Dyvert stations educate, reduce waste in community spaces (A campaign update)

Neighborhood Bike Works teaches mechanics and engineering with a centerpiece program that allows young people to earn their own bike

Dyvert recycling stations are now up and running in 6 different Philadelphia community spaces that are focused on youth and education. It was such a privilege for Dyvert to meet with these community groups, learn about the positive change that they bring to their neighborhoods, and provide a resource for them to integrate sustainability into their programming.

Treehouse Books provides literacy and educational programming (and yes, free books!) to the North Philadelphia neighborhood

The stations were installed in a campaign with two goals: improve waste diversion in community spaces, and more importantly, provide recycling and sustainability education to leaders and young people in under-resourced neighborhoods.

In addition to enhanced recycling and user engagement, many of the receiving community spaces implemented educational programming around the recycling stations. Thus far, the campaign has reached hundreds of individuals, who have in turn taken recycling and sustainability lessons back to their homes and families to reach hundreds more.

Tiny WPA is a West Philly group that teaches design, fabrication, and entrepreneurship skills to help youth and adults literally build and improve their neighborhoods.

The campaign works by matching sponsors, both individuals and corporate, with community spaces, to install stations at no cost to the community group.

Sponsors include Niche Recycling and Waste Reduction Systems, Ms. Rachel Isenberg, and super sponsor Vicinity Energy, a low-carbon district energy company with 11 locations on the East coast and in Midwest.

Special thanks go to Matthew O'Malley, Vicinity's Chief Sustainability Officer and Jessica Hartley, EHS, Sustainability, and Community Relations Manager for Vicinity Energy's sponsorship of multiple community recycling stations.

Representatives from Vicinity Energy, Mighty Writers North, and Dyvert convene to install another education station

Dyvert visited each of the community spaces to deliver the recycling stations and assist with setup. Each display was pre-filled with example items and Dyvert worked with the space to customize messaging materials to highlight commonly disposed and/or confused items. Each recycling education station included:

• 2x slim-style waste bins (23 gallons each)
• 2x Dyvert Vue display case messaging lids
• 2x detailed laminated printed signs
• 4x lid ID labels (2x RECYCLING, 2x TRASH)
• 2x fake food items (for the trash display case)

Waste management is frequently one of the last tasks that community organizations want to think about, especially on their shoestring budgets. Prior to installation of the recycling stations, the spaces could be divided into two categories:

1. those that had struggling, tenuous recycling programs. Recycling was not a priority, user knowledge and confidence in the program were very low, and waste signage/messaging was non-existent.

2. those that had no recycling program, were unsure about the potential, but were interested in starting one.

For all spaces, the recycling stations were the catalyst to incorporate a waste diversion emphasis into their routine daily operations, with the stations themselves now the highly visible centerpiece of their systems. Program participation is vastly improved and in several cases, the stations were inspiration for additional waste operational improvements.

Mighty Writers provides writing and critical thinking skills to youth from its 7 locations across the Mid-Atlantic region

Know of a community space that could use a recycling station? Have more questions about the program? Check out the full campaign page.