City of Somerville, MA, & Casella Resource Solutions

Zero Sort: How Recycling Gets Done

The Office of Sustainability and Environment (OSE) for Somerville, Massachusetts, a city next door to Boston, partnered with Casella Resource Solutions for their recycling program. Casella describes the “Zero-Sort” program as one that saves time and money and is easy to use: “Just toss all your recyclables into one bin. We take care of the sorting at our state-of-the-art facilities.” Zero-Sort, the company writes, “puts more of your stuff back into the world and less of it into the landfill.” Somerville’s OSE explains the program to residents at the city’s Web site, through videos and PowerPoints in multiple languages, and with the following brochure created by Cassella (also sent out by mail) that answers the questions: What can you recycle? And how does zero-sort recycling work? Notice how the information is organized and presented for a general audience, with headings, images, and visual icons—all designed to make the brochure both a quick read and an easy reference. Also, pay attention to how Casella makes an argument under the heading “How Recycling Gets Done,” and uses ethos-building statements including: “To us, green is much more than an empty promise or marketing tactic.” How effective is this brochure as a “how to ” guide and a persuasive document?