Dive Brief:

• The Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corp. (RIRRC) has announced a new agreement with Recycle Across America (RAA) to offer the group's standardized education labels to a wider range of generators in the state, as reported by Waste360.
• Rhode Island became the first state to fully adopt RAA labels earlier this year, making them freely available to all state agencies and municipalities. According to the most recent numbers, 16,000 labels have been given out to 196 schools in 26 school districts.
• This new agreement will mark the first time that RAA has allowed a public entity to distribute their labels to private generators. Private businesses, private schools and institutions will all be eligible for free labels.

Dive Insight:

RAA's standardized labeling system is now used by companies such as Sony, Bank of America, Disney, and Whole Foods, as well as thousands of schools across the country. The organization has also been active in bringing public attention to recycling through celebrity events. Expanding their use in a small state such as Rhode Island is a great way to further prove the results of a simple, standardized messaging. 

"This expanded availability brings us one step closer to the day when everyone in Rhode Island sees the same, basic, consistent message on recycling bins at home, at school, at the park, at the mall, and at work," said Krystal Noiseux, RIRRC’s education and outreach manager, in a statement.

Surveys have shown that many U.S. residents are still confused about how they should be recycling and much of this comes down to conflicting systems in different places. However cities such as New York have taken steps to ensure that recycling is the same for residential and commercial buildings, which is a positive step.