trash compactor: E4S's zero waste initiative is far from zero-sum proposition
In the fast-emerging era of reduce, reuse and recycle, Cleveland businesses are learning that tracking their trash and finding ways to remove more of it from the waste stream isn't a waste of time. In fact, waste reduction efforts can be quite profitable. For instance, thanks to its ongoing efforts to improve sustainability, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo generated almost $14,000 last year from recycling, up from just $1,000 in 2003.
"Up until 2004, the Zoo recycled 12 different categories of materials," says Nancy Hughes, sustainability and compost/recycling coordinator for the Zoo. "Today, we have approximately 21 different materials that get recycled." Several of those materials, she adds, feed revenue-generating recycling programs that are open year-round to visitors, including collections for paper, cell phones, printer cartridges, aluminum can collections, and compact fluorescent bulbs.
Hughes credits the work of Entrepreneurs for Sustainability (E4S) in generating excitement in the region about sustainability and waste reduction. She is actively involved as a core team member of the E4S Zero Waste Initiative, and she participated in the first E4S Sustainability Implementation Group in 2005.