Pilgrim Park Apartments
Pilgrim Park’s Story:
The objectives at Pilgrim Park Apartments are “to provide quality affordable housing and to promote community among the residents and with the neighbors on Pilgrim Hill.” Improving their waste management turned out to be a way to advance both goals.
This year, Pilgrim Park staff worked with Marin Sanitary Service to reduce their 8 dumpsters down to 6, and reduced the size of most of them. Each dumpster is paired with a paper and a container recycling cart, and a cardboard recycling bin has also been brought in. These changes have led to an annual cost-savings of over $9,000, which will be put back into improvements to the nonprofit housing complex.
The residents’ participation has been key to the program’s success. MSS staff held informational meetings for the residents and provided them with materials in both English and Spanish. Residents are frequently encouraged and acknowledged for their efforts. The residents have found that recycling is easy to do and are proud of their accomplishments and their clean neighborhood!
Download a Property Manager’s Recycling Guide from Marin Sanitary Service.
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Major Gains
$9,155 in annual savings
Decreased waste going to landfill by 30%
Secrets to Success
Recognizing that residents are the key to a program’s success
Evaluating the existing system before making changes
How They Did It:
Provided informational meetings and materials for residents in both Spanish and English
Communicated to residents the results of their actions and acknowledged them
Removed 2 landfill dumpsters and downsized 4 of them
MSS brought in more recycling carts, so that each dumpster was paired with a paper and a container recycling cart