Klickitat County Solid Waste 2003-12 Fair Survey Report Introduction

The surveys were conducted over a period of four days during the county fair. Four different surveys were given, each on a different day, with subjects covering Public Outreach, Organics, Recycling and Household hazardous Waste. The purpose of the survey was to measure county residents’ knowledge and awareness of county solid waste programs and activities. 2012 marks the tenth year we have conducted these surveys.

In an effort to motivate people to fill out a survey we gave them a coupon which could be redeemed for $1.00 toward the purchase of a food or beverage item at one of the participating local vendor booths during the county fair. Most of the vendors are non-profit groups like the senior class of a local high school or a local chapter of Kiwanis. We also include local commercial vendors.

Anyone of any age, a resident of the county or just a visitor from out of state attending the county fair can take the survey and receive a coupon. Information collected on the survey for age and the “town closest to their home” allow us to filter the results later. Below is the unfiltered response for one day of the survey. As you can see it is heavily weighted toward the younger population.

10 or 11 to 19 to Less 18 49 50 + 2003 13.8% 39.8% 17.1% 29.3% 2004 19.1% 36.8% 22.1% 22.1% 2005 30.5% 52.6% 13.7% 3.2% 2006 28.0% 38.7% 16.0% 17.3% 2007 38.7% 36.0% 14.7% 10.7% 2008 37.3% 20.0% 20.0% 22.7% 2009 36.0% 26.7% 25.3% 12.0% 2010 29.3% 40.0% 14.7% 16.0% 2011 20.3% 45.9% 14.9% 18.9% 2012 32.4% 40.5% 13.5% 13.5%

On the following pages the responses shown are filtered to include residents of Klickitat County age 11 or older.

1 of 29 Klickitat County Solid Waste 2003-12 Fair Survey Report Public Outreach

The public outreach survey attempts to measure which media are most effective at reaching the population. We use direct mail, newspapers, radio ads and talk shows, telephone hot line, a web site, public speaking, planned workshops, outreach through public events and onsite visits on request.

Age of Survey Pool: In the most recent filtered results approximately 60% are teens, 40% parent or grand parent age. There appears to be a 60/40 split between teens and parental age responses over time.

11 to 19 to 18 49 50 + 2003 46.2% 19.8% 34.0% 2004 45.5% 27.3% 27.3% 2005 75.8% 19.7% 4.5% 2006 53.7% 22.2% 24.1% 2007 58.7% 23.9% 17.4% 2008 31.9% 31.9% 36.2% 2009 41.7% 39.6% 18.8% 2010 56.6% 20.8% 22.6% 2011 57.6% 18.6% 23.7% 2012 60.0% 20.0% 20.0%

2 of 29 Klickitat County Solid Waste 2003-12 Fair Survey Report Community Representation:

Goldendale area residents make up the majority of the responses, which is expected. The county fair is located in Goldendale and Goldendale is the largest population center in the county, accounting for about 1/3rd of the total county population. Other communities represented are Bickleton, Centerville, Glenwood, Klickitat and Lyle. It is interesting to note that these communities are all less than 40 miles from Goldendale. The communities with very low response are either located more than 40 miles from Goldendale or have relatively small populations.

All Ages 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Alderdale 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1.4% 0.0% 0.0% 2.7% 0.0% Bickleton 4.8% 3.2% 12.5% 6.1% 15.0% 15.1% 10.1% 18.3% 16.4% 11.9% Bingen/WS 1.0% 4.8% 5.7% 4.1% 2.5% 0.0% 2.9% 1.4% 0.0% 3.0% BZHusum 1.0% 1.6% 1.1% 0.0% 2.5% 1.4% 0.0% 2.8% 4.1% 6.0% Centerville 0.0% 4.8% 3.4% 4.1% 5.0% 4.1% 4.3% 8.5% 2.7% 9.0% Dallesport 0.0% 1.6% 0.0% 0.0% 2.5% 2.7% 0.0% 0.0% 1.4% 3.0% Glenwood 2.9% 3.2% 0.0% 8.2% 5.0% 15.1% 1.4% 11.3% 5.5% 1.5% Goldendale 71.4% 52.4% 68.2% 63.3% 57.5% 43.8% 73.9% 53.5% 56.2% 50.7% Klickitat 7.6% 9.5% 5.7% 4.1% 2.5% 2.7% 1.4% 1.4% 4.1% 6.0% Lyle 7.6% 14.3% 0.0% 8.2% 7.5% 1.4% 2.9% 1.4% 2.7% 3.0% MaryHill 1.9% 1.6% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% Roosevelt 0.0% 1.6% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1.4% 1.4% 1.4% 0.0% 4.5% Snowden 1.0% 0.0% 2.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% TroutLake 1.0% 0.0% 1.1% 2.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1.4% 0.0% 4.1% 0.0% Wishram 0.0% 1.6% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1.5% Other 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 11.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%

3 of 29 Klickitat County Solid Waste 2003-12 Fair Survey Report Favorite Radio Stations:

We run public service announcements on all of the radio stations listed. We also appear on talk shows on KLCK am and KIHR am.

