recall, the 1960s campaign that really launched the modern litter
movement with Every Litter Bit Helps, and this was a campaign that was pushed early on by Lady Bird Johnson, who some of you, again, remember, having
really made her name as a first lady on this issue. And, again, one of the things I think is most interesting, and I am very much hoping Brenda will
if not address it in her opening remarks, perhaps then in question and answer, it is how you change a mindset because as we've talked about here,
change is hard. We have a lot of things we're trying to get people to do differently. The waist arena is certainly one. And I hope some of you
will be able to remember and others will be able to think through how we changed from a society where it was thought to be okay to throw trash out
the window of your car. So, in 1960 or call it 1959, when I was born, that was a normal thing to do. By the 1960s, it was no longer normal. In
fact, given the work of Keep America Beautiful, I think you've seen a complete shift in basic societal norms around littering. It's not as though
we've solved the litter problem. We still have it, but there is definitely an understanding and appreciation today that it's not okay. And, so that
is one of the big questions. How do you shift peoples' mindsets around changed behavior where something has been accepted for a long time that we
now know it is not a good pattern, not acceptable from a point of view of sustainability? So, I think one of the interesting things that Keep
America Beautiful has done is public education, and it was not just Every Litter Bit Helps, but perhaps the most famous public service announcement
in history which was known as the crying Indian, and some of you will recall, it is a Native American who is burdened by the litter that he sees, and
you see a tear come down the eye, and the tag line was, again one that got a lot of attention, People start pollution; people can stop it, and that,
again, I think helped shift the mindset of America in a very significant and big way. So Brenda is here to discuss Keep America Beautiful's agenda,
a new national campaign that is now focused on recycling is at the heart of this agenda. The title of her talk is Transformation of an Occasional
Recycler into an Everyday Recycler. So, she is doing what we're doing in terms of thinking hard about what transformation requires and how you
deliver on it. Brenda has been with Keep America Beautiful since 2010. She's been working to enhance the National efforts to increase recycling, to
increase participation. Again, an agenda that we share. She's responsible for the organization's overall strategy, program design, stake-holder
outreach, and national advocacy. And, again, it really is an interesting parallel, and I hope we can dig into this a bit, between what Keep America
Beautiful is doing in shifting thinking about waste, particularly about ramping up recycling and recycling in our own efforts to do the same. So I'm
thrilled that we've got a number of people here who've been playing a role in the DEEP efforts to ramp up recycling. And, I think all of you know
we're kind of plateaued at about 30 percent diversion of our waste stream. We have a State goal of 58 percent, so we have some work to do to get
where we need to go, but I see in the front row is our Deputy Commissioner, Macky McCleary, whose got charge of this issue and a number of others who
I'm sure are going to be listening carefully as we try to take onboard some of the best practices Brenda wants to share with us. So, Brenda, thank
you very much. I appreciate you being here with us.
AUDIENCE [Applause].
BRENDA PULLEY Thank you. That's very nice. So, thank you. If you cannot hear me, do let me know. And, it's a delight to be here. I think this
series is a wonderful series, and I suspect that I'm gonna learn as much from you guys as you'll learn from me. So while we're pulling that up, what
I want to talk to you today... Thanks for the introduction about Keeping America Beautiful. I do want to give her a little more history of it, but
clearly the Commissioner hit high points. But then lay the landscape, a bed of recycling sort of nationwide and then do talk most recently what we're
doing in this space to help reduce waste reduction and recycling and specifically a new national campaign that we've just released.
So first, Keep America Beautiful... We have been around. We're celebrating out 60th anniversary. What we are known for is very much about bringing
people together in their community to help make particularly their public spaces in that community better. So, it is about creating clean and
beautiful places, reducing waste and increasing recycling and then really inspiring the next generation of environmental stewards. And through all
that, not only do you have a better looking environment, cleaner and greener, but that there's positive economic impact for that community and that
you also help build the social network of that community. So that's in large part what we do. Oops. Hold on. Okay, so our mission is about
engaging individuals to take greater responsibility, but, again, it's about pulling that community together and making a positive economic and
environmental impact. Please know we have 1,200+ affiliates, some State organizations. We have 3 affiliates here in the State of Connecticut.
Across the Country. So, both affiliates and partners that we work with. We work with many of the State recycling organizations, etcetera, so that
we can engage 7+ million volunteers a year. We have 25,000+ cleanup/beautification events a year as well as some recycling. So, enough of sort of
who we are. But just... I always put this up and say I'm not going to play Jeopardy, but it is... Just to talk about the range of things that we do.
Most of you may know that our headquarters is in Stamford, Connecticut, so. I happen to be out of the Recycling Department, which is housed in
Washington, DC. So we're very much focused there. The other parts of Keep America Beautiful are very much focused on the Great American Cleanup and
our other beautification and planting efforts. Okay? So let's launch into recycling and the landscape, and I will tell you that I stole this
headline from Ed Hume, who recently wrote a great book about trash. He calls it Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash. But, again, just setting the
stage, I know you guys probably are very familiar with some of this, but just that every day every American, 330 million of us, generate 4 plus
pounds, 4.2 pounds of trash a day. About 1.5 of that is either recycled or composted. So, also a recent study came out, and I know you guys will
appreciate this from the organics perspective, that a family of 4 throws away approximately over $2000 worth of value of food. So, the whole supply
chain is throwing about 40 percent of our food supply. So when we look at where there are real opportunities to make significant increases, clearly
organics is one of those in food organics. But what I say is we're still working on people to recycle their bottles and cans folks, and so think
about reaching that organic slice is going to take even more behavior change. And, then, each American over their lifetime leaves behind 102 tons of
trash. So, if somebody's a math *** in here, they're gonna look at first number and my last number and say I'm not sure that connects, and I want
to put 2 numbers out there. Data. I'm sure you guys have wrestled with data and having appropriate data for the State, and not every State and not
every community measures differently. It's one of the challenges in this sector. It's getting better all the time, but it's one of the challenges
we've had and the way you measure. I'm not gonna spend a lot of time on that, but EPA estimates the 4.4 pounds, 4.2 pounds a day that are generated.
