According to a regional survey, seventy-five percent of people recycle through curbside collection offered by the Central Virginia Waste Management Authority (CVWMA). In general, participants are pleased with the program, with 30 percent providing praise or appreciation for the program in an optional comments section.   

These results are from a survey conducted by CVWMA in 2006 to learn about the community’s awareness of local recycling programs and their satisfaction with them.   Four hundred and sixty-eight people responded to the CVWMA Customer Service and Awareness Survey.   Responses were received from all 13 CVWMA member jurisdictions. The largest contributors were Chesterfield citizens with approximately 38 percent of the responses. Another 33 percent were from Henrico. Richmond residents contributed 13 percent. The remaining jurisdictions contributed between 1 and 3 percent each. 

Participation in the survey was voluntary. CVWMA encouraged participation on its website throughout the year and mailed an invitation to 1,500 randomly generated addresses in the region in October 2006. Participants received a coupon for a free chicken sandwich from Chik-fil-A as token of appreciation for their contributions.

While eighty percent of respondents indicated that they are aware of CVWMA, only 30 percent correctly identified the Authority as a government agency. The majority of respondents, 44 percent, think CVWMA is a business. In actuality, CVWMA is a regional government cooperative of 13 communities. Member local governments direct CVWMA to coordinate programs to best meet citizen need. CVWMA contracts for these services with local and national recycling businesses. Programs must be both attractive to citizens and affordable to the local governments who fund them.

CVWMA maintains a customer service center to assist residents with recycling. Forty percent of respondents are aware of the Recycling Hotline (340-0900), and half of those have called it. Top reasons for using the Hotline are to report a missed pickup, request a curbside recycling bin and learn more about curbside recycling. A smaller percentage of people use the Hotline to learn more about recycling other items. When asked about the CVWMA staff who answer the Hotline, most respondents rated the customer service representatives as “always” or “frequently” courteous and knowledgeable.

CVWMA’s signature program is curbside recycling. Service is provided to 240,000 homes in six communities, making it the largest program in Virginia. Three quarters of respondents “always” participate in curbside recycling. A small percentage percent of respondents indicated the service was not available to them. Most indicate satisfaction with the collection crews, rating them as “always” or “frequently” neat and courteous.

Three quarters of respondents regularly recycle common household items like newspaper, junk mail, catalogs, soda cans and plastic bottles. These items are collected in CVWMA’s curbside collection program and at nearly 50 drop-off recycling centers around the region. Approximately 35,000 tons of these materials are collected annually in central Virginia.

CVWMA and member communities also provide programs to help citizens recycle like appliances, electronics, and hazardous waste. In addition to the government collection programs, non-profit organizations such as Goodwill and the Salvation Army offer residents opportunities to reuse and recycle useable goods, such as clothing, furniture and electronics. 

Forty percent of respondents recycle these items quarterly or annually. Another 45 percent “never” recycle these materials, half of those not being aware that these items can be recycled. In some instances, materials are being recycled without residents’ awareness or specific choice, such as when individuals have automotive service centers change the oil, replace batteries or install new tires. These results reveal to CVWMA that additional education is needed to increase the public’s awareness on the ability and importance of recycling these materials.

CVWMA’s website at cvwma.com provides information on all programs available by the agency. In addition, the website offers advice for disposing of other items for which the agency does not have a program. 

Despite receiving 100,000 visits in 2006-2007, half of the survey’s respondents are not aware of CVWMA’s website. Of those that are aware of it, 75 percent have visited it, with most indicating it was easy to navigate and contained interesting and relevant information. 

At the end of the survey, participants were invited to provide their own comments, which two hundred people did. Comments were diverse, but the three most popular subjects of the comments were giving thanks and appreciation for CVWMA programs, mainly curbside recycling (thirty percent), complaining or expressing dissatisfaction about something (twelve percent) and requesting more frequent curbside recycling collection or larger bins (ten percent). 

The agency’s staff is reviewing the comments and survey responses to improve recycling efforts and results in central Virginia.  The survey reveals several areas where improvement or change is needed. 

First, the community needs increased education about CVWMA’s status as a government agency and the resources available, including the Recycling Hotline and website. In addition, the public is not as knowledgeable about the availability and importance of recycling non-curbside/drop-off materials such as electronics and household hazardous wastes. Finally, although the majority of survey participants are satisfied with local recycling, reducing instances of complaints and dissatisfaction will continue to be a priority of the agency.

CVWMA will devote attention to increasing training of customer service representatives and more closely monitor service providers to ensure that recycling in central Virginia is a convenient and positive experience for members of the public. 

 

For questions about the survey, please contact the public information staff at info@cvwma.com or 359-8413.