RecycleStore.com
Delivering Waste DiversionResults through E-Commerce
$$RCPsContract Results for RFP IWM-C2041Prepared for the California Integrated
Waste Management Board
Presented to theMarket Development Committee
Tuesday, September 13, 2005Sacramento, California
Presenter: Burnet D. Brown, MIH
Tuesday, September 13, 2005 MIH - 2
What we’ll cover…
Outcomes and measures Objectives and measures of program effectiveness
Implications for waste diversion
Support for local government efforts
Outcomes Aggregate results
Results disaggregated by RecycleStore manufacturers and areas
Highlight program strategy and elements
Findings and recommendations
Tuesday, September 13, 2005 MIH - 3
Success Criteria and Outcomes…
Key objectives and outcomes measures Increase RecycleStore.com traffic
Measured in hits
Deliver quality buyer referrals Measured by buyer click-throughs and emails to manufacturers
Target high priority buyers Retail mass merchandise buyers Government buyers Individual consumers Any other high value buyer opportunities
Tuesday, September 13, 2005 MIH - 4
What RecycleStore.com does…
Attracts buyer referrals from all over the U.S.and… Delivers them to California manufacturers
…in participating local RMDZs.
Accelerates market penetration of Californiarecycled products... To markets and consumers all over the U.S. and
beyond
Tuesday, September 13, 2005 MIH - 5
What implications for waste diversion?
Dramatically increases the potential opportunities for diverting waste.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005 MIH - 6
How does it help local governments?
It enables the CIWMB to support localgovernments by: Stimulating demand for products made in their local
area
Providing technical assistance (e.g., SEO expertise) Providing free marketing assistance (PR, partnerships) Channeling sales revenues to California local markets Generating positive publicity by…
Recognizing and saluting thecontributions of local Green entrepreneurs
Tuesday, September 13, 2005 MIH - 7
Local Impact: Top Ten Businesses Receiving Buyer Referrals
Rank Manufacturer Name RMDZBuyer
Referrals
1 Wooden Duck Oakland/Berkeley 5,714
2 Plastopan Industries, Inc. City of Los Angeles 3,800
3 Shasta Visions Siskiyou County 1,785
4 Planet Squared, Inc. Los Angeles County 1,766
5 Whit McLeod Arts & Crafts Furniture North Coast 1,763
6 Corrugated Art South San Diego 1,691
7 Fire and Light North Coast 1,435
8 G.T. Water Products, Inc. Ventura County 1,314
9 Signman Signs and More Shasta Metro 1,179
10 EcoWeave Environmental Apparel No. San Diego County 1,157
Total — 21,604
Data covering the period 2001 to June 2005.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005 MIH - 8
Program results quantified…
241% increase in traffic over baseline starting point. From 10,000 hits/month to over 35,000 hits/month. Average of 22,000 hits per month.
Over 400,000 hits generated. Equivalent to 60% of the site's total recorded hits.
Set new record of 35,923 hits in a single month.Delivered 14,671 buyer referrals during contract period.First time expansion into mainstream markets. No longer limited to RCP niche markets.
From “recycled chair” to “Arts and crafts furniture” From “recycled trash bins” to “Lockable security documents containers”
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Why mainstream?
Mainstream consumers are not searching for “recycled gifts”.Or “recycled furniture”.Orders of magnitude larger.Why mainstream? Much greater waste diversion opportunity.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005 MIH - 10
Mainstreaming works…RecycleStore Marketing Results: 2003-2004 Hits Per Month
Performance Since Commencement of MIH Marketing Services Initiative
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
Jun-03
Jul-03
Aug-03
Sep-03
Oct-03
Nov-03
Dec-03
Jan-04
Feb-04
Mar-04
Apr-04
May-04
Jun-04
Jul-04
Aug-04
Sep-04
Oct-04
Nov-04
Dec-04
Hit
s P
er
Mo
nth
241% or 3.4 times increase over baseline starting point.
Earth Day
Campaign
Tuesday, September 13, 2005 MIH - 11
The Wooden Duck
Based in Berkeley, Calif.Recycled wood furnitureOver 100 products inRecycleStore$4 million in annual sales150,000 pieces of furnitureproduced from reclaimedlumber since 1995.
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Buy
er R
efer
rals Dramatic growth
#1 beneficiary ofRecycleStore buyerreferrals.
Buyer Referrals Delivered to Wooden Duck
Tuesday, September 13, 2005 MIH - 13
Plastopan Industries, Inc.
Based in Los AngelesMakes waste containers out ofrecycled plastic. Minimum 25% post-consumer. 75% post-
consumer for municipalities (City ofBerkeley). Up to 100% PCR (indoorcontainers only)
30 Products in RecycleStore.Best-selling product is 64-gallonlockable container. $106 each.Only company in the country thatmakes differentiated lockablecontainers.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005 MIH - 14
Buyer Referrals Delivered to Plastopan Industries
3000% increase in buyerreferrals over first year.
3,800 total buyer referrals.
Delivered to Plastopan byRecycleStoreB
uyer
Ref
erra
ls
Tuesday, September 13, 2005 MIH - 15
RecycleStore Delivers Out-of-State Revenues
"In addition to our West Coast sales,RecycleStore.com was responsible
for sales of our recycled metal float-tube anchors in Texas and Alaska.”
— Will Tasto, PresidentSimple Castings
Orland, CaliforniaGlenn County RMDZ
Tuesday, September 13, 2005 MIH - 16
Real sales…
“Last year RecycleStore.comgenerated over $9,000 in sales
for our recycled-contentpromotional items.”
— Sam Straub, PresidentSignman, Inc.
(Signs and Promotional Products)Shasta Metro RMDZ
Tuesday, September 13, 2005 MIH - 17
40%Search
* U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray, New Methods in Search Marketing: Contextual Advertising and Other Evolutions (Safa Rashtchy), June 2004
Cost effective results…
Tuesday, September 13, 2005 MIH - 18
Strategy…Mainstream RCPsReposition as high value added productsContinue to grow affinity marketsCategory-by-category phased approachCreate partnerships (specialty, mass, government)Celebrity endorsementPR campaignSearch engine optimization
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Repositioning RCPs
High qualityHigh value addedFunctional artHandcraftedValue not commodity
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Celebrity Endorsement
I went to theRecycleStore websitethinking I'd be lookingat good intentions, andfound gorgeous,artistic products…
— Actress Mimi Kennedy
Tuesday, September 13, 2005 MIH - 22
Partnerships Created…
Retail mass merchandise buyers NMOA, 5000+ member wholesale buyers
QVC, HSN, infomercial and catalog companies RecycleStore portal built on NMOA website for member buyers
Government buyers Executive Orders 12873, 13101- EPA product list Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence
Region IX Environmental Finance CenterEnvironmental Media Association Story placement. Studios. Whole Foods (Celebrity cloth bag).
Green Restaurant Association
Tuesday, September 13, 2005 MIH - 23
What remains to be done…
Complete SEO for remaining RecycleStorebusinesses
Create portal pages to meet professional buyerrequirements
Continue category-by-category phase-in
Qualify RecycleStore companies for EPA productdesignation Channel into GSA and other buyer databases
See final report for full list of recommendations