If you look at what's going into landfills and in recycling facilities, it's estimated it's at least twice that amount, so there's some real
differences in the data of the waste that we're generating annually. So. The next slide, 250 million tons a year of what we're... Again, these are
EPA's numbers that were generated. I put this slide up so you can sort see where the largest sectors are. Clearly, paper, but I... and plastics, and
think how lightweight plastics are, and I'll talk a bit about how paper is actually reducing and we're seeing... You know, the waste stream is really
changing you guys. I mean if you talk to the hauling companies or cities that do some of their hauling, they'll tell you that waste stream is
changing, and that's causing all kinds of ways that they have to view how they collect and handle the material. So plastics is clearly increasing,
but yard trimmings and then looking at food scraps, some big sectors where we can make some big changes. We tend to always look... When I say we, I
mean the industry look at where to make the biggest gains by looking at where the pounds are because we're very pounds driven. And I always want to
challenge people to say let's look at pounds, yes, but let's look at the economic benefits. Let's look at where you make the most environmental
benefits. So it may not be led by pounds that you can make significant greenhouse gas emissions reduction. So, maybe you guys are thinking about it
that way, but I always try to say let's look more broadly at this sector. So, Americans spend more on waste management than on fire protection,
parks, recreations, libraries, and schoolbooks combined. Again, some of this is from Ed Hume's data, but I thought I'd share with you just to put in
perspective. Think about that infrastructure of the trucks and the collection and then... I was in Phoenix the other day, 7-million miles just in
Phoenix to collect their waste and recyclables. So. So what do we need to do? The idea is how do we get more people to recycle, and if you're
talking to the waste-management community, they will tell you it's also how do we get them to recycle more and to recycle right. So, recycling is
complicated. So, 34 percent of the waste material that's currently generated is recycled. That gets to about that 1.5 pound per person. If you
strip out the organics, which is mostly yards trimmings, you're at about 24-25 percent that currently recycled. So, again, like you guys just said,
lots of opportunity for improvement. Are we going to get to 100 percent? Let's just keep moving forward on that one, okay? We'll work out way
towards zero waste, as we say. So, you guys know this. I've looked at some of the reports that you've done. This is just 1 small snapshot. Okay?
This is taking just a few of the commodities of materials that we know we're currently sending to landfills. I've heard waste management cite it's
anywhere from $15-20 billion of potential value of material that we're currently sending to landfills. So, does recycling pay for itself all the
time? No, but it's important to look at that whole cycle, if you will -- the collection cost, what you're not sending to the landfills, and the
potential material cost of recycling. Or the value, I should say, of those materials. So I want to talk about how the landscape is changing a
little bit. For those of you and I suspect there are a few of you that have been doing this a while, been in the waste-management/recycling
business, and you know where recycling started to take its peak in the 90s, and it's been increasing a little bit every year, but we've clearly
plateaued, and so what can we do? The good news is waste generation per capita has also plateaued. So that's great. In fact, it's even gone down a
little bit. Overall we're generating more waste as a Country but clearly on a per-capita basis not as much. So what can we do to increase it? And
part of the reason I decided to joining Keep America Beautiful when I did was to take on this issue. I'm convinced the tide is turning for us.
Right? I was hoping that we were at a tipping point. I think we've got a little longer to go. But my point is that companies are looking and when
they do their business plans, and I came from an aluminum company I will tell you, global aluminum company, and they look at where the resources are.
They look at population growth and the middleclass growth that's happening in India and China and other places around the world, and with demand
coming onboard, they're looking at where they're gonna get those resources, and it's foreseen industry and others and governments to look at least
more broadly at those topics and to think more from a lifecycle standpoint, and there is a... It's coined, and I'm not sure who coined it. I hear
Mackenzie. But this concept of a circular economy, that if we put... We mine and make materials, and a lot of energy goes into doing that. How do we
keep those in to the economy? And, frankly, recycling is a global economy. I don't have stat on how much. I'm not gonna go about how much is
global, but it's a global economy. And I'm sure you guys have heard about the green fence and the repercussions that's caused because China is now
implementing and saying you know what; you gotta send us cleaner waste streams because we thought that they need that material. They've got labor
cost that are lower, that they can sort through it, etcetera, but even China is saying our requirements are stricter and we're gonna start enforcing
those. So, it is a global economy. Industry is looking differently. I mean look at all the companies that have made commitments on 0 waste
landfill policies but also are using more and more recycled content. So what's happening? I wish it were happening a little faster. I'm not gonna
lie. But it is happening, and that's changing the perspective. The other is the industry. I mean, the consumer. We hear all the time... Studies
come out all the time about how consumers... Yes, if you ask them do they recycle, we know that 80-90 percent of people recycle, and I say that's
great. I'm a little surprised the recycling rate is not a little higher. But we do know that over the years consumers are more interested in the
transparency about whether it's food or whatever, where the materials are coming from. The things they buy, where they're coming from, where they
go, what the company is doing with them, those kinds of things. And I think those are all good signs to help drive waste reduction and recycling.
