The City of Tacoma’s Solid Waste Management has been awarded the Washington State Recycling Association’s (WSRA) Recycler of the Year Award for Equitable Community Engagement. Representatives from the City accepted the award at WSRA’s Annual Conference in Blaine, WA, on May 17, 2022. Solid Waste Management was recognized for the successful development of the Recycle Reset Community Ambassador Program, transcreation efforts to develop multifamily recycling educational materials, and promotion of the “Sort the Sound” waste sorting game.
The Recycle Reset Community Ambassador Program seeks to train residents on proper recycling and waste reduction techniques through partnerships with community-based organizations such as Asia Pacific Cultural Center, Safe Streets, Voice Tacoma Creative Media, and Pierce Conservation District. These trainings are offered in six languages and co-designed with residents and partner organizations to meet the needs of the intended audiences.
The development of new multifamily recycling education materials was funded through a grant from The Recycling Partnership. Working directly with diverse communities in Tacoma, Solid Waste staff and their partner, InterEthnica, created materials with more accurate language translations and culturally relevant images. The “Sort the Sound” waste sorting game was designed in partnership with ReCollect as an interactive online game to educate residents on how to properly dispose of various materials in Tacoma. This game was also used as a resource for educating students in Tacoma Public Schools on proper recycling techniques.