What started as a couple of bins in select buildings at The Center’s West Dallas location has now grown into a campus-wide initiative to reduce waste. Spearheaded by Chief Financial Officer David Pomerantz, a beta version of the new program was rolled out this spring with cardboard receptacles for paper and aluminum in four of the campus’s most frequented buildings. The initiative was well-received and more permanent bins were added.
Today, The Center has receptacles across the campus and a large dumpster in place in which any paper in place in which any paper or cardboard products, including shredded material, can be discarded. The recycled waste is picked up once per week at a cost far less than that of emptying our large trash compactors. Filling the new dumpster weekly is expected to save The Center thousands of dollars per year and will keep at least two tons of paper and cardboard out of landfills. The Center also plans to sell the aluminum it collects to a metal recycler and use the funds to support our programs.
These new efforts complement the recycling program already in place on our Willow River Farms campus in Sealy, TX. This location also reuses a portion of its paper waste to make the pulp that our clients use to craft the custom toppers for our Gingersnaps Etc. cookie tins. The Center hopes to continue to expand and develop our recycling program to become better stewards of the environment.