So, that's a little bit about where the tide has changed. What do we do to get to that? I've missed 63.... What your guys'?
UNKNOWN SPEAKER Fifty-eight.
BRENDA PULLEY Fifty-eight. I apologize. Fifty-eight. I say just... I sort of have this could we get a US recycling rate 20 by 50? So by 2020 can
we get a 50-percent recycling rate in the US? And I'm not gonna go into all these. You guys, I know many of you in this room know there are lots of
different areas... When you think about the lifecycle of where a product is made and particularly just once it enters, it goes from that consumer's
hand, as I always say, and it can either go into the trash bin or the recycling bin. And so how do we get them to put more of it in the recycling
bin? And that means you gotta have a market for it. You gotta have collection for it. So there are a lot of different areas. The key ones I
always talk about is data standards. Right? If we don't have the right data, we can't compare apples to apples. It's gonna be hard to measure
successes and where to best put our energies for improvement. There's infrastructure building, and efficiencies. I just talked about how the
changing, the waste stream is changing, and so all those MRFs. There are the recycling facilities. What they're having difficulty is they built and
invested millions of dollars to handle a certain waste stream that's now changing, and so it's taking... And new materials are coming on line all the
time, new packing, right? So that's... There are a lot of people working on that and that's great. That's not where we spend our efforts. Then,
where we spend our time is how do you get the individual to rethink, particularly when they have a package that's in the end of life rather than
putting it in the trash bin, how do we keep into the stream? There are all kinds of policy changes that can help influence that and then a topic
that's always talked about are the markets for this, but more and more we're hearing... And it's happening in some instances, but, frankly, I'm
surprised it's not happening more, and that's when a company is designing a product or packaging that they're now thinking about that end of life,
that they're now talking to their sustainability or waste-management team or actually go to the waste haulers and talk to them. One of those new
plastic bottles has that plastic film that's covering it, guess what? When it got to the recycling bin, the recycling bin, the recycling optic
reader couldn't read it and rejects it. So it's those kinds of things that... I've been in several meetings where industry is trying to figure out
what they need to do so they can prevent some of that happening. Okay? So what do we do, we KAB? Where we spend our time? And I talk about all
those different segments and the chain that need to be worked on. Where we really focus our time primarily is about building that awareness and
activation. I make it very clear, you can educate people a lot. You can try to educate people a lot, but that doesn't necessarily change behavior,
and so we're trying to find how do you change that behavior and we have lots of learnings, a lot of other sectors, the healthcare industry have lots
of learnings, and, frankly, that's what we're... We have some findings I want to share with you today, but I argue there's lots more that we can do in
that space to learn and then share that knowledge. The second is we're very much knowing away from home. So it's one thing to have curbside, and we
know there's much more that needs to be built out in the US. Just because 80 percent of people have access to curbside, doesn't mean that they
actually have a bin. A lot of it is subscription services, and that's why they may not have that bin. But it's also then, not only that... It's away
from home. So I suspect your office buildings are very well... have lots of recycling bins, but there are lot of other office buildings, schools,
universities, institutions, park settings that don't have it, so we actually work a lot on the public space. So, it's not only placing bins in
public space but it's also understanding what the best practices are, what's the right signage, what's the right placement, and then sharing those
among our community. And so the thought, leadership is really about learning from the community, doing some research, and then making sure we share
those learnings. Okay? So, I'm not gonna go into all our programs, but I just... I did want to just mention them. It looks a little overwhelming
here, but I do try to sort them through by the audiences that we have. So we have lots of different programs that are really designed for recycling
educators, for a teacher, for just an advocate for recycling, that they can take a program, participate in it, host an event at their workplace, at
their school, or in their community. So, I'll talk about the Public Service Campaign in detail, but most of you hopefully know... are aware of America
Recycles Day. It's been around 15 years. It's a great day to spotlight recycling, waste reduction. So we work with literally thousands across the
Country that host events and use it, as I say, as an excuse to stop and celebrate recycling. We also have a program called Recycling at Work. We'd
be happy to talk about more of that. But the idea is how to support workplaces in making recycling a priority. I talked about the recycling bin
grants. We also work a lot with the college community. Many of you may know the College and University Recycling Coalition, 1,000+ members.
They're the recycling coordinators or sustainability directors on their college campuses, so we work with them on array of a couple different
programs. In fact, one launches next week. It's called Recyclemania. It's an 8-week competition among schools to see who can recycle the most.
It's a great benchmarking tool for them, which is awesome, but, frankly, it's also really used to how to activate and engage the students, the staff,
the faculty in recycling. I sure hope Yale does it, and I should have checked my notes. I didn't. But maybe... We'll have to check on that. And
then, another move-out program. So, Move Out in the Spring, need I say when kids move out. It's time to move out and the trunk gets full, guess
what happens to all the leftover materials, so we're working on a project there. And then we just came off the hills of a K-12 recycling competition
and announced the winners yesterday, and I'm gonna share with you the winner in Connecticut. So, I'll move on. But that's just an array of the
kinds of programs we have, and I encourage you... Happy to talk about more of those or encourage you to go to our website and find out about more of
those. The other thing that we've talked a bit about is I just want you to know in our various programs we are always looking how to implement the
tried and true research that's out there and then to do some additional new research. So, competition theory is a way to get at behavior change.
