Municipalities should consider direct marketing and direct mail to reach out to customers and constituents in their districts to spread the word about city recycling programs. The huge blob of bureaucracy is often inefficient in public announcements and public relations. They often spend huge amounts of money in their budget to promote city programs such as recycling programs.

Water districts have often used direct mail to send out brochures in their invoices aerting us to save water and in doing so in fact water consumption will go down between 10 and 15 percent fairly quickly. City recycling programs should learn from this and use direct mail and direct marketing to promote these wonderful programs. Consumer awareness in recycling programs will make the difference and you need to reach out to such people and ask them to recycle because it is the right thing to do and you will be surprised the large percentage of people who will look at such a mail out to and say to themselves;

This makes sense, I am going to recycle.

They just need to be asked and what easier way then to send out the explanation of the city recycling programs in a direct-mail or direct marketing piece. If you run a city recycling program please consider this in 2006 and if we all recycle little it will add up to a lot.

Lance Winslow

Currently Lance is retired at age 40 and is running an Online Think Tank Forum while traveling North America. Perhaps considering something extremely challenging to do that will exercise his mind and utilize all his experiences, observations and skills. Any ideas?