Tire recycling is not exactly glamorous. It’s old tires, sometimes discarded along side the roadside or in landfills. It’s the tires that used to be on your car before you got new tires and left them behind. But what if you could make your product sexy? What if you could get people really excited. Excited enough to help your business. Excited about recruiting others to help your business as well as the cause.
What problem are you trying to solve?
Used tires are a big problem. They impact the environment by clogging up landfills and they can be a menace. Tire fires burn for a long time and the heat and energy isn’t being harnessed for the good of anyone. Tires dumped into lakes and streams or left on the side of the road are unsightly and polute.
Get to know your problem.
It’s important for you to really understand what you’re trying to communicate to others if you want them to understand why it’s important. According to the EPA, there are 290 million tires generated annually. Only 56 million of those are being utilized in civil engineering projects and another 26 million used for ground rubber applications like sports tracks and playground cover. Tire derived energy is just as clean and sometimes cleaner than other fossil fuels and can used to provide heat and energy but only about 130 million are used for this.
Get others excited about creating a solution.
In order for people to get excited about tire recycling, they have to know about it. Most people like to get involved one way or another. Some want to be on the front lines, some like to participate in some small way, and some just like to write checks. All of these types of people are useful in one way or another.
Organizing community tire cleanup days or going to community fairs are a good way to show them the many ways that they can help give tires a second life. Sponsor a “Recycle Artwork” or “Create your own Used Tire Product” competition. You can showcase that your recycling business is engaged in their community and that you provide a useful service.
Create a rallying point.
People like to get behind a cause. Recycling tires has several differnt rallying points. Helping out the environment, using clean and cost effective fuels, and making your world look better. Find ways to really make people feel an emotional connection to the cause.
Use technology to get noticed.
Technology provides so many resources for business today that it’s difficult to imagine life before it was invented. Social media is a very powerful tool for both businesses and the consumer. It provides a way for business to communicate directly with the consumer and the consumer can give immediate feedback.
It’s not just about having an engaging website anymore. Facebook, twitter, instagram and so many others make it really easy for you to educate, inform, and rally people behind your cause. You can send notices about different events that you plan around your business, have little tidbits of information to let them know why your business is important, and even offer incentives.