Recycle 2 Save

As a materials recovery facility, we were/are passionate about composting and the potential for growth in that area. So passionate in fact that a few years ago we worked with a few local communities and companies to try and get a successful composting program underway. Despite a good deal of effort, there were a few reasons we could not get the program off the ground during the pilot process. Steps taken by Baltimore's Food Waste Pilot Program, as quoted in the article, would assist with many of them.  1. Unfortunately, due to being located in a semi-rural area, we could not get the saturation we needed to make the collection/transportation affordable. Having one collection point that the businesses, institutions, and community can pool their material makes participation possible.  2. The second and repeated issue with recycling and waste reduction programs; we had severe issues with contamination among the facilities that did agree to participate. If you send contaminated co...

So, I'm not sure if you've been paying attention but if you have, you've heard (repeatedly), that the recycling markets and industry are in trouble. A number of factors have come into play to create the "perfect" storm. Despite the name there is little positive about it. We are all happy to receive some rain but when the waters keep rising many are found praying for the Sun and a nice long dry spell. We know about the challenges so how do we help? As we've posted about previously there are a few factors that are outside of our hands as individuals or businesses. There are also a number of things that you can do to really make a positive impact in your recycling efforts. The single largest way to positively effect your recycling efforts is to follow bin & program instructions and keep out contaminants, contacting the program directors when needed to clarify those confusing recycling messages. Let's say you are an avid recycler and you've done...

A little lady thinking green. I know I'm not alone here, I've heard plenty of people saying the same thing this year. I am so ready for spring!The snow and ice melted, the birds starting singing, little bulbs started blooming and then.. it snowed ,ice (re)formed, and the heating oil is still pouring through our burner like coins in a slot machine. I think the biggest hurtle is the mental aspect of things. Had mother nature not let us taste the warmth we wouldn't be craving it quite as badly right now, but we did.. and we want more! This correlates with my last post talking about how to get employees to participate in the recycling efforts of a company. In most instances once staff and management "taste" the benefits of recycling or see the impact one company can have in our environment it's tough not to crave more. It becomes easy, almost second nature, to look for more ways to save or more things to pull out of trash. It is always harder to retrain a...

  Ever thought that you were on the right road only to discover that you should have take the exit a few miles back? Unfortunately using it as a metaphor the road that a business owner, parent, heck human being should choose isn't always clear or marked, and is almost never absolute. Sometimes the joys in life are discovered by taking the "wrong" road or the "long cut" (as we've so loving described my fathers sometimes disastrous shortcuts). As a business owner you often don't have time or the available funds for an exploratory journey; you really just need a quick, short path.   Waste reduction and recycling is unfortunately a path that is unique to each business. There is no exact plan written that will work for every location or material they generate. It is also so important that someone with first hand knowledge can direct and guide decision makers about things they aren't supposed to know in depth. The knowledge required to run each...

Learn a bit more about your recycling. What happens to it after the curb? Trash to Treasure Teaser. It's Tonight, Don't Miss It!! WFMZ channel 69 at 7:30pm

So I've been talking up our refresh of an old favorite of ours (no, we aren't at all biased). I am proud to announce that we now have real air times. It'll be on WFMZ Channel 69 June 18 @ 7:30pm August 20 @ 7:30pm November 29 @ 7:30pm To recap just in case you weren't paying attention Trash to Treasure is a 30 minute show which explores your recycling and what really happens to it. We give an insiders view of our facility and some of our amazing customers were kind enough to do the same (for the promotion of recycling & composting). We do have plans of posting a down loadable version on our website (after the air date) which can be used to educate others. I am pretty excited (couldn't tell?) Just a few teasers:

Picture of the Day. A view of our food waste collection vehicle. As much as this blog is from my personal point of view, I also like to share glimpses of the facility. I am hoping that by sharing a few photos you'll get an insiders view. Interested in seeing anything special? Just ask.

Wow! Did you ever start off trying to convince someone of a good idea and than realize that what you have is even better than you imagined? Food Waste Composting seems to be a buzz phrase right now in the waste management industry. Composting seems like the logical next step to companies who have committed to reducing their waste. I knew that it was good. Making a new product from food waste "trash" versus chucking it in a landfill to sit just makes more sense. I do have to admit that in my mind I was thinking "It is food, it will eventually breakdown. We aren't talking about plastic here and it won't hurt animals or our environment if we would have eaten it." You may be surprised by this.. I sure was .. it won't break down at least not in a good way. There is not adequate oxygen available to the material when "buried" in a landfill to allow it to breakdown. It rots but after years and years that food will still be there. A large majorit...

Another post started with a song.. here's to hoping that it will stick in your mind all day long. You can thank me later. Friday morning I finally had the pleasure of having lasik completed on both my eyes. I had been wanting to do it for years but with my two children coming fairly close together and the requirements involved I had to wait. I was excited and couldn't wait for the day I would be free of glasses and contacts but I was oh so nervous. I doubted my ability to stay still and the pain I imagined was immense. I had family and friends go before and all raved about the results but I still had worries of my own. I had witnessed the results and heard the testimony but I still worried what if things didn't go right? Obviously the idea of losing sight is significantly scarier than the idea I'll be tying this into (recycling/composting/being kind to our planet). "New" environmental programs do not have quite the repercussions ...

I sure have my opinion on composting but what makes more sense than listening to someone in the food industry that has tested and proven results. If your company is in the food industry and generates a significant amount of organics waste we service the Pennsylvania areas of  Lehigh, Berks and Schuylkill Counties. We are holding a seminar on March 16 and we would love to explain to qualified participants how it could work for you & potentially save you $$. Email or comment for more details and to see if you qualify.

Above is some produce & deli items from a local grocery store Save the date! We are holding a Food Waste Composting Event. It's an invitation only event but if you are in our service area (currently Lehigh or Berks County) and you "create" a significant amount of food waste we'd love to see you there. Please email us for details. The event will be held in mid March and will be sure to please; we are still ironing out all the exacts. Interested ? Comment and I'll tell you how to get on the invite list.