Reflections of a Chronic Recycler

If there’s one thing I learned growing up, it was to RECYCLE. I got the message at school, from laminated signs all over the lunch room; at home, with songs and stories on Sesame Street reminding me to “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”; at the supermarket, where NY state’s bottle bill paid me 5 cents a pop to return aluminum cans. As a devout follower, I eagerly spread the word and followed the commandments of Big Oil and Big Plastic…that is, I threw containers in a designated bin and consumed lots of single-use plastic products.

Fast-forward to today, when you need only a voice to destroy the magic in your world.

“Alexa, what percentage of my recycled stuff ends up in a landfill?”

The news was devastating. More than half of the stuff I throw in my blue bin might end up at the dump anyway. They don’t want my greasy pizza boxes? These plastic salad containers are too brittle to be turned into a bike helmet? Sometimes my soup cans don’t make the cut? I’m still trying to wrap my head around this, but I am slowly recovering. Once I stopped blaming Tik Tok for inventing a false narrative, I did some more investigating and learned about the “Why” behind the high percentages I was hearing.

Turns out, recycling is complex and resource-intensive, and given the complexities of processing different materials, some counties sort the messy and unclear stuff to landfills rather than pull resources from other critical areas of business. What’s more, the little triangle on consumer packaging isn’t a guarantee of recyclability—it’s a starting point. There is both a science and an art to recycling, including understanding what the little numbers inside the triangle mean, checking with your county to confirm which items they can recycle, and sorting at home to de-risk inaccurate sorting at recycling facilities. With some background knowledge and adherence to consistent processes, you can exert more control over your bin and drastically improve your "actually recycled" percentage.

Now that I am a purposeful recycler instead of a “wish-cycler,” I continue to lean on the lessons I’ve learned from a lifelong relationship with recycling. In the world of content, they’re more applicable than ever.

Content Recycling Programs Mean Variety, Volume, & Longevity

My Saturday morning cartoons weren’t lying about recycling, they just glossed over some of the complexities. The success of the recycling awareness campaign itself reinforces its premise. Much like physical materials, you can develop a more engaged and activated audience by recycling research, data, and expert knowledge. I might have ignored the signs at school or tuned out when they started singing on Sesame Street, but the consistency, variety, and volume of content touchpoints helped foster a lasting connection.

In practical terms, think about transforming webinar recordings into 30-second social media posts; Sales decks into infographics; White papers into podcast episodes.

Yup, the same thing said five different ways.

Recycling content will extend its life and reach, which means more opportunities to persuade and delight your audience and their key stakeholders. There is a persistent downstream value to repurposing information, so you should plan for it in your content strategy and execution.

Knowing Your Audience Is a Crucial First Step

Understanding your audience’s motivations and values is fundamental. The success of the recycling campaign I grew up with hinged on meeting the needs of school-aged kids through entertaining content, civic duty, and tangible rewards. Similarly, developing content that resonates with your audience’s desires and goals ensures engagement and action.

What are the motivations and values of a school-aged kid, and how did the recycling campaign meet those needs?

• Motivation: Be Entertained | Content Format: Catchy Tunes on Sesame Street

• Motivation: Do The Right Thing | Content Format: Posters at school/Community impact stories on PBS

• Motivation: Get Candy | Experience: Return bottles and get cash to buy candy

By developing quality content and experiences that met my needs, they captivated an audience of young people and led them to action…and more consumption.

Basic Education is the Cornerstone of Content

Three words told me what I needed to know: “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”. Everything else reinforced those concepts, and I could explain that basic mantra at the dinner table. Audiences are searching for basic education that will help them meet their goals and convince stakeholders to invest in your products and services.

Basic education might feel elementary, especially when you are an expert in your industry and have built a highly-nuanced and differentiated solution based on complex knowledge and interconnected concepts. Try to think of basic educational content as foundational—a solid base that you and your audience can build upon.

Process & Data Drive Results...not “Wish-Cycling”

I only started meeting my personal recycling goals by modifying my behaviors, challenging my assumptions, and developing a consistent process based on market insight and data. Before that, I essentially wished that whatever I tossed in the bin would magically be recycled.

Just “having content” is like collecting wanna-be recyclables in a bin. If you don’t know what happens next and can’t tie your content creation to specific actions or goals, you are likely relying more on hope than on strategic execution. You’ll want to thread a “Why” throughout your content strategy, anchoring it in concrete goals and measurable outcomes.

It Takes a Village

Investigating the very un-magical processes behind my county’s recycling program was a great reminder: I can’t do it alone, and neither can they. By establishing a partnership, we accomplish my individual recycling goals and chip away at the goals of the county.

Because digital content is now so accessible and ubiquitous, smaller organizations may tend toward a DIY approach. In this model, an organization’s subject matter experts are also the storytellers, auditors, designers, developers, managers, and distributors of content. This requires the SMEs to develop skills in new areas and expand the scope of their current roles. In some cases, it is exactly the type of challenge that the SME is looking for and will be a natural progression for their role within the organization. As they progress in their development, they will organically expand the types of content that they can produce, the speed and volume of production, and the strategic choices that they are making. Analysis over time will lead to hiring of talent to build out a content marketing department within the organization.

In other cases, DIY means taking your attention away from other critical areas of business. It can be difficult to creatively articulate your value when you are mired in the day-to-day. It can also be difficult to tell an objective and engaging story about a subject that is extremely personal. In those cases, we recommend partnering with a content expert, alleviating you of the burden of telling your story, developing a goal-based strategy, and maintaining consistent production. By empowering an external consultant to shine a light on what you do best, you can elevate the authority of your organization without taking your eye off its greatest strengths.

Sorting it All Out

The principles that underpin successful recycling campaigns—knowledge, consistency, and collaboration—are equally vital in content strategy. By understanding your audience, providing foundational education, and repurposing content thoughtfully, you can extend the life and reach of your message. A structured, data-driven approach can improve your outcomes, while collaboration with content professionals can elevate your storytelling and strategic execution.

Through intentional actions, you can make a more significant impact with your recycling program...whether it's content or aluminum cans.

Contact us

Whether you have a request, a query, or want to work with us, use the form below to get in touch with our team.