The Challenge

Beginning in 2022, the City of South Gate recognized the need to enhance its community engagement and public education efforts to prepare residents and businesses for the implementation of California’s Senate Bill 1383 (SB 1383). With the law’s strict requirements for organics recycling and edible food recovery, the City sought a partner who could develop a multi-year communications strategy that educated its diverse community while meeting state outreach mandates. Tripepi Smith was brought on board to provide a comprehensive suite of outreach and education services that evolved over a two-year period.

Our Approach

Tripepi Smith designed and implemented a robust communications program to support South Gate’s SB 1383 goals, beginning with the 2022 development of a detailed outreach plan and continuing with an array of creative and digital services through 2024.

In 2022, Tripepi Smith developed a strategic education and outreach plan that outlined a roadmap for engaging South Gate’s community across multiple channels. The plan included recommended strategies for messaging, content development, multilingual outreach and leveraging both print and digital media to reach residents and businesses.

Building on that foundation, Tripepi Smith executed key deliverables across 2023 and 2024, including:

  • Ongoing updates to the City’s website, ensuring timely and relevant SB 1383 resources and recycling information.
  • Development of bimonthly social media graphics and posts, including one boosted post per cycle to increase visibility around organics recycling requirements and related waste hauler/state grant services (Universal Waste Systems and CalRecycle).
  • Creation of monthly newsletter and e-newsletter content focused on SB 1383 requirements and practical tips for residents and businesses.
  • Design and deployment of an e-newsletter alert template to enable quick updates about City news and environmental initiatives.
  • Design of two print, bilingual postcards to support public education efforts: one outlining commercial sector requirements and one showcasing contamination rate improvements.
  • Production of three public service announcement (PSA) videos (each up to one minute), educating the community on correct organics recycling practices under the City’s three-cart collection system.
  • Drafting and distribution of a press release highlighting the Tripepi Smith-produced animated video series.

Throughout the engagement, our team maintained a structured account management framework, including monthly check-in calls to align on priorities and drive progress.

By weaving SB 1383 messaging into multiple formats, from print to video to digital platforms, Tripepi Smith ensured outreach was accessible, visually engaging and relevant to South Gate’s diverse community.

The Results

Tripepi Smith’s two-year partnership with the City of South Gate resulted in a professional, consistent communications program that successfully educated the public about SB 1383 and fostered greater community awareness. Key outcomes include:

  • Increased resident and business understanding of organics recycling requirements under SB 1383.
  • Enhanced digital engagement via targeted social media, videos and e-newsletters.
  • Greater visibility of City initiatives through press coverage and PSA videos.
  • Streamlined workflows for City staff, reducing internal workload while improving the quality and consistency of messaging.

Additionally, our SB 1383 PSA video series achieved strong results across multiple platforms. On YouTube, the series amassed more than 31,000 total views. The Facebook ad campaign reached nearly 7,600 users and drove over 300 engagements, while the Google ad campaign contributed an additional 3,000+ views.

Together, these efforts helped South Gate not only meet state outreach requirements but also build lasting trust and stronger connections with its community.