That's a couple of our programs. The commitment theory. If you make a commitment, you're more likely to make that behavior change. So we have an
America Recycles Day Pledge. That's a little bit of the concept of the Recycling at Work Pledge. Removing barriers. First and foremost, you got to
make it convenient. You got to remove barriers. So that's make sure you have the bins, make sure the information is easy. And, then, communication
as well. I will tell you we do have a research project for our Recycling at Work that we're working on. It's about bin placement, common areas, at
desk side, and some sign usage going on. So a year from now I'll be able to talk about that. It's 4 different office buildings in 4 different
States across the Country. So, Recycle-Bowl. I talked a bit about. It's the K-12 program. We had 1,500 schools plus that participated this year.
It's our third year of this program. Really look forward to continuing to build this program out, not only because of the excitement it generates at
the school, we have found that 3 to 4 percent of the schools that sign on, sign on and start a recycling program as a result of this competition or
this opportunity for it. We also had a great George Washington University capstone project that studied the data that we had and had discovered that
if you participate in this program you recycle 10 percent more than a school that doesn't participate in this program. More importantly, I'm shocked
to find that 35 percent of the schools in this program don't have a waste hauler. That mens their janitor or a teacher or someone is collecting
their recyclables, great for them and hauling them. All of us in this room want to make that change. We want to get to 100 percent. Enough said on
that. Let's talk about 25 schools in Connecticut participated this year. We thank you. The champion that we just announced yesterday. So every
State there's a national prizewinner. California was the school that won. But there's not only a national prize but a State prize, so the school
that generates the most per capita or I should say recycles the most per capita, excuse me, get $1,000 cash prize. Thanks to our sponsor, Nestle
Waters, the Pure Life brand. We thank them very much. They've been the key sponsor to help launch this program. Anyway, Rippowam, I hope I say
that right, Middle School out of Stamford is the State winner. Okay? So, now, let's get into the campaign. I am gonna assume some of you are
familiar with the Ad Council their policy. They're another nonprofit. They're made up of the top ad agencies across the Country. You think Smokey
the Bear. You think autism. They've done a host of campaigns. Forty years ago, we worked with them on the famous crying Indian campaign. They're
all about how to make social change. So we are partnering again with them to develop the recycling ad. We've been working on it a couple years.
I'm thrilled to say it's out the door. Now it's about how to get it activated so that more people can see it. So, the goal of this ad was really
about... I always say it's not about increasing recycling rates. I mean it is at the end of the day. But the part that we're really focused on is
that behavior piece. So it's how do you increase recycling participation? Okay? A little nuance there, but I share that with you. And we know
that what we need to do is to create a passion and a reason to believe in recycling. So that's sort of our charge, when we started the discussions 2
years ago. You guys know this. I've talked about some of these. What are the challenges? Access and convenience first and foremost. And I'm sure
you guys address every single day how you can overcome... all the communities across your great State how they can overcome that. So, challenge, cost
barrier, all kinds of other things. But the other is... Let's be honest, recycling is confusing even when you want to do it. Once you get past
bottles and cans. Plastics, really? I come from the aluminum sector. I'm spending a lot of time trying to figure out all the different plastics,
to be honest. But it does get confusing. So, how do we make easy information for folks? And the lack of motivation, as I said. One is having
access, but, then again, how do we really nudge that person to take that action and put some feeling back in the brand that's been around, the
recycling symbol? Okay? So we did do a nationwide survey to get sort of some baseline of stuff. Nothing new came out of that. I mean it's stuff
that we do know, the inconvenience first and foremost. I've talked about that. Not enough information. Not encouraged enough. Some people are
going to disbelievers. So I always say there is... There are lots of different data points out there that talk about the advocates that are going to
do it. Right? Those that are environmentally have a leaning toward that. That's 15-16 percent of the population. I suspect all of us in the room
are sort of there. You don't really need to be nudged. There's also another 10 to 15 percent that, frankly, don't believe it, aren't gonna do it,
and spending time trying to convince them, frankly, it's a waste of time. We found out in our pledge, if you don't want to... If somebody doesn't
want to pledge to recycle more don't ask them again because you're only going to reinforce the negative with them. It's that middle sector, that 65
percent in the middle. We call them moveable middle. The sporadic recycler that we're trying to get to to recycle more. Okay? So, current
behaviors, 38 percent think they're avid recyclers, so I talk about that 15-16, polls always show a little higher. The poll that we took, 38 percent
think that they're avid recyclers. It's the 52 in our most recent poll that we're going after. Okay? I wanted to share this with you. I don't
always show it, and I apologize. Put 'em all on 1 slide. But I wanted to you to know that we did a lot of research, so there's... I won't go into
all of it, but there's the experts, that the research of the data that's out there in the development of this campaign, just looking at other
studies, what worked and what didn't in other campaigns. And then we... we. I take credit for this. Bear with me. It was the ad agency that gets
selected through this process that does the work for us, and most of it is pro bono, by the way, but they came up, based on the research and some
focus groups at 3 or 4 different cities that we did, that informed the first concepts of what a creative campaign might look like. And I'll be
honest with you guys. I don't share this all the time, but it is... They knew going in, the agency knew going in it was gonna be an environmental
message, by the way. They knew it was going to be about saving trees and saving this and that, and they were really perplexed that it wasn't that
