The City of Santa Fe has developed a unique and
easy way of making reuse happen. The New Mexican, the local daily
newspaper, provides space one day each week, for free, to the city
to list various household items available for reuse. The program is
easy and low-cost, and requires very little labor. Here is how the
City of Santa Fe developed this successful program.
| 1. |
Identify who will
be responsible for managing the list. Responsibilities include: |
| |
|
|
| |
 |
Taking calls from the public |
| |
|
Updating the list (adding and
removing listings) |
| |
|
Keeping track of the weight
exchanged (material diverted) through the program |
| |
|
Delivering the updated list to the
newspaper |
| |
|
|
| 2. |
Identify how the listings will be distributed. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
Some options include: local daily
paper; weekly paper; the internet |
|
|
|
| 3. |
Develop a name
for your program. |
| |
|
|
| 4. |
Develop the
specifics for how the program will work, the format of the
listing, etc. |
| |
|
|
| 5. |
Contact the local
newspaper inviting them to participate in the program.
|
| |
|
|
| 6. |
Identify at least
a dozen initial exchanges. |
| |
After the
first listing, the Santa Fe program grew steadily on it own.
Suggestions for the first listing: |
| |
| |
|
|
| |
Wanted Materials:
|
| |
|
Polystyrene Peanuts – pack,
ship & mail Centers |
| |
|
Appliances – used appliance
dealers and large appliance repair businesses (these groups
often seek appliances to refurbish and resell). |
| |
|
Art Supplies – bottle caps,
wine corks, miscellaneous small plastic parts (schools and other
art programs, and children’s museums often seek a variety of
materials for creative programs). |
| |
|
|
| |
Available Materials:
|
| |
|
Pallets – any warehouse |
| |
|
Industry Waste – examine the
industry in your community, and seek materials that may be of
use to someone else (such as fabric scraps, sawdust, paint) |
| |
|
Ask Friends, Relatives,
Colleagues and others – list a variety of items to help
others in the community understand the different types, sizes
and quantities of materials that could be listed in the
exchange. |
| |
|
|
| 7. |
Facilitate an
exchange that can be reported in the paper to introduce the
program. |
| |
|
|
| 8. |
Continually
advertise and provide feedback on how the program is working. |
| |
|
|
| |
Some
examples of ways Santa Fe promoted program included: newspaper
advertisements, signage on trash trucks, recycling hotline, and
brochures. The city also attributes a great deal of the
program's success to “word of mouth” advertising from
participating residents. |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
