City of Grand Rapids Recycling Program
Location
Exhibition Hall, DeVos Center
Description
Background and Purpose: The City of Grand Rapids has been increasing their sustainable practices by expanding and streamlining their recycling program. One of the ways in which Grand Rapids has been improving their program is through the use of a Geographical Information System (GIS). GIS is a computer software that combines mathematical statistics with area maps. The use of GIS not only improves the city’s customer relations and efficiency, it also helps improve the city’s supplier relations with Cascade Engineering (CE). CE is a local plastics manufacturer who supplies the city with its recycling bins and carts. The GIS data which the city obtains can be relayed to CE to help improve their residential products, shipping timelines, and customer demands. The purpose of this study is to identify the distribution of recycling customers throughout the neighborhoods of Grand Rapids, in relation to the population and housing units of those neighborhoods, in order to better understand how the City can improve its recycling services. Methods and Implications: For each of the 37 neighborhoods of Grand Rapids, the percentage of housing units that are current recycling customers and the percentage of the population that are current recycling customers were determined. The City of Grand Rapids and CE use this information to decide which neighborhoods have the greatest room for increasing the number of customers and satisfying their needs.
City of Grand Rapids Recycling Program
Exhibition Hall, DeVos Center
Background and Purpose: The City of Grand Rapids has been increasing their sustainable practices by expanding and streamlining their recycling program. One of the ways in which Grand Rapids has been improving their program is through the use of a Geographical Information System (GIS). GIS is a computer software that combines mathematical statistics with area maps. The use of GIS not only improves the city’s customer relations and efficiency, it also helps improve the city’s supplier relations with Cascade Engineering (CE). CE is a local plastics manufacturer who supplies the city with its recycling bins and carts. The GIS data which the city obtains can be relayed to CE to help improve their residential products, shipping timelines, and customer demands. The purpose of this study is to identify the distribution of recycling customers throughout the neighborhoods of Grand Rapids, in relation to the population and housing units of those neighborhoods, in order to better understand how the City can improve its recycling services. Methods and Implications: For each of the 37 neighborhoods of Grand Rapids, the percentage of housing units that are current recycling customers and the percentage of the population that are current recycling customers were determined. The City of Grand Rapids and CE use this information to decide which neighborhoods have the greatest room for increasing the number of customers and satisfying their needs.