Recycling in Atlanta: Save Money and Natural Resources

When you think of the word recycling, what comes to mind? The three R's song? Flashbacks to PBS documentaries from the 1980s? Perhaps you picture a stack of cardboard sitting outside of your favorite restaurant, a bale of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic ready for sale at the local sort facility, or your kitchen recycling bin brimming with aluminum cans (if you do not already, try stomping cans to save trips to the garage.)

The word recycle means something unique to each of us, but there is one common belief that most of us share: recycling is the right thing to do for the planet. We conserve many non-renewable natural resources like oil, trees, and minerals by recycling. Recycling also conserves energy - the energy needed to to melt and mold steel, for instance. These principles energize people like me, who might otherwise be too lazy or busy to separate a shoe box from the chewed-up rubber dinosaur my pug snatched out of my son's toy collection before placing them in their respective containers. The belief that we are doing our part to ensure a cleaner environment for our children unites us in our recycling efforts. Some of us advocate for more comprehensive recycling programs in our area, or make recycling education and promotion into an occupation. 

While there is nobility in diverting trash from the dump, there are other incentives to recycle - financial incentives. In our experience helping businesses save money on waste disposal and recycling, it usually costs less than half for businesses to recycle than it would to throw things away. In certain cases, what is thrown away can actually earn businesses a rebate. Beyond Recycling Services specializes in helping organizations develop comprehensive, unbiased recycling and waste programs. and are a great resource for specifics about your organization. 

Hailing from Athens, GA, Let Us Compost! is taking recycling to the next level for businesses and residents in the Greater Atlanta region. Let Us Compost! offers organic and food waste recycling. While food does not fit the recycling profile etched into the minds of many Georgians, it probably will soon. When taken to the landfill, organic waste generates methane as it decomposes if it is exposed to oxygen and decomposes at all. Some hauling companies harvest this methane and convert to CNG (compressed natural gas) to fuel their trucks instead of polluting the atmosphere.  In other parts of the US, organic recycling is pretty commonplace, even mandatory. California has legislated mandatory organic recycling for businesses that generate a considerable amount of compostable waste (visit CalRecycle for details). In Seattle, recycling is also mandatory, but businesses and consumers may choose between service providers, driving down the cost for service.  

Whether your motive is financial, environmental, or both, recycling the frugal thing to do for businesses and consumers alike. Thank you for doing your part. For more information about how your business can optimize recycling service save money, please contact Beyond Recycling Services.