{"id":23054,"date":"2026-01-28T00:24:38","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T00:24:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=23054"},"modified":"2026-01-28T00:24:39","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T00:24:39","slug":"how-a-trade-org-is-using-a-conservation-icon-to-promote-battery-recycling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=23054","title":{"rendered":"How a trade org is using a conservation icon to promote battery recycling"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The year is 1971. John Lennon\u2019s \u201cImagine\u201d was taking over the airwaves and NPR had just started broadcasting when Secretary of Agriculture Clifford Hardin introduced Woodsy Owl, a new conservation mascot aimed at encouraging Americans to curb pollution. Hardin hoped that Woodsy would educate the masses about the consequences of pollution, as Smokey Bear did for forest fires.<\/p>\n

In the last 55 years, Woodsy has inspired multiple generations of conservationists through memorable and nostalgia-inducing television PSAs. But just as Woodsy\u2019s appearance has changed over the years, so has his pet issue. When he debuted, his slogan was \u201cGive a hoot, don\u2019t pollute!\u201d A few years later Woodsy pivoted to \u201cLend a hand, care for the land!\u201d And this year, he\u2019s got a fresh, modernized refrain that fits our high-tech world full of battery-powered devices: \u201cSkip the bin, turn your batteries in!\u201d<\/p>\n

Woodsy\u2019s latest enterprise is the result of a new campaign with the National Waste & Recycling Association, a trade organization that represents the private-sector waste and recycling industry. The campaign educates the public on how batteries should be disposed of: not tossed into the garbage or recycling bin, but turned in at specific drop-off locations to be properly and safely recycled. When batteries are mixed in with trash or curbside recycling materials, they can cause fires, which many NWRA members are increasingly experiencing at waste and recycling facilities.<\/p>\n

Woodsy\u2014in his Airstream trailer\u2014is touring the US this year to host battery recycling drop-off events.<\/p>\n

Licensing Woodsy<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Collaborating with Woodsy for the campaign was the brainchild of Genevieve O\u2019Sullivan, NWRA\u2019s SVP and chief of communications. When she was tasked with coming up with a national PSA around battery safety to educate the public on how improperly discarded batteries can cause home, trash, and recycling facility fires, she immediately thought about the \u201cconservation icon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, \u2018I wonder what Woodsy Owl is doing,\u2019\u201d O\u2019Sullivan told Morning Brew. \u201cHe went a little bit quiet since the early \u201990s.\u201d<\/p>\n

Getting Woodsy involved meant licensing his likeness from the US Forest Service, where he\u2019s been managed by National Symbols Program Manager Iris Velez since 2003. Velez told Morning Brew in a statement that per the Woodsy Owl Act of 1974, the character\u2019s image and message can be licensed to advance his objectives of \u201canti-littering and environmental conservation.\u201d The NWRA licensed Woodsy for two years, and this is the first time the character has ever been part of a campaign outside the Forest Service.<\/p>\n

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<\/span>\"Woodsy\"Woodsy<\/span>
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National Waste & Recycling Association<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Messaging and direction<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In addition to getting messaging approved by Velez, the NWRA also wanted to keep the campaign\u2019s rhetoric simple and avoid the word \u201crecycle\u201d because the public so closely associates it with home recycling bins.<\/p>\n

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Get marketing news you’ll actually want to read<\/h5>\n

Marketing Brew informs marketing pros of the latest on brand strategy, social media, and ad tech via our weekday newsletter, virtual events, marketing conferences, and digital guides.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cAnd we\u2019re trying to avoid having any specific chemistry discussion, because as soon as you start talking [about] alkaline or nickel metal hydride, or lithium, people start getting confused,\u201d Anne Germain, NWRA\u2019s chief of technical and regulatory affairs, said during a panel at CES earlier this month. \u201cWe\u2019re just saying \u2018all batteries, turn them in.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The second part of the equation is providing information about where folks can turn in their batteries, which NWRA is doing through a dedicated website peppered with images of Woodsy alongside battery safety tips, games, and quizzes. There\u2019s also a link to find nationwide battery drop-off locations through the Battery Network, an aggregator that works to connect drop-off locations with vetted battery recycling facilities. The company is also partnering with NWRA for Woodsy\u2019s drop-off events.<\/p>\n

\u201c[NWRA] wanted to get more people to use our service, which is great,\u201d Battery Network CEO Leo Raudys told Morning Brew.<\/p>\n

Working with NWRA has also given the Battery Network a nationwide marketing opportunity, and the chance to encourage the public to be \u201cless cynical\u201d about battery recycling, Raudys said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is going to help us to explain to people that [batteries do] get recycled,\u201d he said. \u201cWith lithium ion batteries, you can get about 70+ percent material recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taking flight<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Woodsy\u2019s latest campaign officially launched at CES, but NWRA has already held drop-off events in Illinois, Washington, and Washington, DC\u2014all of which have passed laws that require batteries to be properly recycled and disposed of. NWRA\u2019s O\u2019Sullivan said the events were \u201chugely successful because people have been holding on to batteries forever and they don\u2019t know what to do with them.\u201d Thus far, the org has already collected thousands of pounds of batteries.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s so much interest and so much education that\u2019s happened just talking to people,\u201d O\u2019Sullivan said of the campaign\u2019s initial events. \u201cPart of it is the \u2018aha moment\u2019 that people have, where they went, \u2018Oh my god, I\u2019ve been throwing them away…I just didn\u2019t know.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The year is 1971. John Lennon\u2019s \u201cImagine\u201d was taking over the airwaves and NPR had just started broadcasting when Secretary of Agriculture Clifford Hardin introduced Woodsy Owl, a new conservation mascot aimed at encouraging Americans to curb pollution. Hardin hoped that Woodsy would educate the masses about the consequences of pollution, as Smokey Bear did […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23055,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-23054","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-marketing"},"yoast_head":"\nHow a trade org is using a conservation icon to promote battery recycling | Brandiary<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The year is 1971. 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