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Planning an Efficient Waste Diversion & Recycling Program

By: Briana Smith | June 11, 2021

Part three of an ongoing series guiding you on the path to creating a cleaner, healthier, greener and safer building for re-entry and beyond.

Much like basketball, devising a strategy and building upon your momentum is essential for a successful sustainability program. It’s good to look at the overall process, make goals, and then take a look at the individual steps needed to get there.

In this blog series, we’re breaking down the process of developing a sustainable building program into eight steps, as reflected in our WAXIE GPS^® (Green Partner Support™) Program, which progresses from easier to adopt green cleaning procedures and techniques to higher level strategies and stewardship.

As mentioned in the previous two steps, Green Chemistry and Mechanization, waste reduction is one of the cornerstones in a holistic approach to sustainable facility management and it goes hand-in-hand with an efficient waste diversion and recycling program.

Topics: Recycling, Sustainability, facility maintenance, Waste Diversion

America Recycles Day: Keep Calm & Recycle On

By: Briana Smith  |  November 13, 2019

America Recycles Day is coming up this Friday, November 15th and it’s a day to educate, to motivate & to make recycling bigger & better!

We are at a crossroads when it comes to the state of the recycling industry. As was mentioned in our The Future of Recycling article, China started banning “foreign garbage” in 2018 which encompassed recyclables from the United States that are often contaminated due to improper collection & disposal practices. This contamination in the recycling stream has caused processing problems at recycling centers here as well, as consumers are unaware of their local waste management rules & regulations resulting in “hopeful recycling.”

Topics: Zero Waste, Recycling, Sustainability, Waste Diversion

Earth Day – How Would You Like To Celebrate?

By: Keith Schneringer  |  April 22, 2019

As has been written in previous articles about Earth Day on this blog, the first Earth Day celebration took place on April 22, 1970.

Since that first event, Earth Day celebrations in 2019 have now grown to include an estimated one billion people in 192 countries, according to the Earth Day Network.

Will this estimated total of one billion people include you?

If this estimated total of people won’t include you, and you would like it to, what should you do?

Topics: Earth Day, Recycling, Sustainability

The Future of Recycling in America

By Keith Schneringer  |  November 1, 2018

Recycling is an activity which has been a part of human societies practically since history has been recorded, and there is evidence of recycling going back to Byzantine times, and even much earlier according to some studies.

Archaeologists have deduced over time that recycling activities increase during times of distress or scarcity, and this observation can be still be seen and validated today as recycling activities have been less than consistent in the post-World War II era of disposable consumerism which continues to thrive to this day. As this article is being written, recycling and waste diversion rates stand at just shy of 35%, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Despite the best efforts to increase waste diversion rates in America by the U.S. EPA, along with various States and Municipalities, and millions of citizen volunteers, the recycling industry faces enormous challenges in 2018 and moving forward.

Topics: Recycling, Sustainability, waste management

Earth Day – Sharing a Vision for Sustainability & Conservation

By: Keith Schneringer  |  April 20, 2017

An Earth Day Message

The first Earth Day occurred on April 22, 1970 – and as we prepare for the 47th anniversary of that event this weekend, it is worthwhile to look back at the rich and interesting history of this day while we also consider what this event means to us now today, and what it can mean to us into the future.

Topics: Earth Day, Recycling, Sustainability

Wastewater – Rethinking How We View Our Water Resources

By: Briana Smith  |  March 22, 2017

It’s World Water Day – a day to reflect on our own water use while recognizing the world’s water crisis.

As Americans, we often take our abundance of clean water for granted. With the exception of the Flint, Michigan water crisis and regional droughts, most people in the United States give no further thought to their water source past the tap. In contrast, according to UN-Water, “Today, 1.8 billion people use a source of drinking water contaminated with feces, putting them at risk of contracting cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio.”¹

Topics: Water Conservation, Recycling, Sustainability, facility maintenance

Trojans and Rams Get the Gold for Going Green in 2016, Crossing Zero Waste’s Goal Line

Photo by Mike Anderson/WAXIE Sanitary Supply

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, in partnership with USC Sustainability, becomes largest NFL stadium and second-largest college stadium to achieve zero waste status, repurposing over 90 percent of waste created by over 1M patrons, totaling 233 tons

As the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum concludes the football season with the final Rams game this Sunday, it will be the culmination of a historic campaign for a venue that now hosts both the Los Angeles Rams and USC Trojan football. Fans in attendance at the game will be a part of a Coliseum sustainability effort that will help push the facility over the “zero waste” goal line.

Topics: Zero Waste, Recycling, Sustainability, waste management

America Recycles Day: A Day to Think About Year Round Waste Reduction Strategies

By: Keith Schneringer  |  November 15, 2016

Today is America Recycles Day!

It is a day to educate and motivate our communities on the possibilities of what can be accomplished when everyone works together to recycle and also buy products with recycled content.

And the evidence shows that this focus on recycling is working – according to the EPA, Americans are recycling more and discarding less. In 2014, Americans recycled over 34% of the waste which was generated, a slight increase from 32% in 2005, and a big increase from 16% in 1990 and 10% in 1980.

Yea America!

Topics: Recycling, Sustainability, waste management

How Zero Waste Initiatives Affect Businesses

By: Derek Markham  |  October 18, 2016

Zero waste is fast becoming a sustainability staple in the business world, but what does it mean, how do you get there, and how does going zero waste affect the businesses which do so?

First, a definition of zero waste from Zero Waste International Alliance (ZWIA):

"Zero Waste is a goal that is ethical, economical, efficient and visionary, to guide people in changing their lifestyles and practices to emulate sustainable natural cycles, where all discarded materials are designed to become resources for others to use. Zero Waste means designing and managing products and processes to systematically avoid and eliminate the volume and toxicity of waste and materials, conserve and recover all resources, and not burn or bury them. Implementing Zero Waste will eliminate all discharges to land, water or air that are a threat to planetary, human, animal or plant health."

Topics: Zero Waste, Recycling, Sustainability, Waste Diversion