Station Format: Coverage KMCQ contemporary pop music west/central KLCK oldies/local talk central KYYT country west/central/east KACI am/fm conservative talk west/central/east KIHR contemporary pop music and local talk west KMSW pop/rock/hip-hop west/central KCGB rock/metal west/central

Strongest response is for the local country western music station, KYYT, which also happens to have the strongest signal. This response may also reflect the fact that the survey was performed at the local county fair and rodeo event. The response could be quite different if we did the surveys at the Huckleberry Festival in Bingen/White Salmon. KLCK moved its broadcast tower in 2010 so the signal is weaker. It was the news/talk/sports source for the Goldendale area, but in 2011 the live talk show was canceled and listener numbers dropped. KACI 1300 appeals to an older, more conservative audience and has a strong signal during daylight hours. KMSW and KCGB appeal to a younger audience. KIHR, which has the weakest response in this survey is only available in the Bingen/White Salmon area which is not well represented by the survey pool. KMCQ has gone through some management, signal strength and format changes and the responses for this station have declined over the period of the surveys.

Age Group 11-18 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 KMCQ_Q104 29.2% 40.0% 18.4% 21.4% 8.7% 6.7% 11.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% KLCK_1400 6.3% 8.0% 18.4% 17.9% 8.7% 20.0% 22.2% 7.1% 0.0% 29.6% KYYT_102-3 37.5% 44.0% 55.1% 64.3% 65.2% 33.3% 66.7% 57.1% 64.7% 51.9% KACI_1300 4.2% 8.0% 6.1% 0.0% 4.3% 0.0% 5.6% 3.6% 0.0% 11.1% KACI_97-7 12.5% 0.0% 12.2% 10.7% 13.0% 13.3% 5.6% 25.0% 20.6% 7.4% KIHR_1340 0.0% 0.0% 2.0% 3.6% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 3.6% 0.0% 3.7% KMSW_92-7 12.5% 16.0% 10.2% 21.4% 8.7% 0.0% 5.6% 0.0% 11.8% 7.4% KCGB_105-5 16.7% 0.0% 6.1% 0.0% 8.7% 0.0% 0.0% 7.1% 5.9% 7.4%

4 of 29 Klickitat County Solid Waste 2003-12 Fair Survey Report The survey results indicate we are reaching over 50% of the teen age group through radio.

5 of 29 Klickitat County Solid Waste 2003-12 Fair Survey Report

Age Group 19-49 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

KMCQ_Q104 12.5% 16.0% 0.0% 3.6% 4.3% 0.0% 5.6% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% KLCK_1400 12.5% 12.0% 10.2% 10.7% 8.7% 13.3% 16.7% 7.1% 8.8% 7.4% KYYT_102-3 22.9% 28.0% 14.3% 21.4% 30.4% 86.7% 61.1% 21.4% 23.5% 11.1% KACI_1300 4.2% 0.0% 4.1% 0.0% 4.3% 0.0% 16.7% 0.0% 2.9% 3.7% KACI_97-7 0.0% 0.0% 2.0% 0.0% 4.3% 0.0% 5.6% 0.0% 2.9% 0.0% KIHR_1340 2.1% 0.0% 0.0% 3.6% 4.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 3.7% KMSW_92-7 2.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 8.7% 6.7% 11.1% 10.7% 2.9% 3.7% KCGB_105-5 0.0% 4.0% 0.0% 0.0% 8.7% 0.0% 5.6% 0.0% 2.9% 7.4%

The survey results indicate we are reaching about 40% of parent age group through radio.

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Age Group 50 + 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

KMCQ_Q104 12.5% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 4.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% KLCK_1400 39.6% 28.0% 4.1% 21.4% 13.0% 66.7% 27.8% 32.1% 17.6% 3.7% KYYT_102-3 22.9% 20.0% 2.0% 14.3% 8.7% 20.0% 16.7% 10.7% 11.8% 0.0% KACI_1300 10.4% 20.0% 0.0% 10.7% 13.0% 6.7% 16.7% 10.7% 8.8% 11.1% KACI_97-7 6.3% 4.0% 0.0% 0.0% 4.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 5.9% 3.7% KIHR_1340 0.0% 4.0% 0.0% 3.6% 0.0% 6.7% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 3.7% KMSW_92-7 0.0% 4.0% 0.0% 3.6% 0.0% 0.0% 5.6% 0.0% 0.0% 3.7% KCGB_105-5 2.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 6.7% 0.0% 0.0% 2.9% 0.0%

The survey results indicate we are reaching 25-30% of the grand parent age group through radio.

