The Fine Art of Practicing What You Preach – Waste Audit Fall 2016

You can’t get to Zero Waste without measuring to know where you’re at. That’s why we do a waste audit on a regular basis. Our friends at Eco-Cycle help us collect all of our headquarter’s materials for one week, then sort out what went where so we know how much stuff we’re composting, recycling, and landfilling.

What did we learn this year? We diverted 80% of our stuff from the landfill. About half was composted, and about a third was recycled. Good? Yes. Good enough? No. Our goal is to get to Zero Waste, which means at least 90% diversion (according to the US Zero Waste Business Council). We’re working on it. The audit told us that we’re pretty good at putting organics in the compost bin, and recyclables in the recycling bin. Unfortunately we put some of that stuff in the landfill bin. Since recyclers and composters struggle with “contamination” (i.e., stuff that’s not recyclable or compostable that ends up at their facilities), Eco-Cycle’s guidance is “when in doubt, throw it out.” Our employees have taken this to heart… perhaps a bit too much! We will continue to communicate how to properly manage materials at our office, much like we do with our waste-diverting customers.

Our mission and vision are all about Zero Waste. This is hard and important work. We haven’t gotten there yet, but we are committed to staying focused and living out our brand promise every day.

Read about our Zero Waste goal and our other sustainability commitments in our latest sustainability report at http://www.ecoproducts.com/sustainability_report.