Community Collaboration

Orange County Department
of Education

OCWR in partnership with the Orange County Department of Education offers waste diversion and recycling education to grades K ‒ 12 via the EcoChallenge. The standards-based EcoChallenge curriculum is free to teachers in Orange County and plays a pivotal role in advancing waste diversion awareness and best practices.

During the 2023 school year, 7,500 students from 337 classrooms across all five supervisorial districts were recruited to participate in the EcoChallenge. As part of the 5th grade curriculum, students highlighted the home waste audits they completed. We also partnered with our OC teacher hockey league, Bad Apples, to create a promotional video for the curriculum by teachers to teachers.

Recruitment for the inclusion of EcoChallenge curricula yielded significant growth from July to September 2023. The charts captures data increases for all grade levels, with a noticeable increase in the middle school grades. This trend underscores the effectiveness and appeal of the curriculum with middles schoolers, who are increasingly eager to embrace environmentally conscious practices.

The EcoChallenge extends waste diversion education to Orange County families through partnerships with schools, parent groups, and community events. This initiative not only benefits directly involved students, but also contributes to a more environmentally conscious community throughout Orange County while supporting state mandated legislation.

Allison the Apple

What worked well in
this lesson sequence?

“The video (Allison the Apple) was perfect for all students to understand! We used this video as an introduction to all students in grades TK-6th grade as part of our effort to reduce organic waste.”

Science TOSA, Cypress School District

What part of the lesson resonated most with your students?

“Community action empowering youth to realize they can be the change that is needed.”

Science Teacher, Vista View Middle School

What part of the lesson resonated most with your students?

“They enjoyed learning about the landfill processes.”

5th Grade Teacher, Esencia K-8

Discovery Cube OC Partnership

OC Waste & Recycling and Discovery Cube OC engage families across the county with hands-on learning experiences that result in the education of recycling best practices for the preservation of our local resources. This partnership generates more than 400,000 touch points annually through museum visits, field trips, events and classroom curriculum that fosters the next generation of Orange County’s environmental stewards.

2023 Stats

Earth Month

24,795

combined reach

Visitor attendance

421,557

America Recycles Day®

48,205

combined reach

Library event

OCWR partnered with OC Public Libraries and Discovery Cube to bring the magic of vermicomposting to public libraries during Earth Month.

New water table / trellis

The Organics Waste Lab incorporated a new water table for hands-on learning and a trellis for additional shade in the outdoor area.

Santa Ana Waste Free Days

5,380

participants

Offsite Education Programs

1,855

students reached

Earth Day

OCWR went into the Cube for Earth Day, engaging students with recycling questions and sharing information with families.

United Way Lunch at the Landfill

The County of Orange, in partnership with OCWR, proudly sponsored the 18th annual "Lunch at the Landfill" United Way fundraiser. Held at Frank R. Bowerman Landfill in Irvine, this year's event surpassed all expectations, raising over $33,000 for low-income programs throughout Orange County and setting a new fundraising record for any single County-sponsored United Way fundraiser throughout its 40-year partnership.

On September 19, 2023, OC Waste & Recycling was recognized as United Way's “Corporate Giving Climber” award for our year-over-year increase in funds raised through the annual Lunch at the Landfill events.

Anaheim Ducks and Angels Baseball

Highly visible partnerships with Angels Baseball and the Anaheim Ducks Hockey Club provides programming to residents from across the County. Waste diversion education promoting recycling best practices reached thousands of students and families through in-stadium and arena events along with field trips, offsite assemblies, scholarship programs and incentives, and digital campaigns.

Grants

$3M

CalRecycle Organics Grant Program

Awarded to OCWR for Bee Canyon Greenery Phase 1B expansion.

$181,119

CalRecycle SB 1383 Local Assitance Grant

Awarded in 2022, OCWR received its first shipment of food scrap pails for distribution to unincorporated residents. The grant also funds tracking software for SB 1383 mandated reporting and an educational video for food scrap pail instruction.

$150,000

CalRecycle Edible Food Recovery Grant

OCWR continued implementation of its partnership grant with John Wayne Airport for edible food recovery, education and equipment to support SB 1383 requirements. 2023 progress included vendor education, refrigeration purchases and site construction.

In 2023, social media played a pivotal role in elevating OCWR messages and education, resulting in increased engagement through events, programs our social media platforms.

Earth Day celebrations, featuring county-wide compost giveaways across all three active landfills, became our most engaging social media activity across all media channels. Additionally, our collaboration with SWANA at the Frank R. Bowerman Landfill event generated widespread online sharing, retweeting, and posting, especially on LinkedIn.

Our America Recycles Day® campaign in November received some of our highest support from various stakeholders, including the Board of Supervisors, CalRecycle, OCCE Master Gardeners, and 15 cities across the county, showcasing our commitment to sustainability and community involvement.

Facebook Page Impressions surged by 98% to 400K
Instagram Page Impressions increased by 81% to 96K
Twitter Post Impressions experienced a rise by 66% to 38K

Social Media Amplifying OCWR's Impact in 2023

Enforcement Outreach

With 2024 enforcement regulations beginning January 1, 2024, OCWR launched an initial informational campaign to OC residents and businesses. The department sent targeted postcard mailings to 50,000 unincorporated residents and more than 200 unincorporated businesses informing them of new regulations. In addition, we implemented a print and digital ad campaign through a half-page informational piece in a December issue of the Orange County Register. The campaign had a reach of 310,918 readers and 50,000 digital banner ad impressions.

Events

OCWR supports community events and outreach opportunities throughout the County. These include event booths, summer school programs, outreach materials, community clean-up events and more. Through community engagement, our teams were able to report on residential awareness specific to new organics recycling education and provide resources to answer their many questions.

40+ events supported with outreach
163,100 touch points

OCRecycleGuide.com

The OC Recycle Guide is OCWR's go-to educational hub offering a wealth of information and practical tips on regional recycling resources. The dedicated web portal provides recycling answers tailored specifically for Orange County residents, conveniently organized from A to Z.

In 2023, our guide attracted an impressive 94,000 visitors, underscoring its importance as a trusted resource in our community. The top five categories searched by users were:

appliances, clothing, nails/screws, cardboard and electronics.