The Many Worlds of Recycling at NCRA Update

April 7, 2026 The Gigantic Team

It can be difficult to find ‘good news’ these days, particularly when it comes to environmental issues. But we can always count on Northern California Recycling Coalition (NCRA)’s annual spring Recycling Update to provide a glimpse of some important work happening in the Bay Area and beyond. Four members of the Gigantic team (Peter, Nancy, Lisa and Myer, pictured above) share their impressions of that very busy day:

Peter:

One particularly energizing session was delivered by Tony Hackett with Californians Against Waste. Tony delivered sobering statistics about the challenges with disposing of the various components of vapes. Before this, I had only thought about the personal health impacts of vaping; kudos to Tony for a great presentation that illuminated the damaging environmental health impacts of rising vape usage in California and around the world.

After lunch, the Banana Slug String Band kept the energy high in the room – an amazing performing group of outdoor educators that have been raising awareness with kids and adults alike for over 40 years!

For many, the Bay Area is synonymous with ‘tech’ – but what’s not often discussed is inequities in access to these tools. Ulises Zatarain with Tech Exchange presented on this divide and what the Bay Area Tech Exchange can divert e-waste and simultaneously empower communities with access to technology.

Nancy:

I was heartened by the opening presentation by Caitlin Steele, SFSU’s Director of Sustainability and Energy. The University has a longstanding “sustainability literacy” requirement, which recently morphed into a climate justice requirement…that’s some excellent preparation for any career! I was also inspired by the contributions of two young entrepreneurs: one who started a (sport) shoe recycling program at UC Santa Barbara and another who started a “radically sustainable” business, making wallets out of used skateboard parts. It all has to come full circle!

Myer:

I particularly enjoyed the presentation by Clementina Martinez-Masarweh titled ‘Mend the Future: Building Climate Literacy Through Reuse, Repair, and Policy Action.’ The scale of waste in the fast fashion industry was staggering; it was mind-blowing to learn that producing a single t-shirt requires 2,700 liters of water and that even if we stopped production today, there is enough clothing already in existence to last seven generations!

This theme carried over into the SCRAP SF presentation, which showcased an after-school program for middle and high school students. By teaching students to rework existing garments and sew excess fabrics, the program empowers them to make environmentally conscious decisions. As the Communications Lead Laki Rajan noted, when students rework their garments, they develop a deeper, more meaningful relationship with their clothes. I believe this is a powerful way to inspire long-term stewardship. Instead of viewing the garment as temporary, we’re teaching the next generation to value items they can repurpose and reuse in many different fashions- pun intended.

Lisa:

All of the presentations were informative, and I was struck by how our profession benefits from so many different types of expertise – there’s truly a place for everyone. I enjoyed the wonky data on PFAS and their impact on textile recycling (is there any product those forever chemicals AREN’T in?) by Claudia Richardson. Like Myer, I also appreciated the insights shared by Clementina Martinez Masarweh, who showed us how mending is part of Mexican culture, done with pride and artistry, becoming a fashion statement while extending the lifespan of fabrics in response to California’s SB 707 Textile Recovery Act. We were also happy to see the San Mateo Compost Improvement campaign featured and appreciate all the feedback and support for the work!

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Gigantic Tips for Jolly, Waste-Free Holidays

December 18, 2025December 19, 2025 The Gigantic Team

The holidays are here, but that doesn’t have to mean more stuff in the garbage! Gigantic team members give their tips for waste-free wrapping, food, decoration and gifts…a grand tradition! (pictured: our holiday party with no-waste gifts)

Peter: Inevitably, we end up with boxes and gift bags throughout the year. Some of them are not holiday-themed, but are easily repurposed as such. This saves us from throwing away loads of gift-wrapping paper (often “wish cycled” into the recycling bin), and saves both money and time. Many can be stored within other boxes to cut down on space. Perhaps most importantly — it spares my gift recipients from my attempts to neatly wrap a gift that inevitably leaves something to be desired! Here is an assortment we use (and re-use annually):

Melanie: This year my family and I are focusing on a couple of simple choices that make the holidays a little kinder to the planet: I’m making an entirely plant-based menu with sun-dried tomato lentil loaf, cauliflower mashed potatoes, maple Dijon green beans, sourdough bread, and iced gingerbread bars. Plant-based meals have a smaller environmental footprint and are delicious.