easy. So, 5 different creative strategies that were tested. So one was just Recycling 1 on 1. One is The Earth Wants You to Recycle, that
environmental message. One, Not Recycling is Not Cool, trying to be a little edgier, which some of us who have been doing this a long time thought
that was sort of neat. We liked that. The other was The Potential of Trash and, then, Your Trash Talks. And I won't go into all of these and the
problems they have, but if anybody wants to, by all means, ask me a question. But what we found that most resonated with people was this concept of
The Potential of Trash, and I'll talk a little bit more about that. So, most respondents found The Potential of Trash the most eye-opening. This is
just 1 example of the focus groups and what they said. Everything can become something new and amazing as opposed to just having it sit in a
landfill and waste away. And I can't tell you the number of times that we would hear people talk about, "Well, you mean it doesn't have to be
wasted." So. But the second thing that really registered well, it's how do I find out? Where's easy information to find out about what, when,
where, and how to recycle? So I say that to you that are all, that are responsible for also sharing that information. I have... We have not found
the secret except keep trying. You can't tell people too many times or share that type of information, but it's very important what they need. So,
just in a snapshot, what really informed... This is taking all the learnings, year and a half of the work of what then informed the final elements of
the creative campaign. So, I talked about how to educate and motivate, and it is a lot, a lot of parallels to the crying Indian campaign, and that
whole effort that helped change our culture from throwing stuff on the trash to putting it in a trash bin. I say, we're doing that same thing except
now not in a trash bin, but we want to get 'em to put in a recycling bin, and the key is how do you make that cultural shift, that expectation, and
that social norm because, frankly, over time, I don't want people to have to think about it. I just want it to be the natural thing to do. Our
target, that sporadic recycler, the key insight that I talked about was that potential of trash and how you, you are empowered to give your garbage
another life, and that... Talking with people, that went from sort of obligation to a responsibility that they wanted to more take on. Okay? The
call to action, then, is I Want To Be Recycled, and the key is to try to engage people enough so they will go to our website or go to your website
and try to find out more about what's recyclable in their community. I have to put this up. Our sponsors, thank you to our sponsors. We, clearly,
are looking for more I will tell you, but they really... They believed in us when it was all the concept and we all wanted to have some consistent
national messaging. So thanks to them. So now, I might have to have some help since I stumbled a little bit on the earlier one, but I want to play
the 60-second spot view. Have any, has anybody seen this ad on television yet? Oh, I love it when people raise their hand. Okay. Obviously,
somebody was not watching HGTV or I've heard it was just played, but anyway.
ADVERTISEMENT They said I couldn't dream. Called me a piece of trash and swore that's all I'd ever be. Said a bottle couldn't see the ocean.
Give up. Go back to the dumpster. But I didn't listen. I made my way, and now I am what I've always wanted to be.
AUDIENCE MEMBERS [Applause].
BRENDA PULLEY So, it's the emotional grab. I hope you see it. Right? It's trying to help. And I told you I came from the aluminum industry.
There is nothing more efficient than an aluminum can to aluminum can. I won't go into all the details, but it really does save 95 percent energy 95
percent emission reduction of greenhouse gasses, etcetera. So the fact that we couldn't talk about can to can, but we had to talk about can to
something else, and I'll the next ad or bottle to something, to the park bench, but that's what captures people. Right? That's what they love
knowing. So, I will tell you from America Recycles Day this year as part of the pledge we did a drawing. We drew 10 names, people that pledged. We
gave away 10 recycled content park benches. So. So if you don't mind, we've got a minute, I'll play the 50-second,15-second commercial.
ADVERTISEMENT People think I'm trash, but they are wrong. Today I'm just an aluminum can, but one day, I can be a stadium.
BRENDA PULLEY So, I keep hoping, surely with all that coverage on Superbowl that one station may play it, but we'll see. Again, the model is we're
very reliant. Ad Council sends it out to their 30,000+ media outlets. It is donated media. So FCC says yes, media partners you have to play. -- You
have to have some pro bono time donated. They don't tell 'em how much. And there are other campaigns out there. So. We are actively working.
That's one of the reasons I'm here. We're actively working on not only what the Ad Council does to help activate that campaign but what we can do at
a State and local level to also help activate it, so I'll talk that a bit. So, I just want you to see some of the other creative that's out there so
it's a PET bottle to jeans, which as many of you know you can buy jeans or slacks or t-shirts or all kinds of things these days. Steel food can to a
bicycle. And then the website. I'm not gonna spend time on this, but I invite you all to check out the website. One of the key... There is some
very general information on recycling. There's an infographic, and there's all kinds of things on it, lots of other links of where to find
information, electronics and where to find certified recyclers, those kinds of things. But one of the key things is really how do we get people to a
city or a State so they can find what's recycled in their community. There are a couple data bases out there. You probably know of them. What we
ended up doing was working with Google to develop a zip code locator, and so if there are any city communities, that's one of the things we can work
on to make sure. We want that city. So it goes out the internet, scrapes the data, pulls it back and presents it, and we want to make sure that
city is listed, so we are working on that to make sure those are. That means working with cities. Please test it and make sure they are. So,
there's lots of... there's fun stuff about what material can be. Very active social media campaigns. We can talk about... You can follow us,
#berecycled. We just actually did a recycling Twitter chat last week, and it was great. I always love the questions that come in. We are working
with a number of cities. We have just started. Some are... Wisconsin called and, I think, it was Madison that wanted the graphics, wanted to put
