A 2003 report for the US Department of Energy on handling and use of FGD products concluded “…the technical challenges of producing commercially useable by-product gypsum have mostly been solved…The area that remains a significant challenge is structuring successful relationships between producers and consumers” 1. As per the current Request for Proposals from the Combustion Byproducts Recycling Consortium (CBRC) to which we are responding, the CBRC has set a target of 50% recycling of all CCBs by 2010. How do we reach that goal? We propose to demonstrate the utility and versatility of Community-based Social Marketing (CBSM) in marketing off-spec FGD-gypsum from Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) power generating stations at Paradise, Kentucky and Widows Creek, Alabama to row crop farmers in nearby Tennessee. The agricultural benefits of mined gypsum, FGD gypsum, and ground wallboard in crop productivity have been reported. The key result of our three-year program will be a model that other generators of CCBs can apply, irrespective of the type of CCB or geographical location in the US. CBSM has been used in the past to entrain environmental behaviors in target audiences, and it has become a well-established set of procedures used to implement improved health and sanitation in Third World countries.
CBSM is a data-driven set of four steps: Step 1: uncovering barriers exhibited by the target audience to achieving the objective, and selecting target behaviors in a planned program; Step 2: designing strategies that address and overcome the barriers; Step 3: piloting the designed program with testing and modifying to endure that the desired behavioral change is reached; and Step 4: implementing the piloted interventions to the wider target audience and evaluating their effectiveness in respect to achieving the behavior change that was sought.
In the first year, two focus groups will be held in each diametric Tennessee farming locals to identify barriers to using FDG-g, address the barriers, and obtain a modest number (e.g., 5) farmers willing to participate in the FDG-g land application program on 3 acres (with 3 acres as controls, i.e., untreated for soil and crop performance comparisons). The diametric disposition of farming communities will allow us to test the financial incentive variable, with farmers in one region offered modest financial incentive to participate but not those in the other region.
In years 2 and 3 of the project, so-called “social diffusion” will be the key factor that girds rapid expansion of FGD-g use within each farming community. In year 2, each of the 5 farmers will corral 2 new farmers into the project: in year 3, each of the 10 new farmers will enlist two new ones…clearly an exponential enlistment process that continues to increase diversion of FGD-g from disposal to beneficial use. Data on the benefits of FGD-g on each farmer’s soil and crop will be reported to him/her and be supporting data in respect to our request that he/she enlists the participation of other farmers in the project for the upcoming year. Again, we will determine whether financial incentive, versus a simple and personal on-farm demonstration of the benefit of the FDG-g, is really needed to market FGD-g to farmers. The key project deliverable will be a demonstration of a marketing model that will be transferable to all members of the CCB community. When implemented by CCB generators, the 50% recycling target proposed by the CBRC should become more achievable.
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1 Berland, et al., 2003. CARRC Topical Report. U.S. Department of Energy Cooperative Agreement No. DE-FC26-98FT40321. iii+29 pp+appendix.
Richard G. Buggeln
University of Tennessee Center for Industrial Services
105 Student Services Bldg.
Knoxville, TN 37996
(865) 974-9058 Telephone
(865) 974-1528 Fax
buggeln@tennessee.edu