Hira Ahmad
Tatiya Chattanapanich
Daniel Chia
Thang Duong
Miguel Juarez
INTRODUCTION
“What's the use of a fine house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?”
-Henry David Thoreau, Familiar Letters
Although recycling may seem like a modern concept introduced with the environmental
movement of the 1970s, it's actually been around for thousands of years. Prior to the industrial
age, people couldn't make goods quickly and cheaply, so virtually everyone practiced recycling
in some form. However, large-scale recycling programs were extremely rare. It mainly occurred
in households.
Prior to the industrial revolution, recycling and general household reusing were actually
commonplace practices. Before mass production flooded the market with loads of materials and
products, it was generally cheaper to reuse items as opposed to buying new ones (Saunders 4).
And when materials did become worn beyond further use, they were recycled into new ones.
The concept of recycling took a turn during the times of industrialization. As it became easier
and cheaper to produce goods through technological innovation and mass production, it also
became easier and sometimes cheaper to throw used items away (Reynolds 1). Nonetheless,
anytime there was a massive economic slump, people would look for ways to make the most of
what they had. For example, during the Great Depression, people reused and recycled materials
because they could not afford to buy news items (Tammers 1).
In the decades following World War II, recycling efforts were better incorporated into everyday
life (Reynolds 2). Consumers have options to four main ways of recycling: Curbside pickup,
Drop-off centers, Buy-back centers, and Deposit/refund programs. These options have made
recycling a more appealing concept to consumers. Although these options have increased the
amount of recycled materials over time, there is still a need for convenient options that
consumers have access to in their daily lives. An incentivized recycling alternative which
benefits consumers would be a targeted approach that could help people recycle more often.
The proposed Dr. Pepper/Snapple “There’s More to it “campaign will strive to greatly increase
recycling rates in the City of Dallas.
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BACKGROUND
As of 2013, the average American produces 4.5 pounds of solid waste each day. As for the entire
population, Americans produce an estimated 251 million tons of waste per year. At first glance,
that may not seem like such a terrifying figure, but look at it this way: That’s 500,000,000,000
pounds of solid waste (Kenneth 3). Remarkably, 34 percent of that is composted or recycled.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, for every 4.5 pounds of trash that each
American creates every day, only 1.51 pounds of that, on average, is composted or recycled
(Davidson 2). The problem is substantial numbers of people do not find the need to recycle
because it is either viewed as inconvenient or this opportunity is not readily available to them.
The chart in the following page displays the fact that landfill capacity is beginning to decrease.
In the future, there will not be any useful landfill space left. This will force governments to build
new landfills while the old landfills will not be used at all. To prevent this from happening, other
measures, including recycling, need to be happening more often (Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality, October 2013).
Recycling is a vital component of handling waste in an environmentally sensible, economically
viable manner. However, Dallas residents currently recycle only about 12 percent of their total
waste, half of what they could be recycling (Davidson 2). The proposed Dr. Pepper/Snapple
“There’s More to it” recycling campaign aims to increase awareness of the need for greater
recycling in the city of Dallas. Plans call for Dr. Pepper/Snapple, a nationally marketed
company, to sponsor this conservation program. This will substantially help boost recycling
efforts. The campaign will work to raise the amount of objects that can be recycled through
media outlets such as conclusive advertisements and a resourceful recycling incentive program.
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(Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, October 2013)
According to the City of Dallas’s Transportation and Environment Committee, the city plans to
be a “zero-waste” city by the year 2040 (August 2012). The city’s plan is to reuse, recycle, or
compost all reusable waste by 2040 (Local solid waste, August 2012). The “There’s More To
It”campaign will benefit this campaign by giving the public a call to action. The campaign is
following the city of Dallas’s goals and promoting the necessity of recycling to reach this
predetermined milestone.
The Dr. Pepper/Snapple “There’s More To It” campaign will have a recycling incentive
program that will reward residents based on how much they recycle. It will focus on increasing
involvement in Dallas communities and will aim to give something back to residents for making
their environment a greener place. For this eco-friendly behavior, program will be offering gift
cards, discounts, and coupons for all Dr. Pepper and Snapple products. It will give people points
based on how much they recycle. The recycling drop-off centers of Dallas will track volume of
the recycling materials, which will translate into points to be redeemed at local stores. Rewards
will be based on how many points are earned for recycling. People will also get discounts on
websites like eBay. Essentially they will be rewarded for doing the right thing.
