Sustainable Land Development Today - October 2007 - (Page 38)

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT The Easy Way for an Office to Go Green Pre-paid recycling system negates liability and health concerns. By Douglas Glenn Clark The social mandate to “Go Green” may seem like one more headache for office managers responsible for creating and policing recycling programs for hazardous and other toxic waste. Yet tackling the complex problem now may very well avert far greater ills, such as incurring stiff fines from regulatory agencies and a tarnished public image. Non-industrial companies are most at risk because often they are unaware of state, local, and federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) laws. These laws make it illegal to improperly dispose of such common items as spent batteries and fluorescent bulbs. In fact, due to the mercury content in fluorescent, mercury vapor and other lamps and lamp fragments, the federal EPA says recycling is the best way to dispose of these materials. Faced with the challenge of recycling hazardous waste, which requires storage space, proper containers, and the staff to implement the system, some office managers may be tempted to ease their burden by tossing the newer, non-hazardous low-mercury lamps into solid waste landfills. But if they do, they may be in trouble, because some states prohibit such practices. Make no mistake that the discovery of illegal dumping habits may force the EPA to slap a company with penalty fees in excess of $250,000. Even worse, a delinquent firm could be forced to clean up a remote and costly Superfund site – sites which the federal government has deemed as uncon- trolled hazardous waste sites in need of clean up. But the more destructive result may be the public perception that a company that defiles the environment is not a good neighbor, which could lead to a public relations nightmare. cal. The resort now recycles about 30 percent of the 300,000 pounds of garbage generated each month. Relax with a New Maintenance System Mark Funkhouser sleeps peacefully now that he has found a solution to his recycling woes. But it wasn’t always that way. Four years ago when he was appointed Custodial Services Manager for the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California, Funkhouser inherited a recycling program that was at best clumsy and inefficient. Funkhouser ’s 120-person staff would round up spent batteries and fluorescent lamps at the large resort complex and drop them into garbage cans. When the cans were full, Funkhouser would either call a local recycler to come haul away the debris or he would locate an available resort vehicle and have one of his staff drive the refuse to the recycling site. The method of disposal was a drain on Funkhouser and his staff. “We wasted a lot of time coordinating the pickup or drop-off of recyclables,” he said. Yet Funkhouser knew that recycling was important to the Chumash tribe members who own and operate the facility. Often he would hear tribe elders talk about their concerns for the earth, and knew that anything less than a vigorous recycling effort might make his employers appear hypocriti- “We’re a Native American firm, and we’re very respectful of the earth. We need to do our part,” he said. The turnaround for Funkhouser came two years ago when he discovered the EasyPak™ Recycling Program offered by Air Cycle Corporation, of Broadview, Illinois The unique service freed the custodial 38 October 2007 Sustainable Land Development Today

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Sustainable Land Development Today - October 2007

Sustainable Land Development Today - October 2007 Contents Our Voice Your Voice Editorial Board Mapping the Development Process Looking at a New Dimension The Environmental Liability Continuum GPS System Makes the Grade Regulations: Reactions Mixed Trends: Communications Easements Business Management: Recycling Sustainable Practices: LEED-ND Energy: Community Propane Systems Transportation: Mountain Solutions Recommended Reading Calendar Products/Services Showcase Classifieds Advertiser Index The Last Word

Sustainable Land Development Today - October 2007

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