them on their trucks. We're working with the City of Chicago who's put them out in all kinds of signage, on their trucks, and BigBelly recycling
bins have translated the ads, in fact. It's been out about 5 months. I will just tell you that, so far, this is preliminary. We have about
$10,000,000 in donated media so far. A lot of radio. We do have 1 radio ad that I've heard that even several times, but it's also about getting
that outdoor advertising and others. So this was right outside of San Francisco, the ad is. I did want to put up the website in case any of you
want to go to it. I don't know if you can read it, but it's iwanttoberecycled.org. I encourage you to go to it, would love to have any feedback
about the site. And, then I want for those of you, and I realize not everyone here, but we are working with both our affiliates, our recycling
partners in cities and States to say what you can do. In fact, each of you can encourage your local media stations (they all have community
representatives) to say, hey, there's this ad. It's an option. Think about putting it in your pro bono play space. That's one thing. But anywhere
this ad can run... There are restrictions. Right? Because it's part of the Ad Council campaign. It must run in donated media. So if the State has
a television channel or a city has a television channel or a video, that's all donated space. Okay? If a...besides the media then donates space. The
Ad Council has changed the rules. I won't get into them, but sponsors and what we're also trying to do work with some cities and States that if you
come and quote as some kind of sponsor, you can then take the ads and pay for placement. I mean just because we want to get it out there and get it
used. But, right now, no cost. Anywhere there's "donated media." So I'm talking to all kinds of retailers because they can put it in their
circulars. They could put posters in their store. They could run the radio station, and they could... I'm talking to one right now, Weis. I don't
know that they're here, but we're talking about how to put it on the plastic bags or paper bags. Anyway. FreshDirect. I don't know if they serve
here. They're in New York City. They're a home grocery store delivery. I forget the number of boxes per day, but it's staggering just for New York
City. They've now put it on all their packing, home-delivery packaging. I didn't put it in there, but it says I want to be a cereal box, I think is
what it is. So it's a cardboard box that can turn into a cereal box. Anyway, lots of opportunity and would welcome talking about that. Now, I
talked longer than I thought. My apologies. But I'd love to have some questions. Comments, reaction, somebody? Please.
MACKY MCCLEARY Yes, so it just started out as... First of all, thank you. This is... I think
BRENDA PULLEY Oh. Does it work?
MACKY MCCLEARY So, I'm the Deputy Commissioner. So, this is actually...
BRENDA PULLEY Great.
MACKY MCCLEARY a very exciting and important issue for us. We (inaudible) but in particular in the last couple of years with the governor's focus
on it, it's been a big deal. I have one very specific question, which is that you mentioned that the Ad Council ads cannot be purchased in their
current form. Can you talk to me more about the rules around that?
BRENDA PULLEY Yes.
MACKY MCCLEARY Because it's one of the things that we are exploring. It's been an area of notable statewide underinvestment for us, both in terms
of marketing and in terms of education. So exploring ways that we might be able take advantage of that would be very exciting to me.
BRENDA PULLEY That's great. Absolutely. And I will tell you, Ad Council, they have been changing the rules along the way. So this is the first
time ever that we've gone back to our sponsors, the Ad Council has ever gone back to the sponsors because we so want to get it out there. And there
is another issue. We know so many cities want this but don't have a budget for it, and, honestly, I welcome that conversation with you today in more
detail, but for the first time ever... The easy thing is take it now, any donated media and somebody come up with creative ideas. Right? I mean,
we've talked about going to movie theaters and all kinds of others where we can define what donated media is. So if anybody has any ideas, I welcome
that. Right? But what we are trying to do is work with States and cities and do a quote a scaled down sponsorship amount so that that would then
authorize them take those ads and buy placement. So we are looking at that, and welcome... I would love to talk in more detail with you. So, Austin,
Chicago, a couple cities in California that we're in conversations with right now and trying to figure out what that model will be. We haven't
figured it out yet. We've got some ideas. I've got a straw man, I'll say, that we're looking for feedback, which, frankly, when I got the call to
do this was one of the reasons I wanted to come and talk to you guys. I'll be honest. Okay? Please.
AUDIENCE MEMBER When you spoke about (inaudible) do you have any associated dermographics that you could share with us?
BRENDA PULLEY Sure. I apologize. I should do that because you guys would care about that. Yeah, it is always... The folks that recycle the most
are always the more educated, older. That's the dermographic that tends to recycle the most.
BRENDA PULLEY The younger generation... I get my millennials and stuff mixed up. Let's just go from the 18 to the 30, they say they recycle.
They're more environmentally... But, frankly, their actions have not yet shown that. Okay? Just to... I hope nobody's... And, so, you know. Part of
that is how do we get to that group? Right? How do we get to them? So, it is... I mean this campaign was designed to go from the 18 to 65, I think
is what we said, so it is a very general campaign in that way, with that audience targeted. Does that start to get to some of the dermographics you
were interested in or?
AUDIENCE MEMBER Well, I was curious as to when you look across the nation because one those Ad Council pictures you put up there was a very
white-bread mom and kids, and that's not the 21st century family that we're going to be dealing with. Where things start to look different across
the nation or in pockets around the nation and how those messages need to be tailored to actually attract their attention long enough to get them to
think about it as opposed to just watching it.
BRENDA PULLEY Absolutely. And, again, I don't want to make excuses for it, but we did... We were sensitive to that. We, again, we realized we had
to go generic. This is about that national consistent messaging. I will tell you that there is much other work. And we hope that they'll be more
ads. Right? As this campaign hopefully continues to grow it gets traction, attracts more dollars, we will make more ads, and there might be more.
