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The SMART Business Program has helped these businesses to Save Money and Resources Together.
ACCESS, Inc. began participation in Rogue Disposal's commingled recycling program, saving an estimated 7,280 annual pounds of waste from entering the waste stream. The organization's 60+ employees teamed up to redirect office paper, phonebooks, steel cans and other items for recycling. ACCESS now recycles shrink wrap, diverting an additional 1,300 pounds of plastic away from the regional landfill. www.access-inc.org
Albertsons: Ashland #573; Central Point #595; E. Medford #508; W. Medford #593
All four Jackson County Albertsons locations are SMART participants. Each began participation in commingled recycling programs available through either Ashland Sanitary and Recycling Service or Rogue Disposal. www.albertsons.com
In addition to commingled recycling efforts, other highlights include:
- In March 2005, each Albertsons location began participation in the ACCESS, Inc. Food Rescue program. Together, the four stores are diverting 109,000 pounds of produce, dairy and meat products out of the landfill annually, and helping to provide thousands of nutritious meals to southern Oregonians in need.
- Ashland Albertsons is participating in Ashland Sanitary’s pre-consumer plant waste service, directing an estimated 3,400 pounds of vegetable and fruit scraps to become compost instead of landfill waste.
- Central Point Albertsons is selling (for a nominal fee) 2 and 5-gallon plastic buckets to the public.
- 3 Albertsons have utilized local opportunities to recycle scrap wood and broken pallets. Two have taken truck loads of scrap metal to Schnitzer Steel.
- Central Point Albertsons compared past waste disposal bills with recent bills and calculated that it is saving at least $3,600 each year by implementing SMART recommendations. Ashland Albertsons estimates that new waste strategies are saving over $1,200 annually in solid waste disposal costs. The other two Jackson County Albertsons locations are realizing similar savings.
Bella Union Restaurant & Saloon. Bella Union joined Rogue Disposal's recycling program for convenient pick up of 60 pounds of paper, over a dozen aluminum pans, and 40 steel cans per week, while continuing their existing recycling/reduction efforts for cardboard, glass and vegetable scraps. Bella Union also began recycling an estimated 60 toner cartridges each year. SMART provided information for Bella Union to acquire a free water-conserving dishwasher nozzle from Medford Water Commission, which has resulted in approximate annual savings of 157,000 gallons of water and $1,500 in water, sewer and water heating costs! www.bellau.com
Bear Creek Corporation recycled approximately 19,000 board feet of lumber from the de-construction of several orchard outbuildings. All fruit and rose trim waste is composted keeping hundreds of tons of waste out of the landfill. Bear Creek installed energy conservation equipment in a new cold storage facility resulting in annual energy cost savings of $32,615. www.bco.com
Britt Festivals, Jacksonville For its 2007 season, Britt Fest enthusiastically partnered with SMART to expand recycling services for its patrons. Concertgoers are able to recycle aluminum cans, plastic bottles, playbills and inserts, and glass bottles throughout the grounds. The concessions staff, grounds crew and volunteers are working together to divert additional commingled recyclables like cardboard, paperboard and metal cans from the waste stream. www.brittfest.org
(Photo credit: Ray Broomall Digital Images)
C&K Markets: Ray’s Food Place & Price Less Foods Ray's Food Place locations in Phoenix and Central Point, and PriceLess Foods in White City are all making efforts to prevent waste and redirect recyclables. Each store began recycling paper, plastics and aluminum through Rogue Disposal's commingled recycling program, and began recycling bales of shrink wrap through Weyerhaueser. www.ckmarket.com/
Caldera Brewing Company donates spent brewing grains to local gardeners for compost. Caldera minimizes packaging by not bottling; all of the beer is sold in reusable containers (beer kegs). Caldera installed a tank to recover over 100,000 gallons of heated waste water from their brewing process. The equipment is projected to reduce annual water and gas costs by over $1,000.
