Zero is the new black. Especially when it comes to carbon emissions. But while many companies are talking about going carbon neutral, what is going into landfills out the back doors of businesses these days?
Waiting for pick-up – Kirk’s 8 yard garbage bin and 2 x 4 yard recycling bins.
Last week that question was answered for me literally when I met with Steve, our rep. from Urban Impact Recycling. We were reviewing our existing recycling program to see what Kirk could do to divert more waste. Within a few minutes Steve was sifting through our garbage bin, opening bags, and pulling out ‘stuff’ so we could see if it could be recycled.
Here are a couple things Steve quickly observed about what we are already doing:
- Our paper recycling for high grade is excellent. We are separating this material well (especially in our press room).
- We have separate bins for cardboard and plastic. Which means most of our soft plastics, including shrink wrap, is already being recycled.
- Most work stations have paper recycling bins beside them and, when it comes to clean paper, they are being used consistently and effectively.
Good news – Steve confirmed we already have an easy and efficient system for recycling a large component of our waste which, no surprise, is mostly paper.
Did we find room for improvement?
Yes – as Steve exhumed the contents of our 8 yard garbage bin he discovered paper cups, plastic bags, and tins from our lunch rooms that could all be diverted into a recycling stream. Paper towels, he explained as he prodded a banana peel, can be included with our mixed paper and Starbucks cups and lids can also be recycled as long as we rinse them out (this puts my search for an electric hand dryer on hold temporarily at least as that would have required an electrical engineer to install). Steve also explained that plastic strapping can go with our soft plastics as long as they are bagged.
The good stuff – clean paper collected in a cage on our shop floor.
Based on what we found in this walk through Urban is going to help us expand our program. The initial goal is to go from having our 8 yard bin picked-up weekly to having it picked-up just once a month. Long term, we will continue to work with Urban to help Kirk with further reductions (yes, towards zero). One of the simplest changes we can make is simply adding bins for plastics by the machines and reducing the number of garbage bins on the shop floor and in our offices. It makes sense – make recycling a convenient option for people and they’ll make the right choice.
Location, location, location – bottles & can collection bags in our lunch rooms makes recycling convenient. The money we get from these returns goes towards social events held through-out the year.
If the program works and we can achieve our preliminary goal of moving to monthly pick-ups we will have cut our waste by more than half!
Ok, it’s not Zero waste…yet. But who wants to be the new black anyway? For now I’d settle for the new green.
What is your company doing to be The New Green? Leave a comment on what strategies your business employs to reduce, re-use, or recycle.
