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Reading Room Articles
Can We Talk…
Trash?
By Monique Guion-Kimball
Written for Sales and Marketing Magic
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My extremely hip and environmentally-conscious brother was visiting recently
when I found him standing in my kitchen with an empty Snapple bottle in hand,
staring at my single trash can in general disbelief -- paralyzed by the idea of
tossing the recyclable bottle in with my landfill-bound garbage. He acknowledged
my presence by turning his look of near horror fully onto my guilt-stricken face.
I babbled about the yellow recycling bin that had mysteriously appeared on my
doorstep a couple of years earlier when my community began to promote recycling
- and how I'd moved shortly thereafter, leaving it in the bottom of an empty closet.
"So," he said, in that measured tone that kid brothers reserve for those
rare moments of superiority over their older sisters, "You mean you've been
throwing recyclables in with your trash for more than a year now!?!"
I resolved the issue as best I could under the circumstances: I craftily removed
the bottle from his hand while diverting his attention with food.
I thought about it later -- because I've never really considered myself a wasteful
consumer. I recycle paper at the office and buy refill packaging whenever it makes
sense. I give my magazines away to neighbors when I'm done reading them. I argue
with my Mom when she throws plastic grocery bags away, and she reminds me that
I've got an entire kitchen cabinet choked with bags that I keep forgetting to
bring back to the store (they're not in the landfill yet). Anyway, the point that
gradually became clear to me is that I'm probably a pretty average consumer. Most
of you probably do the same things that I do - and though keeping recyclables
out of my garbage won't make me the single-handed savior of the planet, perhaps
(as cliché as it sounds)…
If we all pitch in…
The management staff of an apartment community is in a unique position of influence
over a great many households. I know what you're thinking… "As if
just doing the job isn't responsibility enough - here comes this crazy lady with
the idea that I'm supposed to lead some kind of an environmental crusade!"
Hear me out for a minute, then you can write me as many nasty letters as you please.
I found enough mind-boggling numbers while researching this article to make me
an avid recycler. Even without spouting facts and figures, I probably don't have
to sell you on the idea that reducing, reusing, and recycling are important. I
probably do have to sell you on the benefits of a recycling program when your
budget for implementing one is nonexistent. What if I told you that there are
several no-cost and low-cost ways to promote recycling in your community - and
that you can benefit from them in your marketing and retention efforts as well!?!
Everyone Wants to Feel Environmentally-Conscious
Unless you're able to implement a full-scale recycling program - and you certainly
should if your community can afford to - you'll have to settle for smaller-scale
efforts. Even the smallest of recycling efforts benefits the planet and just plain
makes people feel good about doing a good thing. Think about it. If somebody else
made it easy for you, wouldn't you love to feel as though you were doing something
significant to benefit the planet? Offering your residents the chance to feel
like they're making a difference will make them feel good about being a member
of your community. It works something like this: happy residents recycle…
happy residents renew… happy residents refer!
So where do you begin? Here are a few relatively easy, low-cost or no-cost ways
for you and your residents to pitch in!
Find out what recycling services your local waste management company offers.
Larger communities will likely require the installation of separate collection
bins for cans, bottle glass, recyclable plastics, and paper. Very small communities
might be able to participate in curbside pick-up.
Check into local recycling companies. Companies like Conex Recycling Corporation
of Atlanta collect recyclables free of charge or for a nominal monthly fee.
Simply arranging for recycling service of any kind in your community gives you
a decidedly environmentally-image.
Gather garbage - and get fantastic word-of-mouth in return! Join up with
your local recycling center and host a paper or aluminum drive (this is a great
Earth Day activity). Invite the entire local area to participate. Church bulletins
and company newsletters often welcome the opportunity to spread the word about
such efforts free of charge, and local companies might be interested in purchasing
advertising in your newsletter as a "sponsor" of the event. Scout
troops attain merit for participating in recycling efforts, so you might even
be able to get a little free help! Television and newspapers love these sorts
of public interest stories (especially on Earth Day, and especially when children
are involved).
Encourage residents to give recent magazines away to nursing homes or hospitals
instead of throwing them away. You might even arrange to gather them in the
clubhouse once a month and have a staff member deliver them (with labels attached
that read "Best wishes from XYZ Apartment Homes. Please enjoy!").