Myer: One of our favorite family traditions is skipping the store-bought gift wrap and repurposing old boxes instead. It’s a hilarious way to prank each other—we love hiding exciting gifts like clothes, gift cards, and toys inside packaging for things we know the recipient won’t want. It’s especially fun with the kids in our family. They start with a disappointed face when they are handed a ‘brand new crock pot’ box, then it turns into excitement when they find what’s actually inside, like a video game.

Stef: When my sister and I were little, we were excited about gifts, but even more so about the annual return of my toy shop and my sister’s doll house with full kitchen. Just before Christmas eve, the “Christkind” (German Santa equivalent) would bring them down from the attic heavens, make the doll house sparkle and replenish my toy shop with marzipan “hams”, chocolate “bread loaves” and other goods for sale. We played with these toys for hours—probably because we knew they’d disappear as soon as the holiday tree was taken down. In retrospect I think it was a great way to make the holiday season special for us kids without the need for loads of new toys every year.

Laura-Lee: For the last few years, my brother-in-law and I have been tasked with putting up the holiday decorations. Since we are usually in Sedona for Christmas, we have been able to scavenge fallen foliage from outside the house to use as our Christmas “tree”. The actual decorating with recycled, and sometimes natural, ornaments is often a gift in itself, as there is usually a lot of laughter. Once the holiday is over, we are able to box the decorations for next year and more importantly, return the scavenged foliage to Mother Nature.

Ja`ire: Tradition: Make leftovers part of the plan! At the end of the night of our holiday gathering, we set out reusable containers and invite guests to take food home. It reduces food waste, saves money, and extends the joy of the gathering beyond the day itself. I’ve found it also creates a really cozy, communal moment; people leave feeling cared for rather than rushed or overfull.

Nancy: I’m afraid we don’t do trees or even presents, but every year I make some kind of holiday wreath from whatever I find in the garden…juniper branches, stems of rosemary and lavender, and the red berries of cotoneaster, gussied up with an ornament or two, to celebrate the Solstice and make the house smell good. Oh, and homemade cookies. Lots of cookies…never wasted.

Lisa: Make memories, not waste! We like to give gifts of experience, like restaurant gift cards for a memorable meal, or travel gift cards for hotels or airlines for an upcoming trip. For more immediate fun, we also give food and beverage gifts in recyclable packaging, like a good bottle of wine, artisanal spirits or cookies in tins.

Mark: As an avid baker, I cannot resist the temptation to turn leftover turkey into a pastry treat — turkey pot pie! Nothing like a flaky crust to keep people devouring that bird. Every year, a good friend (who typically dines out on Thanksgiving) visits during the weekend to help in the preparation — and benefit from getting to take home a mini pie or two for quick and delicious winter meals. The pies are assembled in reusable pie tins. This too guarantees that they get returned the following year for a free refill.

Kas: Now that’s a wrap! I learned this from John, my partner’s dad and a former elementary school teacher. John loves wrapping gifts in kids’ artwork and drawings from the year—or even pages from his old paper calendars. I’ve happily taken up this tradition and now repurpose pages from my own free calendars, usually featuring animal-themed photos. Bonus points for cutting old greeting cards into gift tags.

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GIGANTIC Thanksgiving Tidbits from Our Team

November 17, 2025 The Gigantic Team

Even as we all strive to live zero waste every day, it turns out the Gigantic team runs the gamut of Thanksgiving tidbits to share. So… pass the mashed potatoes and read on to discover what your favorite staffer is doing to kick off this holiday season.

Lisa:

“We will be traveling to Arizona to spend time with family members known for their large appetites! Despite this, all the cooks have agreed to downsize portions and the number of dishes offered— to reduce food waste, as well as waistlines—and to use the savings to help others in need. So it’s turkey breast this year instead of a full bird, and smaller portions all around. We will keep an overabundance of gratitude on the menu, however.”

Peter:

“This year we’ll be seeing our relatives spread out across the country, and the theme is quality over quantity. We’ll visit my in-laws who “eat like birds” (if they’re reading this, they will agree those are THEIR words!). So, rather than cook a feast and likely have a lot left over, we are opting to eat at a restaurant where we can pare down any food waste. For dessert, we will be back at my in-laws’ assisted living apartment — we plan to bring a small amount of Bay Area baked goods to share. As part of my zero waste duty, I will of course ensure none of these go to waste!”

