Businesses Who Have Taken the Challenge
- Hawley Troxell removed all plastic cups, straws and stir sticks from their breakrooms and employees use reusable tumblers. Their business also sends out monthly waste reduction suggestions in their internal newsletter.
- Trail 27 removed all plastic water bottles and disposable coffee cup from their office, while cancelling paper magazine subscriptions.
- Drake Cooper has water filters on their sinks for drinking water instead of purchasing bottled water. When bottled water is needed for special events, they purchase Proud Source water in aluminum cans or plastic bottles that are thick enough to go in the recycling.
- Lit&Co. Candles refills their candle containers. Customers can return their empty Lit&Co. glass and ceramic containers to be refilled at a reduced price. They also take a lot of notes and make a lot of lists in the production of their candles, so they gladly reuse the worksheets that they give people who make their own candles in shop.
- Dawson Taylor incentivizes pricing for customers who bring in reusable cups, reuses coffee bags and shipping boxes, and composts their coffee chaff.
- Waste Equals reduces waste by helping businesses find and repurpose unique materials. They sell by-products, reclaimed materials, and other secondary items that would otherwise go to the landfill or go unused.
- Oliver Russell created and operates PlasticWorks lab, a mobile plastics upcycling facility that turns waste plastic into value-added products such as decorative architectural tiles and drink coasters. Beyond product development, the facility also provides community education and engagement around the plastics problem.
- Happy Family Organics built a recycling station in their office with different bins for collecting items for diversion, including hard-to-recycle plastics, glass, Tetra Pak containers, electronics, lightbulbs and batteries. They also have compost bins located in their kitchen and lab where they have composted over 15,830 pounds of food since 2015.
- Tin Box delivers their meals in glass and metal containers, with metal cutlery and cloth napkins (no disposable, single-use items). They try to buy local when they can and make everything from scratch, cutting down on excess packaging. They also compost all food scraps and plan menus meticulously so that no food is wasted.
- ShareTagg is reducing the amount of clothing that ends up in the landfill by picking up these items from homes and finding used-clothing markets for them.
- Micron Technology has many programs to reduce waste: reusing industrial and office items (like wood pallets, reclaimed sulfuric acid in scrubbers, and cleaning items), repurposing used tools and equipment that can be reused or resold, and allowing team members to take home end-of-life materials that can be used in home improvement projects.
- Jill Giese & Associates of Keller Williams Realty reduces the amount of paper they go through, which is important for an industry that is traditionally very paper-intensive. They take all non-confidential paper and use the other side in their printer/copier, and use electronic documents instead of paper whenever possible.
- Olivin is an olive oil and vinegar taproom that reduces waste by offering a discount to customers that bring bottles back to the store to be refilled. They also have an “eco cork” for refilling customers that can be reused as well.
By listing the foregoing businesses, the City neither endorses nor sponsors the businesses or their associated programs. The display of the list of businesses merely showcases those who have wished to participate in the City’s challenge. The City makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the content of this posting or the accuracy or quality of the businesses operations.
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