KDHE Kicks Off 'Get Caught Recycling' Campaign

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) today launched an exciting new campaign, to be seen statewide in the days and months ahead, called 'Get Caught Recycling.'

'Get Caught Recycling' is a public awareness campaign featuring prominent Kansans 'caught' in the act of recycling. Kansans featured in the initial series are former Kansas Gov. Mike Hayden, veteran broadcaster Bill Kurtis, former basketball All-American Kendra Wecker, Kansas State University; former basketball All-American Wayne Simien, University of Kansas; and famous crop artist, Stan Herd.

Local heroes from several communities across the state will also be featured in the campaign including state spelling bee champions, Kent and Scott Toland (brothers) of Iola; president and CEO of Wolf Creek Generating Station, Rick Muench; and Fiesta Mexicana Queen, Melissa Cooper of Topeka. More Kansans are in the creative phase for 2006 to get caught.

'Get Caught Recycling' is a series of TV commercials, print ads and posters featuring prominent Kansans recycling. The TV commercials and print ads will run in Kansas media outlets beginning Tuesday, Nov. 22 and run through the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend.

"We're grateful to every Kansan who recycles in our state and we're excited to see the potential this campaign has for making recycling a habit for all of us," said KDHE Secretary Roderick L. Bremby. "Recycling helps keep material from filling our landfills and offers a new life or purpose to these unwanted items."

"Each year Kansans recycle and compost more than 710,000 tons of materials, enough to completely fill approximately four large football stadiums," said KDHE Division of Environment Director Ron Hammerschmidt. "If each of us would do a little more, the improvement to our environment would be tremendous."

"Our goal with this campaign is to reinforce the recycling behavior of Kansans who currently recycle and encourage those who don't to join with these well-known Kansans and 'Get Caught Recycling,'" says Bill Bider, director of KDHE's Bureau of Waste Management. "The initial statewide release features familiar faces that most Kansans will recognize and connect with and hopefully be influenced by to improve their recycling behaviors."

Plans for 2006 call for 'Get Caught Recycling' to include more local efforts where KDHE will encourage local officials to promote their own recycling heroes. KDHE will work through its statewide network of recycling organizations to create posters to promote these recycling heroes in Kansas communities.

An interesting element to the creation of this campaign was the use of KDHE staff to perform all the creative phases including making the TV commercials and posters. A small group, whose daily duties usually involve public education, technical training, and various technical support duties performed script-writing, storyboarding, video direction and shooting, video editing, still photography and graphic design. This collaboration saved KDHE thousands of dollars on production costs, and allowed the agency to purchase more advertising time and space.

Kansans can learn more about recycling opportunities, watch the 'Get Caught Recycling' videos, and see who'll be next in 2006 by logging onto - www.getcaughtrecycling.org, or by contacting the Bureau of Waste Management at (785) 291-3132 or www.kdheks.gov/kdsi/index.html.

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