Nancy:

“I try to eat vegetarian and luckily there are quite a few festive recipes that don’t include meat. My favorite for Thanksgiving potlucks is Delicata Squash Stuffed with Wild Rice (and kale, but maybe don’t mention that to guests). I’ve never had to worry about leftovers, but they can be reheated very easily! One way to really avoid leftovers is to skip the feast altogether and instead get up early to attend Alcatraz’s Thanksgiving Indigenous Peoples’ Sunrise Ceremony It is a beautiful event; all are welcome and there is no charge or commercial activities at all. It does involve a ferry ride…with the first leaving from Pier 33 in San Francisco at 4:15am! Afterwards, take a long nap and maybe have nachos for dinner. It’s an experience you will be truly grateful for!”

Laura Lee:

“Coming from South Africa where Thanksgiving of course is not observed, during the first few years here, Geoff and I were the “orphans” that new friends, or friends of friends, would invite to join in the festivities. It soon became a running joke that the real reason we were invited was to ensure that family members were on their best behavior, since of course, one does not wish to air any dirty laundry outside of the family. The upside of all of this is that Geoff and I ate well, increased our circle of friends, and hopefully were instrumental in reminding folks of why they come together to celebrate Thanksgiving in the first place. It is an opportunity for us to embrace all that is good within ourselves and this world, and to share that with others.”

Melanie:

“This Thanksgiving I’m going to make two new plant-based desserts on a “crisp” theme: Cranberry-Orange-Pear Granola Crisp and Pumpkin Cranberry Spice Crisp…and then we will follow it up with a post-dinner hike.”

Ja`ire:

“This Thanksgiving is extra special for our family; it’s my husband’s favorite holiday and our 8-month-old’s very first one. We’re continuing our tradition of a big family sleepover with the kids, some grandparents, and our siblings, filled with cooking, laughter, music, and all the holiday cheer. I’m really looking forward to slowing down and soaking it all in this year.”

Stef:

“Pretty turkey-centric here. My plan, as it has been for the past few years, is for me and my Tupperware collection to join my friend Kathy’s family for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner in San Pablo. It’s a long feast that usually includes a post-dinner activity of helping pick apart the turkey remains into leftovers and turkey broth ingredients, and filling to-go containers. I always leave with a substantial haul that lasts me several days!”

Kas:
For me, the best Thanksgivings are when I can convince friends and family to add a little non-traditional flavor to the holiday. Meal-wise, I recommend grilling a spatchcock heritage turkey (or parts); and keeping the meal to those core dishes that make for the best leftovers (and least amount of food waste). My absolute favorite leftovers include turkey pot pie and turkey soup. Activity-wise, I recommend opting out of a formal dining room and opting into either camping or a potluck picnic!

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The Gigantic Team’s Top Takeaways from CRRA 2025

August 18, 2025 The Gigantic Team

As we have every year for decades (!), members of the Gigantic team attended CRRA 2025, the premier conference for zero waste and resource recovery professionals in California. Each GIS attendee had different highlights and takeaways, but as usual, we brought home information and inspiration to help our work.

Kas enjoyed seeing colleagues and making new connections:

One big highlight was getting to spend quality time with our team! It was inspiring to see Myer at his first multi day conference event; Nancy who always asks the most potent questions; and Lisa reflect on changes over the decades she has been involved with CRRA.

It was wonderful to see former Gigantic staffer Freddy Coronado excel at his role as President of NCRA (Northern California Recycling Alliance). And of course, we can’t forget the amazing Abbe sisters’ lyrics and performances at NCRA Players…talk about talent!

Beyond the vibe (which we can all agree was awesome), it was a wonderful opportunity to learn more about AB1383, AB54, new challenges of HHW and a chance to lean into the Behavior Change Technical Council. I am always inspired by presentations on reuse and circular economies — especially the presentation by business incubator Beam.

Stef attended remotely this year; while she missed the networking IRL, she still took away many meaningful tidbits:

Besides deep dives on waste characterization studies, lid flipping and SB54, I found some interesting connections between waste/recycling and energy. The fact that nitrogen production for fertilizer is the eleventh largest energy user—as shared by keynote panelist Cara Rose Ostrander—should give compost another selling point as an alternative to synthetic fertilizer.