The younger listeners tend to prefer music format stations and the older listeners tend to favor news and talk radio stations.

7 of 29 Klickitat County Solid Waste 2003-12 Fair Survey Report

Media Sources Acknowledged:

Age 11 + 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

q4-radio 41.0% 40.0% 40.6% 46.9% 42.5% 51.1% 54.5% 51.0% 33.9% 44.2% q5-KC web 19.0% 20.0% 17.2% 32.7% 10.0% 17.8% 38.6% 15.7% 15.3% 14.0% q6-SW web 11.4% 3.6% 6.3% 16.3% 2.5% 2.2% 11.4% 9.8% 10.2% 4.7% q7-mail 10.5% 23.6% 18.8% 34.7% 42.5% 44.4% 52.3% 37.3% 28.8% 30.2% q8-phone 37.1% 7.3% 10.9% 12.2% 12.5% 13.3% 15.9% 15.7% 16.9% 7.0% q9- workshop 23.8% 5.5% 18.8% 12.2% 15.0% 6.7% 18.2% 11.8% 3.4% 9.3%

8 of 29 Klickitat County Solid Waste 2003-12 Fair Survey Report

Age 19 + 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

q4-radio 64.9% 56.7% 80.0% 66.7% 76.5% 66.7% 73.1% 73.9% 52.0% 56.3% q5-KC web 24.6% 30.0% 33.3% 47.6% 17.6% 26.7% 50.0% 17.4% 24.0% 37.5% q6-SW web 8.8% 3.3% 20.0% 28.6% 0.0% 3.3% 19.2% 13.0% 8.0% 12.5% q7-mail 7.0% 36.7% 46.7% 47.6% 76.5% 60.0% 61.5% 52.2% 52.0% 56.3% q8-phone 50.9% 6.7% 20.0% 9.5% 23.5% 13.3% 23.1% 13.0% 24.0% 12.5% q9-workshop 33.3% 3.3% 0.0% 0.0% 5.9% 3.3% 15.4% 4.3% 4.0% 0.0%

Radio and Direct Mail continue to be the most well recognized outreach media vehicles, with radio above 50%, direct mail above 40% and the web at 20-50% over the years in 3rd place. In the most recent survey radio was lower than any previous year. There was a break in radio advertising from spring to fall on the local Goldendale station during 2011 and one of the local stations suffered a loss of listeners due to format and signal strength changes. Telephone contact shows an increase over time possibly due to correcting the way our phone number is listed in phone directories and in our direct mail layout.

Two other vehicles are not presented as options on this survey; newspapers and public event booths. We have increased our participation at public events in recent years but still only use newspapers for special circumstances. Trying to measure public event recognition, using a survey conducted at a public event would pretty much guarantee a 100% affirmative response.

9 of 29 Klickitat County Solid Waste 2003-12 Fair Survey Report Organics

The organics survey asks questions looking for responses to indicate 1) how many people are still using outdoor burning of lawn and garden waste as a disposal option. 2) how many people are composting their lawn, garden, food, livestock manure, paper or wood waste. 3) how many people are aware of xeriscape as an alternative to high water/chemical dependant landscaping.

Age of Survey Pool

The distribution of responses remains heavily weighted in the teen age group at about 60-70% of the filtered responses.

11 to 18 19 to 49 50 + 2003 42% 26% 32% 2004 44% 18% 39% 2005 59% 19% 23% 2006 62% 21% 17% 2007 61% 21% 18% 2008 65% 14% 21% 2009 68% 15% 17% 2010 64% 11% 25% 2011 63% 13% 25% 2012 68% 17% 14%

10 of 29 Klickitat County Solid Waste 2003-12 Fair Survey Report Community Representation:

Approximately 60% of the responses over time indicate Goldendale as the town closest to their home.