I will tell you, in the research that we work on, it is exactly that. It is... Micromarketing is in every part of our life now and channels to get to
people, and this sector, by that I mean the waste reduction recycling sector, is trying to work on it more. I know Hartford is a great example of
where there's some great work that's been done. So we call it community based social marketing. We are doing some research projects in that. I can
tell you there are a couple out there that are being done. I won't say the cities yet. Interesting enough one has Pay As You Throw, which excites
me, by the way, but there are ways to say how do we get to the dermographics of a specific community and within that community and decide, and learn,
do research to learn what, not only what message is most effective but the delivery of that message. Yes.
AUDIENCE MEMBER Hi. My name is Sherill. I actually work with Connecticut DEEP Recycling, just so you know.
BRENDA PULLEY Good.
AUDIENCE MEMBER And love the campaign. We actually promote it very well here...
BRENDA PULLEY Thank you.
AUDIENCE MEMBER in terms of our social media especially. I wanted to ask you about reuse.
BRENDA PULLEY Sure.
AUDIENCE MEMBER And I'm wondering where reuse fits in the Keep America Beautiful sort of overall work, whether or not you support the concept and
whether or not you'd come out and support National Reuse Day?
BRENDA PULLEY I have seen National Reuse Day. Let's talk about that. So, I will tell you that... And the research in the development of this
campaign... Let's be honest. The public doesn't distinguish, at least currently, doesn't distinguish between reduce, reuse, recycle. They don't.
They don't get it. And that's okay. If they get recycling. Let's play off recycling and within that share all different kinds of examples and
messages. Okay? So, there was talk... I'll be honest. There was talk about, well people do get fascinated with reuse and should that be part of the
campaign? No, you can't. I mean, we have to simplify the message, which is recycling is sort of the lead, if you will, for that, and we hope that...
I truly believe that if you can advance recycling and get that message and get that interest that within that you start talking about waste
reduction. I mean if you really want to go there. Right? Let's... How do we reduce? How do we not purchase in the first place? How do we reduce
packaging? Then reuse, then recycle. And happy to talk to you about Reuse Day. Okay? Did that answer her?
AUDIENCE MEMBER Thank you for coming. I wanted to ask if KAB has taken a position on product stewardship and extended producer responsibility as a
means of increasing recycling and decreasing illegal dumping?
BRENDA PULLEY So, we...actually we have. Historically KAB does not take position on policy issues. And I'd love that because you look at members of
our board. There's some pro EPR, there's some pro deposit/refund. There's some that aren't. So, historically we have not. We actually did 2 years
ago published sort of a principals paper on EPR because we knew it was a big growing issue, and so the concept that everybody in the value chain has
some responsibility in it is where we go. That's great, but you and I both know that's great to say. Don't quote me on this, but let's... What
really matters about EPR and taking a position there? So, the part where, I think, KAB can be helpful is the dialogue part. So, a year ago we put
on... We do these symposiums and did one on behavior change, which was great. If anybody wants to go back, there's a webinar on it, which is really
worth listening to part of it. But, I did one on extended producer responsibility. And it's great. I had a sponsor that was very for and a sponsor
that was very against. And what we do is really take people from across the community, all the different stakeholders and pull in. I had people
from Europe and Canada that live and breathe EPR every single day, all different aspects, and really create a forum where people can talk about it
because it's so politically charged. You guys have made great strides in some very key areas. Right? So, electronics and mattresses and paint and
carpet, that's one thing, but when you start talking about the everyday common materials, it starts to get much more complicated, and you pull in
different people and different political views. So, what I think we're very good at is really being a great convener. And, so it's 100 people. We
do it in a college-based setting and we ask people to please park their egos at the door to the degree everybody can. But is there some political
posturing? Sure. But it's an opportunity to really focus on a topic, and people really learn. You get past the sound bite. So it's a day and a
half, and people get past the sound bite. I hope that helps. Happy to talk more about that.
AUDIENCE MEMBER So, you mentioned changes in packaging.
BRENDA PULLEY Yeah. Oh, you have to have mike. I can...
AUDIENCE MEMBER You mentioned changes in packaging, and we're starting to see that from things that we traditionally recycle to materials that are
multiple materials, I'll use the pouch..
BRENDA PULLEY It gets more complicated.
AUDIENCE MEMBER as one example, which we have a problem with. It's not easily recycled. Any insight into that?
BRENDA PULLEY The pouch? Did you..? Yeah. Actually, know about that because it has a thin layer of aluminum, and there's been lots of efforts...
The company I worked for in Europe, we had a recycling facility that, frankly, we had to close and shut her because it's not yet economical. So,
over time... Right? It's that... How do you create that market? Right? Where's the right amount to subsidize a loss leader or whatever it is and
then... I'm convinced the technology today, people are so much smarter, but the concern is with the materials stream changing so rapidly, you really
do... How do we get the waste-management processors with the manufacturers designers, let's be honest, with the marketing guys? Right? That's the
primary purpose of a package. There's safety issues and food preservation and all kinds of other things, but it's also largely driven by marketing
appeal and that kind of thing. And, so how do you get that group aligned so that they can, at least, think and be more knowledgeable about before
you put it in the marketplace. So, I'm convinced... Look at the cartons. Carton Council. They've done some interesting work. Five years ago, it
would have been the pouch issue. Forty percent of Americans now have access to recycling cartons. That's your gabled, your milk cartons, you soup
containers. And that's a multilayer. It's tough. So, I hope I'm answering your question in a round-about way, to say it's something that the
industry needs to be thinking about more before package is put in there, but we also have to be realistic what the drivers are. But I'm happy to say
some companies are having conversations about that. Some big companies I would say, some big retailers. But the second thing is, is there a way to
nurture? Are there ways to nurture the technological development so it can be ecomanically recycled? Okay? I don't... Sorry. I'm giving you lots
of hope with saying it's just a tough one right now. It is being done in Brazil. There's some work being done in Brazil, but that's the last I know
if it. It's a challenge. Next? I promise I won't be so long winded on my answers. Yes.
