Educating residents about reduce, reuse, and recycle principles will advance this objective in several ways. One of our priorities in Durham is reducing the amount of contaminants and trash in our recycling collections. Currently, a significant portion of our recycling collections contains materials that cannot be recycled. As a result, this reduces the value and effective sorting of truly recyclable materials and requires unnecessary transportation of these materials to the processor, where they would then need to be separated out and discarded. Some contaminants, such as plastic bags and other “tanglers,” can even cause damage to processing equipment. This ultimately costs the City money and undermines the relationship to the recycling processor. Furthermore, education will help residents understand the value and importance of the reduction and reuse components of waste diversion, which, when combined with recycling, can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change, prevent pollution by reducing the reliance on natural materials, save energy, help sustain the environment for future generations, reduce the amount of waste that will need to be recycled or sent to landfills, allows products to be used to their fullest extent, and saves money. 

Staff have worked to increase public awareness of proper recycling practices and composting opportunities through community education campaigns, targeted outreach, and seasonal collection events.

Key activities include:
• Continuing the Recycle Right Campaign with banners placed on City transit buses to reinforce consistent messaging across the community.
• Hosting Pumpkin Drop events on Saturdays in partnership with Lowe's and Home Depot, providing community composting drop-off opportunities.
• Hosting Christmas Tree Drop events in January in partnership with Lowe's and Home Depot.
• Planning the Spring 2026 Compost Sales Event as an upcoming community education opportunity.