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Alderdale 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 0% 0% 0% Bickleton 3% 11% 0% 20% 9% 20% 17% 17% 14% 12% Bingen/WS 9% 1% 11% 2% 0% 1% 0% 1% 3% 0% BZHusum 6% 2% 3% 0% 0% 1% 0% 4% 1% 5% Centerville 0% 4% 1% 8% 8% 2% 6% 3% 5% 11% Dallesport 4% 0% 8% 1% 2% 1% 0% 3% 0% 3% Glenwood 1% 5% 0% 7% 5% 4% 4% 4% 9% 5% Goldendale 64% 65% 5% 56% 63% 54% 66% 57% 47% 59% Klickitat 3% 2% 61% 2% 4% 5% 2% 4% 5% 3% Lyle 7% 4% 3% 2% 5% 8% 2% 1% 6% 1% MaryHill 0% 0% 2% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Roosevelt 0% 0% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 2% 0% 0% Snowden 0% 3% 0% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 0% TroutLake 0% 2% 1% 1% 2% 1% 1% 0% 7% 0% Wishram 1% 0% 2% 0% 0% 0% 0% 2% 1% 0% Other 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 2% 0% 0% 0% 0%

11 of 29 Klickitat County Solid Waste 2003-12 Fair Survey Report Outdoor Burning

This question asked if brush or tree limbs had been burned at their household in the past 12 months.

We actively discourage burning of garbage and advocate alternatives to burning of brush, but there are no subsidized alternatives to burning in Klickitat County. Within the individual age groups we could say perhaps the 50+ age may be doing less outdoor burning, while the teen group may be doing more outdoor burning.

Klickitat County does not have a cheap, convenient alternative to outdoor burning for brush and tree limbs. Outdoor burning is still permitted for about 2/3 of the population and local fire districts encourage rural homeowners to build “defensible space” around their homes by removing flammable vegetation within 100 feet of structures. They also discourage leaving flammable brush piles on site. Brush is expensive to dispose of in a landfill as it does not compact well and local transfer stations charge by the cubic yard. One ton of brush can cost as much as $250 to landfill and will require several loads shipped to the transfer stations. On site burning does not include transportation or disposal fees.

Also of note, the period covered by these surveys coincides with the period following the closure of our brush and tree limb chipping program. With that said it appears that about 40-50% of the population are engaged in some outdoor burning of brush and tree limbs.

As a percent within age group 11 to 18 19-49 50 + 2003 37.5% 13.6% 50.0% 2004 42.9% 35.7% 54.8% 2005 38.6% 64.3% 76.5% 2006 48.7% 61.5% 45.5% 2007 27.0% 30.8% 54.5% 2008 63.4% 77.8% 46.2% 2009 26.8% 33.3% 30.0% 2010 21.1% 57.1% 50.0% 2011 48.9% 22.2% 27.8% 2012 39.5% 72.7% 55.6%

12 of 29 Klickitat County Solid Waste 2003-12 Fair Survey Report

As a percent within age group For age 19 and older 19-49 50 + 2003 13.6% 50.0% 2004 35.7% 54.8% 2005 64.3% 76.5% 2006 61.5% 45.5% 2007 30.8% 54.5% 2008 77.8% 46.2% 2009 33.3% 30.0% 2010 57.1% 50.0% 2011 22.2% 27.8% 2012 72.7% 55.6%

Within the non-teenage responses there does appear to be a decline in open burning since 2005, with 2012 showing a dramatic rise. There was a large and well publicized wild fire in the Goldendale area in September of 2011 which may have led to more homeowners clearing and burning combustible vegetation near their homes in 2012. There was a second large fire in September of 2012 on the west end of the county so this may impact future behavior of homeowners going into 2013.

13 of 29 Klickitat County Solid Waste 2003-12 Fair Survey Report Composting:

This survey question asked which of the listed items each household composted.

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

YardGarden 50% 48% 36% 43% 49% 41% 35% 31% 51% 41% LivestockBedding 17% 24% 13% 21% 26% 24% 8% 16% 16% 14% Food 28% 24% 33% 30% 44% 43% 32% 46% 47% 43% Manure 22% 29% 25% 25% 36% 32% 8% 26% 31% 33% Paper 12% 20% 15% 19% 20% 19% 18% 35% 21% 25% WoodChips 9% 10% 8% 13% 13% 14% 5% 8% 10% 17% None 24% 19% 28% 27% 25% 27% 35% 16% 18% 21%

There is a strong indication that half of the households in survey pool are practicing some kind of home composting. Less than 1/5 of the responses specifically indicate no composting takes place in their household. About 1/2 of the responses indicate yard and garden waste and/or food waste are composted in their household. Another 16-30% indicate composting of manure or livestock bedding.