The session about zero emission hauler fleets gave me hope that, although requirements for the private sector have been reversed, several haulers that have already started investing in EV trucks are unlikely to reverse course because they have seen dramatic benefits related to safety, noise and air pollution. One hauler’s biggest concern surprised me: it wasn’t EV trucks’ price tags (almost double the cost of conventional trucks) but the rise of energy-hungry AI data centers whose competition for electricity could drive up costs to keep EV fleets running.

Nancy relished the sessions but couldn’t stop worrying:

Spending three plus days in a beautiful, LEED certified hotel, surrounded by over 800 professionals working with heart and discipline to help people and the environment, was stimulating and also comforting. But I felt the constant intrusion of current events and upcoming challenges that will make all our work even harder. Climate change, the current political and social situation that is making recycling and waste reduction more challenging than it needs to be, and the coming threat of AI from social (job losses/shifts) and environmental (massive resource consumption) perspectives too often distracted me and I couldn’t help wondering, am I the only one obsessing like this or are others just putting on a brave front?

Myer was reminded of a primary role of environmental (and really any) communication:

Throughout CRRA I repeatedly heard the phrase, “meeting people where they are,” which truly resonated with me. I saw a great example of this during a session on the Santa Cruz County Green Schools Program. Instead of focusing on a single issue like litter and assuming it was the biggest problem, the program found more success by first surveying students to learn which environmental topics they were genuinely interested in. By addressing the students’ actual concerns, they achieved much higher engagement. They also found success when environmental education was integrated into the curriculum, not just “another thing” to add to it. This approach “turns learning into action,” empowering students with practical experience and according to Amity Sandage, the environmental literacy coordinator for the Santa Cruz County Office of Education, helps to “prepare students to be decision-makers”. Programs like these aimed at young students are a powerful tool for helping them develop sustainable habits that will hopefully last a lifetime.

Lisa was inspired by the connection between what we heard and our day-to-day work:

CRRA always helps me remember that our work matters! It’s too easy to get lost in the daily grind of details and deadlines, forgetting the big picture in the process. The keynote speakers reminded me of our ultimate purpose: to help steward the land. Tom Little Bear Nason, Tribal Chairman of the Esselen Tribe of Monterey County, reminded us that Earth is out of balance, but that Earth, Air, Fire and Water unite all of us, regardless of our skin color, where we live, or which god we worship. His words, along with those of Tim Krantz of the Wildlands Conservancy and Calla Rose Ostrander of the People, Food and Land Foundation, inspired me to reframe our work as ultimately that of restoration: We promote food scrap recycling to create compost to feed the soil; our watershed work helps keep pesticides out and heals the water; and much of our work reduces greenhouse gases and pollution to protect the air and all who breathe it.

After CRRA we get back to work with renewed purpose and look forward to the challenges of the next 12 months … before the next conference!

NCRA through Gigantic Eyes: Resource Recycling Conference Takeaways

March 26, 2025 The Gigantic Team

The annual Northern California Recycling Update conference is a wonderful introduction to the vast array of efforts around waste reduction happening in our area. Every year the Gigantic team attends to absorb 10-minute presentations on all aspects of waste from speakers local and from farther afield. The presentations drew an array of reactions from the Gigantic team members. Here are some of the highlights as submitted by each Gigantic team member:

Kas focused on some of the visual aspects presented. For the session, “Cooperative Reuse: Student-Led Furniture Exchange,” she noted, “I love their clever logo and I have been following this program for a number of years. It is so great to see how this has developed into such an impactful contribution to campus-led sustainability efforts.”

For the presentation on Petaluma’s Reusable Cup Pilot presented by Leslie Lukacs of Zero Waste Sonoma, Kas said: “From my graphic design and marketing perspective, I appreciated their ‘Sip, Return, Repeat’ slogan and loved the angular, repeated graphic as well. They did a wonderful job of being clever and reinforcing the message through design. Kudos!”

Lisa focused on Miriam Gordon (Reuse Program Director with Story of Stuff Project)’s session: “Hamburglaring Reuse: McDonald’s Disinformation Campaign About Recycling.” The Story of Stuff Project will be publishing a report to help the U.S. refute the disinformation used in the EU to to derail state and local reuse. Lisa notes, “We can try to refute McDonalds’ effort with facts, which are helpful to have on deck. However, the disinformation war is won in the U.S. with more emotion-based, simplistic messaging. Let’s join Story of Stuff to begin a proactive messaging effort and seed the fields with positive messaging before they can Ham-burgle U.S.-based efforts supporting reusable foodware.”