Eden Vale Winery began commingled recycling through Rogue Disposal, diverting 3 cubic yards of cardboard and paper from the landfill each week. www.edenvalleyorchards.com
Grilla Bites opened its doors in downtown Medford in January 2006, and whole-heartedly pursued efforts to be an eco-friendly business. With its emphasis on organic and locally grown food, the restaurant already reduces its environmental impact, but it didn't stop there. Grilla Bites enrolled in Rogue Disposal's commingled recycling program for the plastic, aluminum, paper and metal generated there, diverting 1.5 yards of recyclables each week. It also encourages neighboring tenants to share the bin and recycle within their businesses. The restaurant installed a water conserving dish washer nozzle and faucet aerators (offered free through Medford Water Commission) to slash water consumption and heating costs- and saving over $550 each year. Managing owner Harlan Ward is changing 40+ bulbs to compact fluorescents as conventional bulbs burn out; once all bulbs are retrofitted, the restaurant will save over $400 in energy costs annually. Other sustainable efforts Grilla Bites has made include enrolling in Pacific Power's Blue Sky renewable energy option and becoming a member of THRIVE (The Rogue Initiative for a Vital Economy) to support locally grown and crafted products.www.grillabites.com/html/locations.htm
Hakatai Enterprises This locally-owned tile distribution business was already commingled recycling throughout its 10,000 sq foot office and warehouse building in Ashland. In June 2006, Hakatai also began recycling shrink wrap, eliminating 25-gallons of plastic per week from the waste stream. In addition, Hakatai is demonstrating it's commitment to clean, Northwest generated energy by offsetting 100% of its electricity consumption with Green Tags through Ashland's Renewable Pioneers program.www.hakatai.com/
Jackson County Fairgrounds & Expo Park, Central Point
The Expo piloted a new recycling program at the Jackson County Fair in July 2007 with guidance from SMART. With over 80 recycling bins distributed throughout the grounds, fairgoers helped to divert approximately 39 yards of aluminum cans, plastic bottles and cardboard from the waste stream, while the concessions crew helped to make sure that glass was directed to recycling bins. The hardworking maintenance staff played an active role in the success of the new program, and is taking steps to increase recycling and reduce garbage at events throughout the year. With hundreds of thousands of annual visitors, this SMART participant serves as a role model for how all Jackson County homes and businesses can follow suit.www.jcfairgrounds.com
KOBI TV increased the volume of their recyclables picked up by The ARC of Jackson County, expanding existing recycling efforts to include 150 magazines per week and 70 phone books per year. The TV station plans to start recycling approximately 130 toner cartridges per year. Through Rogue Disposal, KOBI also plans to begin recycling cardboard and plastic bottles. In addition, KOBI is considering information offered by SMART to purchase office paper made with recycled fibers rather than virgin pulp. www.localnewscomesfirst.com
Medford Grocery Outlet expanded their existing recycling efforts to include shrink wrap, diverting an estimated 2,080 pounds annually from their waste stream. The store now gives over 200 pounds of non-refundable aluminum cans to local Girl Scouts for recycling annually. Medford Grocery Outlet's owner credits the SMART Business program with helping to save about $1,250 each year in solid waste disposal costs. www.groceryoutlets.com
Medical Eye Center & Imperia Laser Eye Center, Medford
A small group of staff members formed a recycling committee to explore ways to cut waste in their workplace, helping to save about $3,800 per year by reducing garbage collection service. With team spirit and SMART recommendations, the committed crew implemented a recycling program throughout the medical building, including offices, work areas and the staff room. Using signage, an all-employee email message and announcements at staff meetings, 90 employees received information about new procedures and acceptable items. With success in place, the recycling committee took lessons learned and is starting a recycling program at the Grants Pass location, and is also looking at ways to “buy recycled.” In addition, Medical Eye Center began purchasing Blue Sky renewable energy through Pacific Power to offset a portion of its energy use with clean wind power at both of its offices. www.medicaleyecenter.com
Mustard Press has computerized their pre-press operations. The switch to a digital-wide format eliminates the use of film and toxic photo-chemicals. Combined with the reduction in labor costs, this step resulted in an immediate payback on the new equipment. In addition to the cost savings, the new system keeps heavy metal pollution out of our waterways. www.mustardpress.com
Minute Markets acted as a business pilot participant in Rogue Disposal's commingled recycling program, placing a bin at their Country Store in 2002. The bin redirects an estimated 6,000 pounds each year out of the landfill and into recycling. Minute Markets donated 13 personal computer systems to the Shady Cove school district for reuse in school classrooms - saving the business over $200 in disposal costs.
Phoenix Farmers Market started commingled recycling through Rogue Disposal, preventing 390 pounds of recyclable materials from entering the waste stream each year. The Farmers Market is utilizing a free shrink-wrap recycling service to haul approximately 780 pounds of plastic annually, and is refilling toner cartridges, rather than discarding them. Non-refundable glass bottles are collected and taken to the local recycling depot.
Red Lion Hotel Medford waste reduction strategies adopted at Red Lion include new recycling efforts in the guest rooms, restaurant, kitchen, banquet facilities and office. Employees from each department are working together to recycle an estimated 6,240 pounds of recyclables annually through Rogue Disposal's commingled recycling service. Informational cards have been placed in each guest room asking guests to leave recyclables for hospitality staff to recycle. A local pallet-recycling service is hauling an estimated 180 pallets annually from the hotel for free, and refurbishing them for reuse. Annually, about 20 toner cartridges are being refilled instead of discarded. Red Lion management continues to utilize SMART recommendations to divert appliances, furniture, electronics and carpet as opportunities arise. www.redlion.com
Shop 'N Kart began collecting and baling 230 lbs of shrink wrap every week, diverting over 11,960 lbs of plastic for reuse every year. The grocery store also implemented strategies to recycle non-deposit plastic bottles. The store manager estimates Shop 'N Kart saves at least $500 dollars each month through new waste prevention initiatives!
Tarks Market broadened its existing efforts to reduce waste, diverting an estimated 1,040 annual pounds of paper, plastic and steel cans from the landfill through Ashland Sanitary's commingled recycling program. Tarks also began recycling shrink wrap, sending 1,560 pounds of plastic to become new products, and now refills approximately 15 toner cartridges per year. Tarks Market's owner credits SMART waste reduction recommendations with reducing his solid waste disposal savings by at least $1,300 per year.
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