There are an increasing number of households composting food waste. There also appears to be a rising number of households composting manure or including paper products in their compost mix. It seems odd that this survey pool does not report more composting of livestock bedding, which suggests an effort to encourage this practice. It may also be that this survey pool does not distinguish between pure manure and livestock bedding. It is highly unlikely that livestock bedding or manure are being landfilled. It may be that they do not manage the bedding and manure for the purpose of maximizing use of the end product on crops or gardens which indicates an area we can focus on in future public outreach efforts.

14 of 29 Klickitat County Solid Waste 2003-12 Fair Survey Report

15 of 29 Klickitat County Solid Waste 2003-12 Fair Survey Report Xeriscape:

This survey question attempts to measure public awareness of xeriscape as an alternative to landscaping that requires greater use of water and chemicals.

Percent Correctly Identifying Definition of Xeriscape 11-18 19-49 50+ 2006 51.3% 38.5% 45.5% 2007 35.1% 38.5% 54.5% 2008 34.1% 55.6% 38.5% 2009 36.6% 11.1% 80.0% 2010 51.0% 50.0% 31.6% 2011 26.7% 33.3% 55.6% 2012 55.8% 63.6% 77.8%

There appears to be a slight trend toward greater awareness or understanding of xeriscape landscaping emerging in these survey results.

16 of 29 Klickitat County Solid Waste 2003-12 Fair Survey Report Recycling

The recycling survey attempts to measure population choosing to make use of existing recycling options, and to measure their knowledge of what is or is not recyclable in Klickitat County.

Age of Survey Pool:

As with other surveys, the teen age group accounts for the largest block of responses. 11 to 18 19 to 49 50 + 2003 43.8% 25.0% 31.3% 2004 50.0% 26.3% 23.7% 2005 57.9% 23.7% 18.4% 2006 61.3% 18.7% 20.0% 2007 83.9% 12.9% 3.2% 2008 34.8% 28.8% 36.4% 2009 49.3% 20.0% 30.7% 2010 59.5% 21.5% 19.0% 2011 18.6% 69.8% 11.6% 2012 54.8% 23.3% 21.9%

17 of 29 Klickitat County Solid Waste 2003-12 Fair Survey Report Community Representation:

Goldendale area citizens continue to represent the majority of the survey responses but in the most recent survey Bickleton and Centerville, which are predominantly rural, are well represented. Goldendale represents a smaller majority than in many of the previous surveys. A few other small communities appear to have stronger representation as well.

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Alderdale 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1.4% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% Bickleton 7.4% 7.9% 6.7% 6.8% 18.0% 21.2% 13.3% 21.5% 26.5% 19.2% Bingen/WS 4.9% 2.6% 4.0% 0.0% 0.0% 4.5% 1.3% 0.0% 2.4% 0.0% BZHusum 2.5% 3.9% 1.3% 1.4% 0.0% 4.5% 1.3% 3.8% 0.0% 5.5% Centerville 0.0% 6.6% 2.7% 4.1% 1.6% 3.0% 4.0% 6.3% 3.6% 11.0% Dallesport 3.7% 0.0% 0.0% 1.4% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% Glenwood 3.7% 3.9% 5.3% 6.8% 0.0% 4.5% 5.3% 1.3% 3.6% 6.8% Goldendale 54.3% 56.6% 73.3% 75.7% 65.6% 47.0% 69.3% 53.2% 49.4% 54.8% Klickitat 11.1% 5.3% 1.3% 0.0% 1.6% 4.5% 1.3% 5.1% 6.0% 1.4% Lyle 4.9% 5.3% 0.0% 2.7% 6.6% 6.1% 1.3% 0.0% 6.0% 1.4% MaryHill 3.7% 1.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 3.8% 0.0% 1.4% Roosevelt 1.2% 1.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 3.0% 1.3% 2.5% 0.0% 2.7% Snowden 0.0% 2.6% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1.5% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% TroutLake 0.0% 1.3% 5.3% 0.0% 6.6% 0.0% 1.3% 0.0% 2.4% 1.4% Wishram 2.5% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2.5% 0.0% 0.0% Other 0.0% 1.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%

18 of 29 Klickitat County Solid Waste 2003-12 Fair Survey Report With Goldendale removed from the sample the bar graph below shows the communities of Bickleton, Centerville, Glenwood, Klickitat and Lyle with significant participation in the survey.

19 of 29 Klickitat County Solid Waste 2003-12 Fair Survey Report Recycling Service Participation:

This question tries to identify recycling program participation. The results given below show the combined responses from ages 11 and older.