Peter noted: “(Virtually) attending NCRA was a breath of fresh air and inspiring! Despite what we’ve been reading in national news headlines the last couple of months, I was beyond impressed to see the incredible work that is being done on a variety of topics in Northern California. As an AmeriCorps and Peace Corps alum, it was great to hear Lexie speak in the morning about the success stories of San Jose Conservation Corps members and reminded me of my own personal growth and the value of these programs. Ravyn Williams’ presentation on PFAS and health was sobering — I ordered a stainless steel spatula to replace my black plastic one before the presentation was over!”

Stef gave a personal take: “I am allowing myself to have a very subjective filter on this year’s NCRA Update, and sadly that filter is darkened by my anxiety about current events. The presentations, as always, covered a lot of ground and reminded me of this community’s dedication to a better world, but I feel that few presenters acknowledged or directly addressed head-on the devastating blows already served to our industry and more roadblocks ahead. All this said, I was very grateful for the one-on-one conversations in the limited sunshine on the palace balcony and knowing that this community, if anything, is what will get me through these scary times.”

Nancy noted: “Like Stef, I found it hard to focus on the details of the very important issue of waste, given everything that is going on at the national level. I have family and friends that have been directly impacted by the government cuts, and I fear that worse is to come. But I am delighted to be working in a community of relentless, resilient, dedicated solution-seekers…there is hope!”

Laura-Lee writes: “I was inspired by the passion and conviction with which the speakers delivered their messages. As an older person who tends to be more of an ‘Eeyore” than a “Tigger,’ I was encouraged by the messages of ‘let’s be brave’ and ‘think big’ and ‘be together in all the ways that count.’ We should continue to highlight successes, find solutions to challenges, remain vigilant and encourage the next generation of reducers, reusers and recyclers.”

Myer found Shira Lane’s presentation, “The Power of Creativity in Sustainable Behavior Change,” particularly impactful. He was impressed by Atrium 916‘s innovative approaches, like the “Sustainable Santa” concept for children and other community-based events. “The upcycling of political signs was a novel and thought-provoking idea; I’d never really thought about what happens to old signs after the election. The art installations that doubled as collection points for cans and bottles, accessible to the unhoused, were both visually engaging and socially beneficial. When she said ‘waste is a design flaw, bring in the creatives’…that resonated deeply, highlighting the need for creative solutions and ‘out of the box’ thinking.”

Petula Clarkson character looking odd — Petula Clarkson sings about landfills.

Then there was that inspiring session, the last before lunch, when a little-known authority from the Royal Academy of Arts, a Petula Clarkson, presented on “The Restorative Power of Landfills, An Underutilized Resource.” An interestingly dressed, singing-bowl-playing, very familiar looking person emerged, performing her song, “Landfill.” Wait…isn’t that Gigantic alumna Shana McCracken??? Sure enough! As she was joined by dancers on stage with an AI generated landfill illustration as a backdrop, the crowd came to life, just in time for lunch.

RIP, Arthur Boone: Bay Area Recycling Champion

December 11, 2024 The Gigantic Team

creative NCRA sign made with all recyclable materials — The Gigantic team worked with Arthur Boone to create this sign for NCRA

The Gigantic team would like to take a moment to salute and honor Arthur Boone, who passed away in October at the age of 86. Boone was a pioneer and force of nature for recycling education and outreach in the Bay Area since the 1980s.

Described in Northern California Recycling Association (NCRA)’s remembrance as “an innovator, visionary, and somewhat of a crank” Arthur Boone started out as an Episcopal minister, then a civil rights worker, before founding the Oakland Recycling Association.There, he brought active questions and a constant search for improvement to the local recycling scene, tirelessly calling out “Obstacles to Zero Waste” and working to eliminate them. In the following years he would serve NCRA in various positions, including some 30 years on their board, and came up with the idea for the Recycling Update Conference, an annual “speed dating” event featuring 10-minute presentations for and by industry professionals that is valued to this day.

One memorable collaboration – partially built on Boone’s front lawn – occurred in 2011 when he tasked us with creating a NCRA conference sign out of recycled materials to celebrate recycling and composting. It was a true team effort to cut the recycled metal, attach the glass pieces and cardboard curls, and hot-glue the fake leaves and orange slices. The sign keeps on going – helped by several repairs over the years. It’s a joy to see it (and get a team photo with the sign) at every NCRA Recycling Update. All in all, a great and ongoing reminder of the creative and can-do spirit of Boone.

