Who
Is Already Started On the Road to Zero Waste? (2000)
by Sam Cole and Brian Ladd
Fetzer Wine Has Goal of Zero Waste by
2009 and It Is Already Darn Near!
Fetzer, whose wines are widely available in Boulder County, is not
only converting their vineyards to organic agriculture, but is also
aiming to achieve Zero Waste by 2009. By reducing, reusing and recycling,
the company has already slashed its garbage by 93%! A big chunk
of their waste is composted Û mostly grape seeds and cork. The company
is also committed to buying recycled products (even the roof on
their building is recycled) to help keep markets alive for the tons
of paper, cans and glass they recycle each year.
In addition, solar energy provides power to FetzerÌs buildings and
supplies enough energy to fill and cap 1.2 million bottles of wine
each year. Finally, all Fetzer products come in recyclable packaging.
Who could ask for more from a company?
Huber Beer Sold in Refillable Bottles
Manufacturer take-back programs are a key component of the Zero
Waste paradigm and are an excellent example of producer responsibility.
Refillable beverage containers are a good example of this. Budweiser
beer (longneck bottles only) is sold in refillable bottles at Liquor
Mart in Boulder, and Huber Beer is sold in refillables at North
Boulder Liquor, Liquor Mart and Centennial Square Liquor in Longmont.
Customers pay a deposit of $4.80 per case, which is refunded upon
their next visit to the store. Trucks that carry the beer to the
retailers return to the brewery full of empty bottles instead of
empty space. The bottles are then sanitized, refilled and delivered
back to the retailer.
Refillable Milk Bottles from Lowell
Paul
For those wanting a more wholesome beverage, Lowell Paul Dairy
of Greeley sells returnable and refillable milk bottles at Wild
Oats and AlfalfaÌs Markets. The Whole Foods MarketÌs name brand
milk also comes in returnable bottles. These brands all require
a $1 deposit.
Hard Copy Recycling Turns Discards into
Money
No one would buy a new tire if all it needed were air. Barbara
Douglass of Hard Copy Recycling in Longmont uses this logic to explain
the benefits of refilling used toner cartridges used in ink-jet
printers for home or business computers. Because manufacturers of
toner cartridges typically donÌt practice producer responsibility
by taking back used cartridges, Douglass has stepped in to fill
the need. Consumers and businesses know they can save money by going
to Hard Copy Recycling to refill their toner cartridges. Also, by
bucking the disposable society trend, customers of Hard Copy are
saving natural resources, supporting a local business and creating
a new job market.
Interface, A Sustainable Carpet Company
Interface, Inc., the worldÌs largest carpet manufacturer, has
set the goal of becoming the worldÌs first truly sustainable company.
InterfaceÌs overall goal is "to take nothing from the Earth
that is not renewable and do no harm to the biosphere." According
to Interface CEO Ray C. Anderson, there is no industrial company
on Earth that meets its current needs without, in some measure,
depriving future generations of the means to meet their needs. Interface
strives for zero waste by rethinking the way their products are
made, transported, maintained, and recovered. For example, Interface
now offers the "Evergreen Lease," an innovative carpet
rental-and-service contract that minimizes carpet waste through
the use of stronger, more durable carpet fibers, recovery of worn
carpet fibers for recycling, and servicing of carpet on a section-by-section
(rather than whole-carpet) basis.
DOVatron Manufacturing of Niwot Reaches
First in Colorado
DOVatron Manufacturing of Niwot, Colorado, a contract assembler
of high-tech products, is the first Colorado-based company to meet
the ISO 14001 environmental management systems standards of the
International Organization for Standardization. Having ISO 14001
certification places DOVatron among the environmental leaders in
Colorado. Only three other U.S. firms with operations in Colorado
have achieved this milestoneÛKodak (Windsor, CO), Lockheed Martin
Astronautics (Littleton, CO) and IBM (Boulder, CO).
DOVatron has implemented cutting edge strategies to cut air pollution
and reduce environmental impacts through efficient use of energy
and materials. These strategies include a pollution prevention program,
conceptualizing and designing products for minimum environmental
impact, and an innovative program to reduce packaging waste received
from suppliers. Also, DOVatron replaced old and inefficient machinery
with modern versions that dramatically reduced environmental impacts.
These strategies and programs have reduced both pollution and the
cost of doing business.
BioCorp Designs Compostable Disposables
As much as ten percent of todayÌs landfill volume is single-use
or disposable products, including diapers, paper and plastic cups
and plates, paper toweling, and plastic trash bags. The BioCorp
Company is challenging the notion that "single-use" has
to mean "disposable," by offering a clever alternative
to plastic and StyrofoamÐ food service items. BioCorp cups, plates,
and cutlery are made from fully biodegradable cornstarch and natural
polymers, and can be composted and returned to the earth within
several weeks after use. BioCorp also offers biodegradable leaf
collection bags that can be composted along with their contents.
We may soon see cornstarch "plastics" produced in quantity
by chemical giants like DowÛso keep an eye out for developments.
Lexmark Uses Recyclable Alternative
to Styrofoam
One of the drawbacks of buying electronics is the inevitable
mountain of StyrofoamÐ left over after de-packaging. Because these
StyrofoamÐ blocks canÌt be recycled, Lexmark, a manufacturer of
computer printers, has been using recyclable paperboard instead
of StyrofoamÐ as cushioning for most of their non-laser printers
since 1997. The paperboard Lexmark uses resembles egg cartons and
is accepted at many recycling centers in Boulder County. ItÌs even
made from recycled paper, so once recycled it could end up as packaging
in another Lexmark printer. The packaging is not only environmentally-friendly
but is also more compact, which means smaller boxes and cost savings.
Exabyte Anticipates Changes to Meet
New International Rules
With many countries around the world requiring manufacturers
to take back their used products and packaging for reuse or recyclingÛknown
as Producer ResponsibilityÛat least one Boulder company is stepping
up to the plate to meet the challenge. Recently, Exabyte of Boulder
sent representatives to a national "Take it Back" conference
(see "DirectorÌs Corner" this issue) to learn how they
might design their tape drives for recyclability and disassembly.
Exabyte understands the importance of assuming responsibility for
the life cycle environmental impacts of their products, a condition
of doing business in countries that mandate Producer Responsibility.
Zero Waste Meets LongmontÌs Country
Fair
LongmontÌs annual Rhythm on the River festival is a living example
of how easy it is to get close to Zero Waste without burdening the
consumerÛor in this case the festival attendee. The festival was
designed from the start with Zero Waste in mind. Much of the eating
ware provided by food vendors is compostableÛthe spoons and forks
are made from cornstarch and cottonseed oil that are 100% biodegradable.
Composting stations are set up for food and compostable paper dishes,
while recycling stations are set up for aluminum foil packaging,
plastic bottles and cans. The 14,000 attendees diverted 81% of the
trash in 1999 with barely a bother. Rhythm on the River exemplifies
how waste reduction can be achieved when it is designed into a system
at the front-end Û and not merely considered an afterthought.
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