Environmental problem:
- Americans generate approximately 251.3 million tons of garbage per year.
- Landfills are a major contributor to ground water contamination. - www.groundwater.org
- Americans throw away enough aluminum to rebuild our entire commercial fleet of airplanes every 3 months. - Environmental Defense Fund
- Recycling glass instead of making it from silica sand reduces mining waste by 70%, water use by 50%, and air pollution by 20%. - Environmental Defense Fund
- If we recycled all of the newspapers printed in the U.S. on a typical Sunday, we would save about 26 million trees per year. - California Department of Conservation
- The U.S. is 5% of the world's population but uses 25% of its natural resources. - Environmental Protection Agency
- About 80% of what Americans throw away is recyclable, yet our recycling rate is just 28%. - Environmental Protection Agency
Environmental benefit: A company can easily divert a majority of its office trash via recycling and composting for a significant positive effect on the environment. The amount of energy and pollution required to extract virgin raw materials is far greater than the energy required to recycle. Additionally, composting prevents methane gas from forming which is at least 70 times more harmful than carbon dioxide.
Other Benefits:
- Bi-products from composting are distributed to local citizens for use in their gardens
- Conservation of municipal land and land where raw materials are extracted
- By actively promoting "green practices" at work employees will be motivated to continue this practice at home and increase the number of people and locations that are participating in landfill diversion
Cost and complexities: Special biodegradable bags should be used when composting.
Implementation Plan:
- Sign up for Eco-Cycle Zero Waste program: http://www.ecocycle.org/zws/index.cfm
- Designate recycling bin locations
- Designate composting bin locations
- Purchase recycling and composting bins - can be purchased at local stores such as Home Depot
- Purchase compostable bags for food waste: http://www.ecoproducts.com/food_services/bags/food_service_bags_index.htm
- Distribute recycle bins and hang signs indicating what materials can be recycled
- Add compost bins to eating area and hang signs indicating what materials can be recycled
- Add compost bins to restrooms and hang signs indicating what materials can be recycled
- Train staff
- Train 3rd party cleaning services
- Put up Eco-Cycle stickers on exterior office windows and spread the word!
Where to purchase:
Eco-Cycle
Location: 5030 Pearl St. Boulder, CO 80301
Phone: 303-444-6634