The Dr. Pepper/Snapple “There’s More to it” campaign’s altruistic efforts will establish a
positive community image for Dr. Pepper/Snapple company and the city of Dallas. Dr.
Pepper/Snapple will help develop a better connection with consumers and strengthen brand
reputation while boosting sales. As awareness increases so will the amount of materials recycled.
This is our ultimate goal.
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PROPOSAL
The Dr. Pepper/Snapple Group will endorse and oversee the “There’s More to It” Recycling
Campaign for selected parts of the city of Dallas, TX, working with the Dallas/Fort Worth
chapter of Texas Campaign for the Environment and the environmentally active company,
Recyclebank, to run a program that will reward households with coupons for Dr. Pepper/Snapple
products depending on the quantity of materials each household recycles. The proposed
campaign will be divided into two parts; an initial recycling awareness event, and the formal
recycling collection program.
● An obstacle course/fun run race will kick off the campaign on March 29, 2014 and serve
as a platform to inform the public on the benefits recycling brings to all stakeholders.
The event will also inform citizens about what each member of the public can do to
support the campaign and reduce the amount of trash in local landfills.
● Four days after the kick-off race, the recycling program will begin in several different
parts of Dallas.
The purpose of the “There’s More To It” Obstacle Course/Fun Run is to increase awareness of
the short-term and long-term benefits of recycling to the community of Dallas. We will host an
obstacle course race and a Fun Run to create public awareness of the “There’s More To It”
Recycling Campaign and inform the public of the campaign’s goals, directions on how to
participate, and how they will benefit from participating.
The admission prices for the event are as follows:
Age
Child (12≥)
Adult
Senior (60+)
Obstacle Course
Admission
__
$40
__
Fun Run Admission
$15
$20
$15
Each pre-registered participants will have the opportunity to receive a discount refund on the day
of the event if the participant brings certain recyclable items to the obstacle course/Fun Run.
Participants will also have that opportunity if they don’t pre-register, as long as they bring the
recyclable goods to the race. The refunds will be distributed as a cash credit to the account that
the pre-registered participant used to pay the entry fee. Those who register on the day of the
obstacle course/fun run will simply pay a lower entry fee. All revenue collected from entry fees
will be used to fund the recycling program incentive coupon rewards.
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By providing incentives to recycle, we expect to increase public participation in such programs
and maintain a good public image by leading this initiative. As part of the “There’s More To It”
Campaign in conjunction with Recyclebank, Dr. Pepper/Snapple will give participants a 50 cent
coupon for every 3 pounds of recyclable good collected. When the recyclable goods are placed in
the recycling truck, they will quickly be weighed, then pushed into the truck along with all
previously collected goods.
We have chosen to partner with two different organizations to make this proposed plan possible.
The first organization is the Texas Campaign for the Environment. The plan calls for them to
supply our obstacle course/fun run with several volunteers who will work the event and inform
the public about the “There’s More To It” Campaign. The TCE volunteers will also inform
attendees about the projects TCE works on, increasing public exposure and helping them with
positive publicity. Texas Campaign for the Environment (TCE) is a “non-partisan, non-profit”
statewide organization that aims to promote sustainable practices, including recycling, and
organizes public interest campaigns supporting environmentally-friendly legislation (About
TCE, 2013). We plan on partnering with their chapter in the D/FW area. By working the the
TCE, we plan on cutting our costs down by not resorting to hiring people to set up and work the
obstacle course/fun run, while also allowing us to help publicize an organization that is working
to promote environmentally friendly activities.
The second organization we plan on working with is not a non-profit, but a for-profit company,
Recyclebank. Recyclebank is a company that rewards members who practice sustainable
activities, including recycling, with discount coupons from various companies (How recyclebank
works, 2013). Our plan is for us to organize our recycling program along with Recyclebank, who
currently has a working recycling collection program in place. By using their existing
infrastructure and equipment, we plan on saving a significant amount of money, while
publicizing the other components of their business model.
Both organizations will have their logos featured on the T-shirts we plan on distributing at the
event to those who signed up for the obstacle course/fun run. This will be provided to our
potential partners free of charge. Each registered participant will receive a white T-shirt for
signing up for the event. Volunteers will differentiate and identify themselves by wearing a green
T-shirt. Both shirts will include the program logo on the front and the logos of our partners on
the back.