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Curbside Recycle 36.8% 26.3% 30.3% 30.7% 24.2% 28.8% 41.3% 35.4% 22.9% 37.0% Drop Off Recycle 50.6% 51.3% 48.7% 22.7% 24.2% 43.9% 41.3% 51.9% 50.6% 57.5% Glass Recycling 16.1% 39.5% 39.5% 53.3% 45.2% 24.2% 18.7% 15.2% 16.9% 19.2% Scrap Metal 18.4% 19.7% 15.8% 21.3% 17.7% 19.7% 21.3% 10.1% 21.7% 19.2% White Goods 14.9% 22.4% 11.8% 8.0% 14.5% 18.2% 9.3% 13.9% 12.0% 17.8% Used Oil 19.5% 27.6% 19.7% 12.0% 17.7% 24.2% 17.3% 11.4% 10.8% 9.6%

Glass recycling and used oil recycling appear to be on a downward trend. There are some individuals and non-profit fund raising groups collecting glass and plastic beverage containers for the 5¢ deposit redemption in Oregon. We do not know the extent of this effort but do know it has expanded in the past few years. We do not have a way to track the volume of glass recycled through the Oregon bottle deposit program. Used oil collected at our transfer stations has been declining for several years. We attribute this to fewer residents changing their own oil. Residents who do change their own oil have other alternatives for recycling used oil through local shops that have used oil heaters.

There also appears to be a small declining trend in recycling of white goods. This could be a reflection of fewer individuals purchasing new appliances and may just be a temporary reflection of the economic climate.

Curbside recycling service participation appears to be in the 25-35% range with the higher numbers being in the more recent surveys. Drop-off recycling appears to be somewhere between 40-50% also with higher numbers in recent surveys and may be trending upward. The numbers for curbside and drop-off recycling are consistent with the ratio of residents with curbside garbage service and self-haul garbage service. Self haulers are more likely to use the drop off recycling facilities at the transfer stations and users of curbside disposal service are more likely to use the curbside recycling service.

20 of 29 Klickitat County Solid Waste 2003-12 Fair Survey Report The survey results combined with information we have on residential garbage service subscriptions would indicate a very high percentage of curbside disposal subscribers also subscribe to curbside recycling and that the majority of them are located in incorporated cities or small towns.. A lower percentage of the rural population are recycling when they self haul their garbage to one of the transfer stations. This indicates an area where we can focus our public outreach efforts in the future.

21 of 29 Klickitat County Solid Waste 2003-12 Fair Survey Report Identifying Recycling Contamination:

This survey question attempts to measure the ability to identify the difference between recyclable materials and non-recyclable materials in a short list of common household products.

Measure of ability to identify contaminants in recycle bag

Average of correctly identified contaminants by age group

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

11 to 18 55.0% 67.1% 52.9% 51.1% 70.3% 44.2% 75.4% 66.3% 46.1% 50.4% 19 to 49 65.0% 54.2% 63.5% 56.0% 34.5% 55.3% 45.6% 59.8% 43.3% 37.3% 50 + 68.3% 71.3% 65.3% 54.4% 8.9% 49.3% 59.0% 56.7% 46.2% 52.1%

The 2012 results while not the worst ever they are on the low side of previous results. This may be a result of modifications to the survey that keep moving the goal post. Our efforts to educate the public on contamination of recycling focus on the most prominent current forms of contamination. We modify the survey to include the forms of contamination that are showing up in the current collection stream. As a consequence this survey question may be more a measure of our ability to identify areas where more education is needed to address low public awareness than it is a measure of the effectiveness of our past outreach and education efforts.

The surveys do not measure improvement in learning the same information since the first survey. The survey does provide an opportunity to educate people about the current forms of contamination at the time they take the survey.

22 of 29 Klickitat County Solid Waste 2003-12 Fair Survey Report Household Hazardous Waste

Age Pool of Survey

70-80% of the responses to this survey were from the 11-18 age group, with the majority of the remainder in the 19 to 49 age group.

As percent of age 11 + 11 to 18 19 to 49 50 + 2003 44.9% 25.5% 29.6% 2004 52.1% 12.7% 35.2% 2005 55.4% 17.6% 27.0% 2006 54.8% 24.2% 21.0% 2007 61.8% 16.2% 22.1% 2008 62.3% 24.6% 13.0% 2009 85.5% 9.1% 5.5% 2010 80.0% 18.3% 1.7% 2011 75.3% 15.6% 9.1% 2012 72.3% 12.3% 15.4%

23 of 29 Klickitat County Solid Waste 2003-12 Fair Survey Report Community Representation:

As with all the surveys, Goldendale area residents represent nearly half of the responses.

