Corporate Dumpster Diving

I just read a fascinating article at Greenbiz on dumpster diving at the corporate level. The article specifically focuses on Burt's Bees because they saved their garbage for two weeks, dumped it in the parking lot, and had employees sift through it to see what was there. They made three piles: one for things that they already recycle that shouldn't be in the trash, one for things that could be recycled, and one for actual trash.

"Employees who waded through the two weeks of garbage found recycling opportunities that cut the company's waste in half while generating $25,000 in estimated annual savings, says John Replogle, president and CEO of the natural ingredient body products manufacturer."

Some companies have regular dumpster dives.

Bentley Prince Street, a subsidiary of carpeting manufacturer Interface, Inc., is an old hand at dumpster diving. The company has been at it for 12 years and does it on a monthly basis to complement its aggressive recycling program in both the manufacturing and office areas in its plant in City of Industry, Calif., says Judy Pike, director of sustainability and supply management.

Each month, a random department is chosen for the activity. Facilities personnel lay out a tarp near its outdoor recycling area and empty two dumpsters for 20 employees who sift through the trash for about 15 minutes to identify items that could be recycled or re-used in different ways, Pike explains. When they first started picking through the garbage, the company had three types of recycling bins in-house for cardboard, yarn and plastic wrap. Today there are about 20 different containers, including ones for metal buckles and straps, mixed paper, shear lint, twine and wood.

Why the sudden interest in dumpster diving? Thank LEED.

Part of the LEED certification process often involves a waste stream audit where certification seekers get intimate with their garbage, report on it and identify opportunities for diverting those items from the trash. For example, if mounds of paper towels from the bathroom are found in the trash, a company might explore the option of installing hand dryers to eliminate that source.

The article gives a lot of good advice for starting your own Dumpster Day. It's crucial to involve employees to get their buy-in and good ideas!

Since the big dumpster dive at Burt's Bees last summer, the company has drilled down that initiative to the departmental level. In recent months, management has instituted "green derby day," where a team shows up unannounced in various departments to inspect the local recycling bins to make sure items in the containers are being sorted correctly, says Replogle.

If the department passes the test perfectly, a sticker is placed on the bins as recognition. If employees make mistakes, however, they get a "ticket" on their bin with their name on it. If workers get three tickets, they have to meet with Replogle for remedial training with the boss.

"I'll sit with them and pick through the trash to teach them where everything needs to go," he says. "It's important because my bonus is tied to (our goal of getting to zero waste) and so is everyone else's at the company."

After watching the video on the Burt's Bees' site, I'm totally fantasizing about a Dumpster Day at MLGW. In fact, I'm fantasizing about every one of our customers (hey, that's everybody!) having a Dumpster Day at home and/or work.

In fact, if things get a little slow here on the blog, it's safe to assume that I'm rifling through my co-worker's trash.

For more on trash, click here