Host a community Swap Meet. One's trash truly is another's treasure. You
could even charge a nominal fee for participation.
Take a personal stand for recycling and encourage residents to do the same.
Favor products with a high recycled content, even if they cost a little more.
Reduce the volume of packaging you buy, reuse what you can, and recycle the
rest. When purchasing one or two items, tell the clerk "I don't need a
bag". Use your own reusable canvas bag at the grocery store. Buy quality
products that last, instead of cheaper ones that will be replaced often. Take
action to have your name removed from the lists that are choking your mailbox
with junk mail (for more information, visit http://www.obviously.COM/recycle/
).
Raise community awareness. Regularly add recycling facts to your community
newsletter. Here are a few to get you started:
- According to National Polymers Inc., each month with maximum recycling
participation an average 100 unit apartment community or condo will save
21.93 thirty foot trees; save 8,389 kilowatts of electricity; save 26.86
cubic yards of landfill space; and reduce 77.4 lbs. of air pollution
- When a ton of paper is recycled, 4100 kilowatts are saved and 60 lbs.
of air pollution are reduced. A 36" tall stack of newspaper saves the
equivalent of about 14% of the average household electric bill. In prehistoric
times, 60% of the earth's surface was covered by forests - today that amount
has been reduced by a still-shrinking 30%. Public landfills are typically
composed of about 36% waste paper products, of which about 14% are newspapers.
Americans throw away the equivalent of more than 30 million trees in newsprint
each year. We also discard 4 million tons of office paper every year-- enough
to build a 12 foot high wall of paper from New York to California. Recycling
of cardboard saves about 1/4 of the energy use to manufacture it.
- Scrap steel reduces related water pollution, air pollution, and mining
wastes by about 70%. It takes four times as much energy to make steel from
virgin ore. Annually, enough energy is saved by recycling steel to supply
the city of Los Angeles with almost a decade worth of electricity.
- A ton of glass produced from raw materials creates 384 lbs. of mining
waste. Using 50% recycled glass cuts it by 75%. Recycling glass reduces
air pollution by 14-20%, and saves 25-30% of the energy used to make glass
from virgin materials
- According to the Smithsonian, the equivalent of ten city blocks of rainforest
is destroyed every minute (that's an area the size of Pennsylvania lost
every year).
- 7% of the earth's dry land surface is rainforest, home to more than 50%
of the world's plants and animals. A bulldozer must remove 60 rainforest
trees to reach one mahogany tree. There are 100 different species of large
trees in a single acre of rainforest.
- According to the Can Manufacturers Institute, in 1993, aluminum can recycling
saves 95% of the energy needed to make aluminum from bauxite ore. The EarthWorks
Group's Recycler's Handbook says that Americans throw away enough aluminum
every three months to rebuild our entire commercial air fleet. Making cans
from recycled aluminum cuts related air pollution (for example, sulfur dioxides,
which create acid rain) by 95%. Using recycled aluminum beverage cans to
produce new ones allows the creation of up to 20 times more cans for the
same amount of energy.
- Each year, do-it-yourself oil changers improperly dispose of more oil
than the Exxon Valdez spilled! Call 1-800-MOTOROIL to find out where used
motor oil may be recycled.
- The EPA says that plastics make up 8% of U.S. solid waste. In 1988, that
amounted to 180 million tons.
- Web sites to visit for more information on recycling:
Monique A. Guion-Kimball joined the Sales & Marketing Magic staff
as Special Projects Manager in June of '94.
To read more articles from this author please visit www.smmonline.com.The Sales
& Marketing Magic Companies, shares more than 20 years of experience in
multifamily housing, encompassing leasing, marketing, management, training,
authoring, consulting, developing, and Brainstorming! For more information on
Sales & Marketing Magic for Apartment Managers; the latest Tools
& Forms Catalogue; The Annual Multifamily Housing Brainstorming Sessions™;
or to receive top ideas, FREE, via e-mail, please call 727-784-9469 or visit
www.SMMOnline.com.
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Equal Housing Opportunity.