RFS - A few things I forgot to mention. A Sanitation Dept officer can come to your building to look at your trash area and tell you how to improve it and recycle properly. They're even willing to attend a meeting and speak to your residents. The only problem is that it takes a long time to get an appointment with them.

Stress to residents how recycling is helping to save the environment. There are many websites with tips on recycling (bring a mug to the office instead of using styrofoam cups at the coffee machine...bring a cloth bag to the grocery store instead of using their plastic bags...use the reverse side of letters and other paper for scribbling notes, draft copy, shopping letters, etc.)

Send residents a memo. Even better, have a 1-hour meeting in your building about 8pm. Have enough seats for everyone and serve coffee & cake. Tell them interesting facts about waste/recycling (many websites for this too). For ex:

-- There's more plastic in the Pacific Ocean today than there is plankton/seaweed.
-- A paper bag cost 3 cents to make. A plastic bag costs 1 cent to make, but it costs 17 cents to dispose of.
-- 100 billion lbs of plastic are discarded in the US every year which will be in landfills for 500 to 1,000 years.
-- Give examples of what recyclables are made into: plastic bottles into ski jackets, skateboards, house paint...milk jugs into weatherproof patio furniture that looks like real wood...metal cans into eyeglass frames, carpeting. It's quite amazing what recyclables can be used for!

Get residents psyched up on recycling and their cooperation will be more forthcoming.