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Alderdale 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1.7% 2.9% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% Bickleton 4.5% 7.0% 8.2% 10.0% 23.5% 17.4% 20.0% 23.3% 19.5% 21.5% BingenWS 1.8% 5.6% 0.0% 0.0% 1.5% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 3.9% 0.0% BZHusum 0.9% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1.5% 1.4% 1.8% 8.3% 2.6% 3.1% Centerville 0.9% 9.9% 5.5% 3.3% 1.5% 2.9% 1.8% 6.7% 6.5% 10.8% Dallesport 4.5% 2.8% 0.0% 1.7% 0.0% 0.0% 1.8% 1.7% 0.0% 0.0% Glenwood 4.5% 2.8% 9.6% 1.7% 4.4% 2.9% 3.6% 5.0% 3.9% 6.2% Goldendale 55.0% 63.4% 72.6% 73.3% 52.9% 62.3% 54.5% 50.0% 45.5% 46.2% Klickitat 9.9% 4.2% 0.0% 3.3% 2.9% 5.8% 1.8% 1.7% 1.3% 4.6% Lyle 9.0% 1.4% 1.4% 3.3% 5.9% 2.9% 5.5% 3.3% 9.1% 1.5% MaryHill 2.7% 1.4% 0.0% 1.7% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% Roosevelt 2.7% 0.0% 1.4% 0.0% 0.0% 2.9% 1.8% 0.0% 1.3% 3.1% Snowden 0.0% 1.4% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1.3% 0.0% TroutLake 2.7% 0.0% 1.4% 0.0% 2.9% 1.4% 3.6% 0.0% 5.2% 3.1% Wishram 0.9% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% Other 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 3.6% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%

24 of 29 Klickitat County Solid Waste 2003-12 Fair Survey Report HHW Product Key Words:

This survey question lists common product label words one should look for when trying to determine if left over product should be treated as HHW. The words listed on the survey are “danger”, “warning”, “caution”, “flammable”, “combustible”, “poison”, “caustic” and “irritant”. The correct answer is all of the above. It is sort of a trick question and not very many responses mark all of the choices.

11 to 19 to 18 49 50 + 2003 17.3% 13.0% 7.5% 2004 52.0% 79.2% 65.5% 2005 44.8% 70.2% 78.8% 2006 64.0% 71.7% 75.0% 2007 86.0% 59.2% 76.9% 2008 51.2% 76.5% 70.8% 2009 49.2% 72.5% 62.5% 2010 53.1% 65.9% 100.0% 2011 69.2% 91.7% 80.4% 2012 50.0% 57.8% 68.8%

The chart above indicates adults correctly identified the hazard warning words between 60-80% of the time, while teens correctly identified the hazard warding words 40-70% of the time. This appears to be one area where adults are correct more often than teens.

There is still room for improvement in all age groups.

25 of 29 Klickitat County Solid Waste 2003-12 Fair Survey Report Identify Non-HHW Product:

This survey question seeks to measure the public’s ability to identify the difference between HHW products and non-HHW products in a list of common household products. The percentages reflect the number of correct answers within each age group rather than the number within an age group compared to the entire pool of responses.

Identify Non-HHW 11 to 18 19 to 49 50 + 2003 33.7% 46.7% 46.0% 2004 36.5% 77.8% 30.0% 2005 43.9% 33.3% 46.7% 2006 55.9% 60.0% 74.4% 2007 57.1% 54.5% 66.7% 2008 51.9% 66.7% 74.1% 2009 42.6% 13.3% 55.6% 2010 77.1% 93.9% 100.0% 2011 21.8% 5.6% 14.3% 2012 62.4% 70.8% 33.3%

This question is perhaps another case where the results, to some degree, reflect moving the goal post. The form of the question has remained the same over the years but the items in the list change. Some years the correct answer is more easily identified than other years. The correct answers to the 2010 question were more obvious than previous years so I made them less obvious in the 2011 survey. In 2012 In 2012 we tried to strike a balance between obvious and subtle. Even with the volatility of the last few year’s results, there still appears to be some improvement over the full period of the surveys.

26 of 29 Klickitat County Solid Waste 2003-12 Fair Survey Report HHW Drop-off Locations:

The question asks people to identify the locations of the four HHW drop-off locations in Klickitat County from a list of communities in Klickitat County. Given that most of the responses are from Goldendale residents it is not surprising that more people were aware of the HHW drop-off site in Goldendale. The next largest group of survey responses came from Bickleton which is near the Roosevelt HHW drop-off site. The responses seem to indicate that respondents are only concerned about parts of the program that directly pertain to their circumstance.

There does appear to be a decline in the number of correct responses to this question. The only explanation for that trend at this time would be the increasing percentage of younger people taking the survey coupled with their lower awareness level of hazardous waste identification. There has been no change to the form or detail of this question over the life of the surveys.

