Real-Life Decision Making
Making decisions is a regular part of the job, says Alec Cooley. He is
a solid waste reduction manager. He adds that decisions range "from choosing
one type of recycling container over another to hiring and firing staff."
"Every day, you have to decide how to handle the information provided to
you," explains Kim A. Kidd Kitagawa. She is a waste reduction coordinator.
"You have to determine impacts on the program, the resident, the contractor
and any other stakeholders that are involved."
You are a waste reduction coordinator for a small municipality. It is an
established suburb with a recent influx of families with young children.
Your community currently has garbage and recyclables collection once a
week.
In addition, you have two recycling stations where residents can bring
the following recyclables: yard waste, newspapers and other paper products,
aluminum, plastic and glass.
Recently, you've noticed a decline in the use of recycling stations as
well as the items collected from the blue bins.
Here are percentages of waste by type of recyclables from the last two
waste audits:
| 2nd quarter audit | | 4th quarter audit |
|---|
| Paper products | 17 percent | Paper products | 15 percent |
| Newspapers | 25 percent | Newspapers | 20 percent |
| Glass | 20 percent | Glass | 19 percent |
| Cardboard | 5 percent | Cardboard | 9 percent |
| Disposable diapers | 2 percent | Disposable diapers | 4 percent |
| Aluminum and cans | 18 percent | Aluminum and cans | 20 percent |
| Plastic | 13 percent | Plastic | 13 percent |
After every audit, you've sent out flyers to re-educate the public about
the three Rs: reduce, reuse, and recycle. You also remind them about the items
the community recycles.
In the six months between the two audits, it appears the flyers have helped
somewhat. Newspapers and glass have declined, but aluminum and other metal
cans have increased. Plastic has remained the same.
But disposable diapers have doubled in six months. Your community has a
growing number of families with young children. Cardboard has also nearly
doubled in six months.
As a waste reduction coordinator, it is your responsibility to implement
programs to counter the increases in the waste audits. But you know the employees
who collect and sort from the bins will not like it if you add diapers to
the recycling program.
What do you do?