Boone’s achievements, including credit for planting 1,000 trees in the Bay Area—several just a block from our office – have been noted in a Proclamation by StopWaste issued on his passing. After all his good work, may he rest in peace.

Gigantic team members with the sign at NCRA 2023

Recycling Is Not Broken, but Can Use Some Help: A National Zero Waste Conference Session

January 19, 2023February 24, 2023 The Gigantic Team

While recycling has been getting a bad rap recently, the recent National Zero Waste Conference offered some fresh and hopeful perspectives. Gigantic Team Member Dennis Uyat coordinated the session: “Recycling Is Not Broken, But Can Use Some Help.” The conference was attended by over 400 people, and the session was moderated by Maurice Sampson, Eastern Pennsylvania Director of Clean Water Action.

Recent years have seen a shift towards upstream solutions like source reduction and reuse, however, recycling still has a place in the transformation of materials like paper, glass, metal, and plastic into new and useful products. Neil Seldman of the Recycling Cornucopia Project and the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, opened with an overview of an increase in domestic recycling markets and infrastructure since the National Sword Policy began to be enforced in 2018 in China. He writes, “Despite the fact that China had been warning for years that this cut-off was coming, U.S. recyclers were stunned and unprepared. But eventually, as prices for secondary materials fell in the tumult caused by the Chinese ban, private investment began re-building the U.S. manufacturing sector, and end-use capacity that had languished during the years that recycling collectors shipped a large percentage of materials to China rather than supplying domestic mills, returned to use.”

Many cities in the U.S. have implemented single-stream recycling systems, but they are not the only, or most cost effective, option. Speaker Joanne Schafer, Deputy Executive Director of the Centre County Recycling and Refuse Authority (CCRRA), spoke about their curb-sort recycling program in rural central Pennsylvania.

Municipalities that implement recycling often consider going with a single-stream system, and CCRRA hired MSW Consultants to see if it would be more cost effective to centralize recycling. They found that with the current weekly collection and 90% participation, the capital costs – a new MRF and truck fleet along with future costs of an education campaign – did not justify a system change. In this case, source separation of glass, cardboard, mixed paper, recyclable plastics and metals at the curb was more effective for residents and collectors.

Centre County, Pennsylvania is a good example of how grassroots recycling efforts in prior decades turned into a viable financial model. The decision to invest in labor over capital proved fruitful in the development of more localized recycling economies, which are less vulnerable to the whims of international global markets and commodity prices.

The session ended with Gary Liss, of the Recycling Is Infrastructure Too Campaign and Zero Waste USA, who laid out the American Recycling Infrastructure Plan, which vies for federal funding for community based recycling programs. It covers 50 initiatives with $18.3 billion allocated for the build-out of recycling infrastructure over three years. The Plan advocates “for the inclusion of waste reduction, reuse, recycling and composting infrastructure and programs that will stem climate disruption, address racial injustice, and create thousands of jobs throughout the country.” Gary detailed a number of current EPA Green Infrastructure Funding Opportunities.

Recycling is often dismissed as big industries continue producing plastic and waste by design, which invariably ends up being burned in incinerators or buried in landfills. The Second Recycling Revolution is driven by grassroots efforts to build local community power, to redesign a more circular economy.

Regular people are finding big and small solutions to municipal solid waste problems. Gary ended with a question for the audience, “How much waste are you for?,” and the audience responded, “Zero!”

Find out more about the National Zero Waste Conference.

Hard Numbers, Hard Truths: How Data from Spot Checks, Surveys and More Guide Outreach

September 19, 2022 The Gigantic Team

We know it’s best to base outreach on data that we get from research. Formal research can be costly, but actionable data is all around us – and it can help make public outreach more effective.

For the 2022 California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA) Conference, Gigantic participated in a session about the use of surveys and spot checks to guide outreach. Our presentation gave examples from two of Gigantic’s clients: Cities of Milpitas and Livermore.

