Case Study: City of Calgary achieves a community-informed multi-family recycling strategy with PlaceSpeak

City of Calgary - Customer Case Study

The City of Calgary needed to determine the best recycling option for multi‑family residences and invited residents of apartments and condos to evaluate three proposed strategies (a bylaw mandating recycling, a city‑coordinated privately‑serviced program, or a city‑coordinated mix of private and public collection). From April–May 2013 the City used PlaceSpeak to host discussions and gather resident suggestions and ideas on the proposed approaches.

Using PlaceSpeak’s platform (discussion forum and event calendar) the City engaged 169 connected participants, generated 1,108 unique views and collected 81 comments; this input was used to evaluate the three strategies and inform the City of Calgary’s recommendations to council. PlaceSpeak enabled targeted online engagement and promoted open‑house participation, producing measurable community feedback that directly shaped the multi‑family recycling strategy.

City of Calgary

Philippa Wagner

Waste Diversion Specialist