The campaign will employ various forms of marketing to promote both the kick-off Obstacle
Course/Fun Run and the recycling campaign. We plan on setting up a website,
www.theresmoretoit.com, where we will publish general information to the public and persuade
them to attend the race and participate in the recycling program. The website will also allow
people to register for the race and accept payments through credit/debit cards, Paypal, and
Google Wallet. Additionally,
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we will create campaign accounts on social media, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and
Google+. We will use these outlets to drive traffic to our website, and to engage the community
before the campaign officially begins. The website can be completed by the Dr. Pepper/Snapple
IT department and the social media accounts can be maintained by the Dr. Pepper/Snapple social
media employees. This should not require any additional expenses.
A press release would be released six weeks before the kick-off event to inform local news
sources of the recycling initiative and increase public exposure of the event. We will also
advertise in the Dallas Morning News during the two weeks prior to the kick-off. Concurrently,
we plan on promoting our event through paid Facebook advertised posts and a small Google
Adwords campaign. All of our advertisements will revolve around two central themes: making
Dallas a better place by supporting a new initiative that is going to greatly benefit the city, and
having fun by participating in our obstacle course event while contributing to the city’s wellbeing.
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EVENT PLAN
In order to cement our new recycling initiative amongst those in the community, we have plans
to hold an obstacle course run for those in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. It will be held in typical
fashion as other popular obstacle courses, with an entry fee as well as prizes for the top finishers,
except it will be conducted in a manner conducive towards recycling. The obstacles used in this
course will be comprised of second-hand or recycled goods, to demonstrate the versatility of
what many would simply consider waste. The event will build upon other community initiatives
we will be running by the time of the event, such as our points system, bringing our program to a
whole new level of involvement. We hope to make this an annual occurrence in the community,
should it prove to be a success with participants. The following outlines the details of our plan
for the obstacle course, including an event day schedule.
Venue:
● Fair Park
Obstacles used:
● Climbing wall w/ rope (~30 feet tall); wall can be made from recycled wood, rope can be
made from plastics
● Rope lattice climb (~30 feet tall, 40~ feet long, 40~ feet wide); ropes here can also be
made from recycled plastics
● Tire course (~100 feet long); can be comprised of used/recycled tires
● Tractor tire course (~50 feet long, can be comprised of used/recycled tractor tires)
● Wobbly bridge (~40 feet long, <1 foot wide, 20-30 feet off the ground); ropes can be
made from recycled plastics, planks can be scrap wood or recycled plastic composite(s)
● Shimmying wall (x3) (~30 feet long, balance on thin piece of wood, stay up close to wall
or else you’ll fall into a small pit of water)
● Rope pit (~100 feet long) participants crawl under ropes woven from recycled plastics in
a dirt pit with little clearance to stand up
● Rope lattice climb (~100 feet long) participants crawl along a rope lattice woven from
recycled plastics
● Hurdles (lasts for ~150 feet, hurdles are 36 inches high), made from recycled plastics or
recycled wood
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Cost to Participants:
● Costs ~$30-$40 (There will be ways for participants to lower the cost. Obstacle courses
are more expensive because of obstacle construction, facilitation, etc. The average
obstacle course entry fee is about $50-70 if bought in advance)
● Participants can lower the cost by bringing in recycled goods
Recycling Onsite
● Next to each obstacle, a stack/pile of “trash” comprised of the nonrecycled goods it took
to make each obstacle
● Signs onsite will be electronic to cut down on paper waste
Event Timeline (Times viable to change at either party’s discretion):
March 29, 2014
Time
Event
5:00 A.M.
Event setup begins at Fair Park
7:00 A.M.
Check-in for participants begins
9:00 A.M.
Run begins (wave 1 of 2)
~10:00 A.M.
First finishers expected to cross finish line
11:00 A.M.
Awards ceremony for 1st-3rd in respective divisions
11:30 P.M. - 1:00 P.M.
Live entertainment and food on-site, new racers begin
checking in
1:00 P.M.
Run begins (wave 2 of 2)
~2:00 P.M.
First finishers expected to cross finish line
3:00 P.M.
Awards ceremony for 1st-3rd in respective divisions
3:30 P.M.
Closing address
4:00 P.M.