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 BZHusum 33.7% 31.0% 28.4% 32.3% 39.7% 26.1% 9.1% 28% 18% 23.1% Dallesport 49.0% 40.8% 37.8% 53.2% 44.1% 39.1% 14.5% 38% 29% 36.9% Goldendale 69.4% 74.6% 67.6% 83.9% 72.1% 63.8% 40.0% 60% 60% 58.5% Roosevelt 54.1% 49.3% 45.9% 40.3% 57.4% 40.6% 27.3% 33% 30% 46.2%

27 of 29 Klickitat County Solid Waste 2003-12 Fair Survey Report Summary Conclusions

People seem to enjoy taking the survey. Some of the questions have right and wrong answers so it is a bit of a challenge. We have transparencies to overlay each survey showing the correct answers so the respondents get immediate feedback on their level of awareness. This is actually a very good way to engage people in a conversation and a learning experience. The greatest value of doing the surveys may be in the dialogue that takes place in the process of taking the survey and checking the answers against the transparency.

There are some obvious shortcomings in the survey process so the data must be viewed with some reservation. The 100 person samples for each survey represent only 0.5% of the county population for the age groups in the filtered samples. The sample group is heavily weighted to the population in or near Goldendale. The sample is heavily weighted to the middle and high school age population. With that said, many of the survey results are supported by other anecdotal evidence indicating the responses are possibly more representative of the general population than one might expect.

Public Outreach:

Radio and direct mail appear to be the most effective media we use for reaching all ages. The web site looks like a distant third most effective media outreach tool, at least for the 19+ age group. Workshops look like they are the next most effective outreach tool for the teen-age group. The increase in workshops may be a reflection of our participation in the Water Jam Environmental Learning Day events attended by most schools in Klickitat County over the past 4 years.

Organics:

The 2012 survey results indicate one of the highest levels of open burning over the period of these surveys for the adult age groups. As stated before, the current results may reflect homeowner reaction to a large wildfire that displaced many homeowners in September of 2011. Other homeowners were indirectly impacted and more homeowners have engaged in clearing ladder fuels around their homes in 2012. In most areas of Klickitat County burning is allowed and is the least costly way to remove ladder fuels. There was another large fire on the west end of the county in 2012 so we may see a continuation of this trend in 2013.

Only 21% of the responses say they don’t compost anything in the latest survey. That would indicate that 79% of the respondents are doing some form of composting. Over time there appears to be an increase in all forms of composting except livestock bedding.

The most common type of composting is yard and garden waste mixed with food waste. There appears to be an increase in the number of people saying they compost food waste and paper.

Xeriscape: 2012 was the first year where all age groups were able to correctly identify the definition of xeriscape in a multiple choice question more than 50% of the time. While still a low number correctly identified the answer, the long term trend indicates a growing awareness.

Recycling:

Our surveys indicate declining participation in glass, used oil and used appliance recycling by survey respondents over time. Declines in glass recycling could be a reflection of fewer products being packaged in glass containers. Declines in used oil recycling could be a reflection of more people using commercial oil change services which for the most part are located in Oregon or in the Yakima valley and do not report recycling of oil by the vehicles origin. The decline in appliance recycling could very well be a reflection of the

28 of 29 Klickitat County Solid Waste 2003-12 Fair Survey Report depressed local economy, fewer people buying new homes, doing fewer remodeling jobs and fewer individuals purchasing new appliances.

In the area of identifying recycleable and non-recycleable materials we need to do some work. Our 2012 survey responses came in at around than 50% accuracy picking out non-recyclable materials from a list of materials. Our actual contamination rate is about 10%. There is definitely room for improvement in this area. The results for this part of the recycling survey may be influenced by the fact that we keep changing the question to include the most recent form of contamination showing up in the collected materials.

HHW:

Being able to correctly identify HHW by reading product containers labeled with key words remains in the 50- 80% range, with older age groups recording higher levels of correct answers. This is a question that has not changed over the years.

The question about correctly distinguishing between common trash and HHW took another wide swing in the 2012 survey. We have changed the contents of the lists over the years and some years the correct answer has been easier to identify than other years. In 2011 the correct answer was as obvious as it was difficult in 2010. Changing the way the question is asked may distort the results of the survey on this question.

The final question asked where the HHW drop off facilities are located. Over the years the question has not changed in any substantive way. The locations have not changed. The survey results show a definite trend of declining awareness. Looking at the correct responses in relation to the home town of the person answering the question it looks as though there is a higher awareness of the location closest to where the person lives.

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