October 2006
Commercial RethinkWaste Nexus
Transforming the Way We Think about Trash
Pollution prevention is a growing area of interest for businesses. Consider taking a bit of time to emphasize and highlight your pollution prevention and sustainability activities and achievements, expand current pollution prevention efforts, and commit to new actions. Below are some examples of how you can promote this activity at work.
Reduce :: Seek business opportunities with environmentally sound companies
One way to reduce waste and conserve resources is to partner with businesses that have environmentally friendly practices. These companies:
- Use packaging that is recyclable (e.g., paper) instead of disposable (e.g., polystyrene)
- Offer recycled-content products such as recycled plastic office products or recycled-content stationery
- Practice what they espouse including a green purchasing policy or sustainability report
And, if you'd like to become one of these types of companies that others seek, learn more about green business practices at GreenBiz.com or read the book Natural Capitalism.
Reuse :: Donate Single-Sided Paper to a School
Can't seem to reuse all that single-sided paper you have laying in your paper reuse tray? Well, gather it up and donate it to a school before you throw it in your recycle bin. Elementary schools are now in session, and believe it or not, many teachers still relish receiving single-sided paper for their students to use in the classroom.
So, consider taking up a paper drive of a different kind and send a box or two of paper to an elementary school to make a teacher's day. (Be sure to contact the school first.) Who knows? This may be one of those habit-forming activities you've been meaning to try.
Recycle :: Business Composting Collection Program Reaches Two-Year Mark
Two years ago, Allied Waste in partnership with RethinkWaste began collecting compostable materials from restaurants, hotels, and floral businesses offered at a reduced rate from garbage in RethinkWaste member communities. One of the goals of the program was to reduce the amount of material sent to the Ox Mountain Landfill in Half Moon Bay while converting these discard into rich compost. The program has grown over those two years and continues to offer commercial customers a waste reducing and cost saving option.
To-date, Allied collects food scraps and food-coated paper, floral trimmings and wood scraps from over 400 customers. If these items weren't composted, they'd be in the landfill contributing to greenhouse gases over the next several decades rather than being converted into rich organic material and returned to our yards and farms as natural fertilizer.
If you'd like to learn more about the Business Composting Collection Program, contact your recycling coordinator at Allied Waste at (650) 592-2411 or www.alliedwastesanmateocounty.com.
Do your part to help the planet: reduce, reuse, and recycle!
More Info
- Allied Waste - Recycling and waste hauler offers free waste assessments; (650) 592-2411, www.alliedwastesanmateocounty.com.
- GreenBiz.com - An information resource on how to align environmental responsibility with business success; www.greenbiz.com.
- Natural Capitalism - Business model based on four principles around natural resource efficiency and includes examples of innovative businesses applying those principles; www.natcap.org.
This article produced by South Bayside Waste Management Authority/RethinkWaste, a regional agency, formed in 1982 to help local communities manage and reduce waste. To learn more about us, visit About SBWMA.
To be added or removed from this list, contact the RethinkWaste Recycling Coordinator at (650) 802-3500.