Participants expected to leave, park cleanup begins
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Campaign Timeline (Dates viable to change at either party’s discretion):
December 11th, 2011 .............................................................................................Initial
presentation
December 31st, 2013.............................................Authorization request response needed by this
date
January 6th, 2013.………………………..…….……………………...Advertising campaign
begins
January 13th, 2013..................................................Points program to follow up advertising
campaign
January 27th, 2013..........................................Pre-sales of obstacle course admissions to public
begin
March 17th, 2013………….….Pre-sales of obstacle course admissions end; full admission is
charged
March 29, 2013…………...……………………………Obstacle course run takes place at Fair
Park
April 3, 2013…………………………………………Recycling Campaign with Recyclebank
Begins
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STAFFING
Workforce
Employees
No. of Staff
Task
Compensation
Check In/
Waiver Sign/
Package Pickup
Dr. Pepper’s
Employees
3
Make sure every
runner signs
waiver and gets
Dr. Pepper*
their goodie bag
Bag Drop Station
Dr. Pepper’s
Employee
2
Attach runners’
number to their
bag
Dr. Pepper*
Water Station
Volunteer
2
Pour water into
paper cups for
runner
Volunteer**
Obstacle Staff
Volunteer
8
Two staff at each
obstacle,
Volunteer**
First Aid Care
Volunteer
4
Taking care of
runners that may
get hurt
Volunteer**
Nurse
Medical City
Hospital
1
Police Officer
Dallas Police
Department
10
Two police
officers monitor
parking and one
at the entrance
$200 per person
3
Food and drink
for runners
Opportunities to
advertise, sales
Food truck
$175
*For Dr. Pepper’s employees they will get 2 compensated days off.
**For volunteers, volunteer hours for students, Volunteers run a special wave at the end of your
shift and receive a special T-shirt.
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BUDGET
Item
Cost
Estimated total cost
Raw Materials
$1,200 (Per obstacle)
$10,800(9 obstacles)
Tires
$6.50 (Per tire)
$650 (100 tires)
Hurdles
$173.18 (Package of 8)
$692.72 (4 packs)
Lease of
Fairpark
$10,000
$10,000
Electronic Signs
$100
$1000 (10 signs)
Police Officers
$200
$2000 (10 officers)
Nurse
$175
$175
Water
$863.84 (144 cases of 24)
$863.84 (3456 bottles)
Advertising
$2,200
$2,200
T-shirts
$5.07 (Per T-shirt)
$10,647 (2,100 shirts)
Final Total Cost
$39,529.56
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AUTHORIZATION REQUEST
By signing below, I give authorization to proceed with the Dr. Pepper/Snapple “There's More To
It” recycling campaign. This campaign will represent the Dr. Pepper/Snapple Group in the Dallas
Chamber of Commerce's “Businesses Give Back” competition. The campaign will be
implemented following the guidelines presented in the proposal. The campaign is authorized to
use the Dr. Pepper/Snapple logo, and the slogan, “There's More To It” on any promotional
materials.
_________________________________
Printed Name
_________________________________
______________________
Signature
Date
Margaret Smallwood
Chair, Community Engagement Committee
Dr. Pepper/Snapple Group
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REFERENCES
City of Dallas. (2012). Local solid waste removal plan. City of dallas. Retrieved from
http://www.dallascityhall.com/committee_briefings/briefings0812/TEC_LocalSolidWast
eMgmtPlan_081412.pdf
Davidson, A.. (2013). Dallas sanitation services. Retrieved from
http://www.dallascityhall.com/sanitation/recycling.htm.
Kenneth, S. (2013). Municipal Solid Waste. Retrieved from
http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/municipal/index.htm.
Reynolds, P.. (2013). The truth about recycling. Retrieved from
http://www.economist.com/node/9249262.
Recyclebank. (2013). How recyclebank works. Recyclebank. Retrieved from
https://www.recyclebank.com/about-us/how-it-works.
Saunders, A.. (2013). Recycling makes a difference. Retrieved from
http://www.depweb.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/benefits_of_recycling/14061.
Tammers, L. (2013). Recycling statistics. Retrieved from
http://www.greenwaste.com/recycling-stats.
Texas Campaign for the Environment. (2013). About TCE. Texas campaign for the environment.
Retrieved from http://www.texasenvironment.org/about_tce.cfm.
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. (October 2013). Number of active landfills and
remaining capacity. Texas commission on environmental quality. Retrieved from
http://www.tceq.texas.gov/assets/public/comm_exec/pubs/as/187_13.pdf.
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