Collection Corner

Shelling out sustainability

Every day, restaurants throw away tons of food. A recently formed partnership aims to offer sustainable solutions to divert food waste from landfills. The Alabama Coastal Foundation (ACF), Mobile, Alabama, and Republic Services Inc., Phoenix, are supporting the Alabama Oyster Shell Recycling Program. Funded through a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the program helps to support the sustainable growth and rehabilitation of oyster harvests in Alabama, as well as the livelihood of the fishing industry in the Gulf of Mexico.

With 28 restaurants currently committed to the program and plans to expand that number this year, ACF partners with Republic to collect oyster shells from coastal restaurants three times per week. The collected shells are transported to the Alabama Marine Resources Division, where they undergo a curing process. Once ready, the repurposed shells are then deposited in designated locations along the Alabama coast to become the building blocks of newly restored oyster beds.

EveryOneCan

This summer, Coors Brewing says it is continuing its tradition of sustainability by introducing EveryOneCan, a summer-long program that underscores the commitment everyone can make to sustainability.

EveryOneCan is a nationwide program built on the principle that everyone, from brewers to bartenders to consumers, can and should strive to practice environmental stewardship. All drinkers should recycle their aluminum cans, according to the program.

Working with TerraCycle, Trenton, New Jersey, and other partners, Coors Brewing says it will reduce environmental impact in a variety of ways, including by rewarding consumers with cooler bags made from recycled vinyl advertisements and grills made from recycled kegs.

Think outside the box

Moving into a new home requires much time and in most cases many cardboard boxes. In an effort to reduce cardboard generated during new homeowners’ moves, San Ramon, California-based TRI Pointe Homes’ Northern California Division has launched its Think Outside the Box program. The community reuse and recycling effort will be rolled out across all 12 of TRI Pointe Northern California’s currently active for-sale communities.

New homeowners are given the locations of the pickup/drop-off points at the recycling centers in their communities to pick up boxes. Once the homeowners have used the boxes, they can break them down and return them to the community recycling centers for use by future homeowners. 

The Think Outside the Box program was designed to help reduce the amount of waste associated with the moving process. – TRI Pointe Homes