Among the suggestions:

Integrating some research into your outreach plan is better than none. Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good: include lid flips and surveys into your budgets as feasible. There’s also data that does not need a specific budget because:
Outreach data is all around us. Your agency may not be able to afford a statistically rigorous survey, but quantitative data from hauler reports or lid flipping can be useful guides to what is working and what challenges arise. Qualitative data (individual questions or reactions that represent the concerns of a larger audience) can be gathered from phone help lines, comments at public meetings or from social media posts. Website statistics show us which content is or is not being accessed, what users are searching for and how/when they accessed the site; this is all guiding data for outreach.
Use data to react in real time. Are you getting a lot of questions on your social channel about plastic bags? Are lid flips showing an increase in a particular item of contamination? Respond to these questions with blog or social posts, or additional newsletter content, as promptly as possible.

See the full presentation here:

Learn more about CRRA here.

HHWhat? Outreach Challenges of Household Hazardous Waste

July 25, 2022 The Gigantic Team

Household Hazardous Waste: what a term! It’s a mouthful: three words that don’t really clarify what it encompasses. Add to that, city, hauler and marketing professionals like to shorten the term to HHW – which sounds even more mysterious. The EPA defines Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) as “leftover household products that can catch fire, react, or explode under certain circumstances, or that are corrosive or toxic.” Common HHW items include fluorescent bulbs, batteries, gasoline, household chemicals, pesticides, paints, antifreeze and asbestos…a real hodgpodge of toxic stuff.

At Gigantic, when tackling an HHW project, we start out thinking about our audience’s awareness of the problem. The problem with HHW is that it encompasses things as seemingly harmless as half-empty hair spray to those more easily perceived as dangerous, such as pesticides. When describing the hazards, we like the wording “toxic to you and/or the environment” to encompass all the potential negative outcomes.

Understanding HHW: Does It Matter?

When doing outreach, it’s important to describe the issue or item in question before you tell people what to do about it and give them a reason to dispose carefully. However, when considering HHW, we wonder, “do people really need to know the term?” Not necessarily. Communicating how HHW items should be handled can work either way:

Explain the term and help people understand which items are considered HHW, then let them know how to safely dispose of it.
Encourage use of a general “what goes where” app like StopWaste’s re:source tool that includes HHW items, without requiring the user to identify them as such. (IMAGE w link https://resource.stopwaste.org

Connect HHW Items with Real World Examples

It can also be helpful to put HHW disposal in context. When might residents be most likely to think about getting rid of HHW? Maybe before putting their house up for sale, when contemplating a spring cleaning or when tackling DIY house projects? Messaging that connects an activity with HHW items is more likely to be memorable.

Go Beyond the Carts

It could help if HHW items were called out more prominently in recycling guides as a category that needs different treatment, such as a “Not Accepted Curbside” or “Special Items” category.

Go for Impact

It also makes sense to focus on the HHW items that are most problematic in your area. Rather than implying the need to grasp a long list of items, focus on raising awareness about one item at a time, choosing those that would be most impactful if they were disposed of properly.

Thinking through the challenges and solutions of communicating about HHW before starting campaign design will save time and effort, while keeping people and nature safer.

Gigantic Growth! Welcome to our new Associates!

October 5, 2021October 5, 2021 The Gigantic Team

Our team has gotten even more Gigantic! We are pleased to announce the addition of Myer Venzon and Dennis Uyat to our team of Associates.

Myer is a marketing professional with skills and experience in strategy, digital and social media, communications, branding and creative. At Gigantic, Myer contributes to a variety of aspects of our campaigns, with a particular focus on digital strategy. Previously, Myer worked in the green beauty industry, where he was able to grow his passion for marketing with ethical and sustainable products. He is environmentally conscious and does his part by recycling old jokes passed down from his dad.

Myer holds a B.S. in Marketing Management and an M.B.A. in Global Innovation from California State University, East Bay.

Dennis has worked with us on a per project basis since 2019. Dennis is a passionate environmental communicator with a lot of hands-on experience in engaging community members in sustainable behaviors with a focus on zero waste. As a field rep, Dennis has helped set up recycling and composting systems, working with residents and businesses throughout the Bay Area. They have led multilingual recycling facility tours to international delegations, elementary school students and community groups. Dennis has also been a leader with Zero Waste Youth.

Dennis holds a B.A. in Geography with a minor in Geospatial Information Science Technology from UC Berkeley and an A.A. in Recycling and Resource Management from Golden West College in Huntington Beach. They hold a certificates in Master Resource & Conservation and Master Compost & Solid Waste from the San Mateo County Office of Sustainability, and Zero Waste Community Associate by Zero Waste USA.

We are excited for our clients to work with both Myer and Dennis in the near future!