How it Works
The Earth911 Recycling Directory is the best resource available for businesses to help consumers who want to recycle their products. When a consumer enters a ZIP code and material into the directory through Earth911.com, an iRecycle application, the bilingual 1-800-CLEANUP® environmental hotline, or the Recycling Search on a business web site, the results return a list of locations nearby, with detailed information about the site including hours, items accepted, a map, directions and contact information.
Facts about the Earth911 Recycling Directory
- Largest and most accurate in North America with over 1.6 million ways to recycle
- Maintained by a dedicated data team
- Created by the recycling experts — Since 1991 building rapport and trust in the recycling community
- Bolstered by Earth911’s relationships with manufacturers, retailers, trade associations, and municipalities
Earth911 Experts Maintain the Integrity of the Data
Keeping up with an industry that changes rapidly and is subject to highly localized conditions requires the expertise and focus of a dedicated data team. These are just some of the ways the Earth911 data team creates and maintains the most comprehensive recycling information directory available:
The Earth911 data team has contact with manufacturers and recyclers to ensure accuracy. Materials and categories do not have universal standards. Definitions are subject to interpretation by locale. For example, “Metal” could mean one thing in New Jersey and something else in California.
Trained call-center experts have connections with solid waste districts at all levels across the US. States’ solid waste operations are complex and require time-intensive research. Navigating through divisions and departments of municipalities and state organizations can be tricky. In smaller communities, the solid waste division may be part of another municipal department or has no centralized resource.
Earth911 performs outreach regularly to ensure information is accurate for every community. Because recycling happens locally, specific details constantly change with little notice due to budgets, economic conditions, hauling vendors, and other factors. Many details in a recycling directory must be frequently updated.
How Companies Can Best Communicate About Recycling Their Products
Creating a recycling directory is often seen as a quick solution to informing consumers about recycling a particular item, but companies and industry groups that take on the task will quickly realize that it’s far more complex than it appears. Providing consumers with a centralized, data-verified directory is the best way to communicate recycling information.