AUDIENCE MEMBER Have you done any research on what most consumers in terms of organics recycling, organics composting?
BRENDA PULLEY We have not. I really want to. It's the next big frontier, right? Rural, multifamily, organics. Those are the big frontiers.
Public space. Those are the big frontiers. There are some guiding principles I do want to leave you with. It's been very positive. All the time,
we say only 34 percent is recycled. Don't say that. We talk about the increase year over year of recycling. It is about... In order for people to
make it that community norm, we all have to talk about it. We have to set the example. Commissioner recycling every day sets that example. The
governor, the mayors, city leaders, you guys with your community neighbors, all that sets that example and starts to make it that community norm.
So, lots more work to help us learn how better to that. And, as I said, I think organics is going to be a huge challenge because convenience is such
a factor, and that, it's... I personally am struggle with it at my house. So. Yes, please.
AUDIENCE MEMBER Hi. I'm the legislative chair for the Sierra Club in this state.
BRENDA PULLEY Great.
AUDIENCE MEMBER And I love the work that Sherill and Tom and Chris and the other people in the department are doing on solid waste, but there's one
thing which has impressed me more on the issue than anything I've ever come across, and you didn't mention it in your talk, and I'm curious if that
figures into your campaign at all and that is the movie Wall-E?
BRENDA PULLEY No. Sorry, on that one. No, it has not. Sorry. Okay.
AUDIENCE MEMBER Hi. I'm Marilyn Cruz-Aponte from Hartford.
BRENDA PULLEY Of course, Marilyn.
AUDIENCE MEMBER And you speak about these goals of diversion, and I recently conducted a full-cost accounting associated with Public Works, so when
you had that slide go up and it showed how much is spent on solid-waste collection, I could safely say that about 62 percent of our budget, Public
Works budget is dedicated to solid-waste management, which is horrifying. So, when we look at this and we look at trying to divert, it becomes very
difficult to not think about the municipal impact of collection costs and how might there be other ways to have people divert materials. So when you
talked about starting with recycling and looking at waste minimization and reuse, we can't have this dialogue without really talking about the
municipal collection impact, and adding something like organics would be staggering. You know, that could be a $3 million cost in collection and
disposal costs. So I really think that the value and the message for me here is that we all need to have sort of a unified message. We've all
talked about the fact that everybody in the State has a different message, and it would be really nice to be able to just have one area of messaging
and not have to put our energies into that, so that we can then maybe refocus on how we might do diversion differently that doesn't involve
collection. So things like EPR or building the infrastructure that makes it economically viable to do things like organics. So, I just have to
compliment Keep America Beautiful because I really think we all struggle with the fact that we do individual messaging. It has to be much more
culturally in tune. It has to focus more on young people who are lazy or maybe don't have, live in apartment complexes where landlords don't do
diddly squat when it comes to that. So, we need to drill down a little bit more on that 65 percent to figure out how your message can be a little
bit more targeted and motivating.
BRENDA PULLEY And I would just say there are so many things I want to say to that, and Marilyn, I know... Marilyn and I know each other. She does
great work. I learn from her all the time. There is so much in this industry that needs to be done, and that whole full cost accounting... The fact
that... I talked to a number of cities, and they're getting better all the time, at better understanding the costs. Right? Seven million dollars or
seven million miles is what it was. I forgot the dollar cost in New York City. I mean, all that. So we're getting better about it, but the
resources are still spread too thin. And so, yes, your message is very well taken. How can we the sector work better together so a group can focus
on how to get better accounting and make the system more efficient? How we and other can be very focused on what are the right messages. And a lot
of research went into this, guys. I mean, a lot. It's a... We're at a $1.5 million dollar price tag so far. But, again, we recognize, as we talked
earlier, that is the generic messaging, but we do think that that's needed, and, then, how do we take it as a platform and then from that do some
more of that micromarketing with insights that we're learning every day?
DAN ESTY So please join me in thanking Brenda for an outstanding presentation.
BRENDA PULLEY Can I? May I? So, may I take 1 more minute. So, first, I hope, Commissioner, you can accept this on behalf of Keep America
Beautiful. Of course, it's recycled content. I used to be a plastic bottle or bottles, I should say. So, please. I invite you to have it. And then, I
just want to say, does anybody have a birthday on November 15? Which everybody knows is...
DAN ESTY Well, I'm gonna tell you, we have someone who has a birthday today.
BRENDA PULLEY Oh my gosh. That's even better.
DAN ESTY It happens to be our new commissioner.
BRENDA PULLEY How did this happen? That was good....
DAN ESTY And, Brenda, you don't know this is a big one for him. Forty years old today. Thank you very much.
ROB KLEE Thank you. And I think that actually wraps up our day and our event. Well, not our day. Oh yeah, duh. Oh, that's
right. I'm not allowed to let anyone go home. It's... But, thank you everyone. An amazing talk. And this is one of the exciting initiatives we have
for this coming year. So, I hope all of you in the room and in your neighbor cubicles particularly work with our Green Team. Here at DEEP, we have
a very active work recycling of all materials, so the folks there do amazing work. And, everyone, thanks again, and we're at noon, so back to work. Thanks.