Recycling Ambassador Program: How Communities Like Pomona Are Leading Change

Communities make the biggest sustainability gains when residents are empowered to lead. That’s the idea behind Athens Services’ Recycling Ambassador Program, recently launched in partnership with the City of Pomona.

The program equips residents living in multi-family communities with the tools, training, and support needed to improve recycling and composting right where they live—creating cleaner collection areas, reducing contamination, and strengthening local environmental outcomes.

What Do Recycling Ambassadors Do?

Recycling Ambassadors play a simple but powerful role in their communities by:

• Helping neighbors understand what goes where
• Sharing clear recycling and composting guidance
• Supporting cleaner, better-organized collection areas
• Reducing contamination through everyday education
• Encouraging small habit changes that add up over time

With training and materials provided by Athens Services, ambassadors become trusted, local points of contact for sustainability questions.

Why Community-Led Recycling Works

Community-led recycling works because people are more likely to change habits when guidance comes from someone they know and trust. In multi-family communities, this approach leads to:

• Higher recycling participation
• Fewer incorrectly sorted materials
• Cleaner shared spaces
• Stronger long-term diversion results

When residents feel confident—not confused—about recycling, the entire system becomes more effective.

Pomona: A Model for Community Action

In Pomona, residents stepped forward as Recycling Ambassadors because they wanted to make a difference close to home. Some were motivated by environmental values, others by a desire to help their neighbors recycle correctly—but all shared a belief that local action matters.

By combining resident leadership with Athens Services’ training and ongoing support, the program demonstrates how cities and communities can work together to achieve meaningful, measurable sustainability improvements.