Closing The Loop On Recycling Saves Money And The Environment

Closing The Loop On Recycling Saves Money And The Environment.
A growing number of savvy businesses and governments recognise that diligent recycling coupled with buying and using products coming out the other end of the recycling loop can save money and helps the environment.
By Isaac Rudik

For most people, thoughts of recycling start and stop with wheeling a bin full of crumpled cans, empty bottles and disgusting old pizza cartons to the curb. Once the city truck collects the contents, recycling is pretty much out of sight and out of mind until the next pick-up. Few wonder or give any notice to what happens to the discards after the truck rumbles around the corner.

Yet a growing number of savvy businesses, government agencies and other organisations are starting to pay attention. They recognise that diligent recycling of industrial wastes coupled with buying and using products coming out the other end of the recycling loop saves serious money as well as seriously helps the environment.

Indeed, it’s amazing how a little recycling can have a major impact:
• One recycled can saves enough energy to power a TV set for three hours, about how long the average household watches the tube every day.
• One recycled plastic bottle saves enough energy to light a 60-watt bulb for three hours – maybe a lamp in the room where the TV is on for those three hours.
• One recycled glass bottle saves enough energy to run a computer 25 minutes.
• Roughly 70% less energy is required to recycle paper compared to making it new.

Crucially for anybody concerned about holding down costs, recycling can be a real money saver. If anyone knows how to control expenses, it’s Wal-Mart. By instituting a rigorous recycling programme, Wal-Mart is eliminating the need for the equivalent of 22,000 garbage trucks.

“We pay for those trucks,” says Wal-Mart Canada's CEO Mario Pilozzi. “Yeah, it's good for the environment. It's also good for the bottom line.”

Closing The Loop

But simply tossing stuff in a blue bin isn’t recycling.

To build sustainable recycling systems, “closing the loop” is necessary by increasing demand for products containing recycled material such as indoor matting, waste sorters produced from post consumer material and absorbents made from a mixture of pre- and post-consumer material. The government and private sector are helping by implementing purchasing policies that favour products containing recycled materials.

In fact, many municipal governments are beginning to consider recycling in the early stages of building planning. For example, Toronto enforces a by-law requiring waste management schemes be included in development plans. Developers are required to ensure that sufficient space is provided to effectively carry out a materials recovery program in new commercial buildings.

And provincial governments are introducing policies to encourage purchasing products made from recycled materials. Ontario and Manitoba both announced such policies recently.

Easy Sourcing

It’s not difficult to find products made from recycled material.

The Techstar Bullseye TRIO™ one-station waste and recycling collector meets and or exceeds the 25% recycled materials standard. Its heavy duty roto moulded construction comes in sandstone and premium colours, offering high end quality at a reasonable price.

Likewise, SpilKleen’s general purpose socks and pillows absorb water, oil, solvent and coolants, and contains recycled stuffing so about 80% of the product comes from recycled material. The recycled fibre fillers are BTU rich for multiple disposal options meaning no messy cleanup: Properly dispose of the old product and install a fresh one.

And just because a mat will be walked on doesn’t mean it can’t look good and be environmentally friendly at the same time. Mat Tech, a major player in the Green Building programme, uses recycled material to make indoor and outdoor mats for commercial and industrial use in a variety of styles and colours – and can even include a logo.

Smart environmental choices truly do benefit the bottom line. As demand is increasing for products bought for their zero impact, the cost is going down. Closing the loop on recycling is money in the pocket.



Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc. (www.compliancesolutionscanada.com), Canada’s largest provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities.

E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.