5 Easy Ways to Encourage Beach Goers to Recycle

Plastic pollution is now widely categorized as a global issue, which has inspired many initiatives to reduce our global consumption of single-use plastics. Reusable bags and containers, for instance, provide a more sustainable alternative to reduce general waste. Nevertheless, plastic is still the go-to packaging for many common items and is almost impossible to completely avoid.

Recycling and communicating proper disposal are the main strategies that are used to prevent waste from ending up in our nature, waterways and our oceans. Truthfully, these strategies still require improvements to be fully effective, which is why it is so important, whether you are on land or at sea, to encourage beachgoers and guests to recycle.

In this blog you’ll find useful strategies that you can incorporate into your operations.

Place large clearly marked bins

As a business owner, parks and rec. manager, or simply a concerned citizen who wants to keep their local beach clean, encouraging guests and tourists to recycle near the beach can be quite simple. All you need are large bins that are marked clearly with proper signage. Your bins should be separated into different categories, including plastic, paper, Styrofoam, or other materials.

Do not place these bins in places that are hard to see, but rather in high traffic areas. Also, include posters around the facilities to remind customers about how important it is to recycle. You might also think of getting a permit from local authorities to place these bins in other areas outside to increase the scope of usage.

Placing bins outside can help people visiting the beach to recognize a much more efficient way of disposing of waste. In some cases, people pollute beaches because of inadequate bins or lack of marked areas for waste disposal. Asking for permission to place bins outside strategic points will enhance your efforts to encourage visitors to recycle.

Small bins tend to overflow, especially outdoors which is why larger ones will be a logical choice since they take longer to fill up. You can even try to see if local organizations are donating these bins to start this for free.

Arrange regular beach cleanup campaigns

Starting a beach cleanup is the best way to spread awareness on the issue of plastic pollution, while encouraging community engagement to actively recycle and prevent beach pollution.

Mickey Woodworth, a volunteer for a green movement non-profit has written several papers on the subject while working as an online assignment help provider for the best paper writing service in the business. In his view, as a local business in proximity to the beach, you probably have some influence amongst your customers and other fellow neighbors of that area. You might choose to use that influence constructively by arranging beach cleaning campaigns or other community initiatives to keep people engaged with the issue. Who knows, if you’re a hotel or resort, your guests might also be inspired to take part in this worthy cause and share it on social media, which boosts your brand image.

When other people see you wearing green t-shirts, gloves, and carrying waste plastic bags, they might be inspired to also do their part. Try to maintain a certain pattern and go out to clean the local beach maybe every month or so.

After holidays or certain joyous occasions, have a larger targeted campaign as there might be more recyclable waste lying on beaches from the increase in visitors.

You might also incentivize this campaign by offering participants discounts or exclusive promotions. Incentivizing is one of the best ways to influence human behavior and in this way it can influence participants to take part and invite their friends.

Indicate your seriousness for going green in daily activities

Placing recycle bins and arranging beach cleaning campaigns might not be enough to prevent beach pollution. As a business that wants to promote sustainability to customers, you might have to do more than just the aforementioned activities to weave green processes into everyday tasks. For example, a business establishment with a restaurant or eatery might consider using recycled, reusable or biodegradable straws.

Small gestures like this go a long way to encouraging guests to recycle when visiting coastal areas. You might also consider showing a recycling display, for instance placing stickers on recyclable waste written “recycle me” or other similar words to show guests or tourists what can in fact be recycled.

There are many other ways you can manifest the importance of going green and engaging in recycling. Try to identify ones that are practical for your business and start implementing them right away. Some businesses have even opted to use other greener energy systems to show how important it is to save this planet. You can also do this in conjunction with all recycling strategies outlined above and communicate this to your customers to show that you are serious about sustainability.

Have a separate hazardous waste bin

Some people might be confused about where to dispose of hazardous material and end up throwing it in the ocean. There are many repercussions to these types of actions, which may occur if hazardous material to seep into the ocean.

To avoid this, make sure to place a recycling bin dedicated just to hazardous materials such as ink cartridges, batteries, and other chemicals or electrical components. Having a dedicated place to dispose of these items will help prevent them from being thrown into the ocean.

Also, consider educating your staff and even customers about different types of hazardous waste and showing them where to dispose of each one.

Doing so will save oceans and other landfill sites from unnecessary hazardous materials from causing damage to them.

Try to get publicity

Everybody loves a story about a good Samaritan doing something heartfelt. That is why you should consider generating some publicity around what you are doing for marine sustainability when arranging beach cleanup efforts or placing bins around the shoreline. Doing this will have a two-fold purpose.

One of those purposes includes getting more loyal customers, who support your mission and the other to engage the press or facilitate social media awareness, which can inspire others. When other people see what you have done, they may be inclined to join your next cleanup or collaborate with you to start their own campaigns.

Both these results are good for the environment since the more people that get involved in taking care of our marine environment, the bigger the impact will be. Call the local newspaper, announce it using community radio stations, and do not forget to take pictures to put on display for customers and others to see. Be proud of your achievements!

Final thoughts

You can inspire others by following these five simple tips and tactics and get them to join your initiative to save the planet and keep your local beach clean. It can all be started with a simple gesture of placing bins on and around the business’s premises. Do not forget to include a hazardous waste section for electrical components, ink cartridges, batteries, and other dangerous materials. Lastly, engage customers and community members to clean beaches periodically and don’t be afraid to share what you are doing for good.

Author Bio:

Michael Gorman works for the assignment writing service Australia as the lead writer and editor and he’s known for helping to produce the best essays, theses, term papers and dissertations. His research skills, the fact that he is pursuing a doctorate and flawless writing and editing talent simply means that he is the best essay helper for you when you need an academic assignment ready.