Here at SHIM, we’re all about helping our community. That includes being mindful of our environmental impact. Since initiating a recycling and composting program in 2023, we have reduced landfill waste at our Bethel Park facility by 75%. That equates to 6 tons per month of reduced waste!
How did we do this? It started with Director of Finance and Administration Andrew Baram’s passion for reducing waste and advocacy for our organization to do all we can to cut down on landfill trash. Andrew, highly knowledgeable about recycling best practices, spearheaded a program at our Bethel Park facility, establishing dedicated containers to help staff properly sort waste and maximize recycling efforts. Categories include glass, plastic, and aluminum; paper; cardboard; compost; candy wrappers; and landfill.
Even with these categories, staff members had lots of questions. What about printer ink? Or Styrofoam? Are paper plates compostable? Luckily, Andrew patiently taught us where things belonged and welcomed us to leave any questionable items on his desk for him to sort later.
We launched the program with a ‘kick the can’ challenge, asking staff members to give up the small trash can under their desks to commit to the environmental efforts. All of SHIM employees participated within two weeks! As an added benefit, we’ve increased our daily movement as we leave our desks multiple times per day to throw away trash.
If you’re thinking ‘I wish Andrew could help me recycle and compost’, you’re in luck! Andrew’s blog, Redefining Trash, is a treasure trove of recycling and composting information. Did you know that large-scale composting sites can break down many more items than a backyard compost pile? Knowing that, we established a relationship with Agrecycle to make the most of our composting. Especially as we manage food waste and cardboard disposal at our pantry distributions, commercial composting allows us to dispose of spoiled food and empty boxes in a more environmentally friendly way.
Now that our Bethel Park facility is used to sorting waste, we’re enhancing our efforts at our South Hills Family Center. Our carefully labeled bins help staff members recycle as many items as possible, and Family and Community Engagement Specialist Dawn Rees encourages participation.
We’re continuing to look for ways to reduce our environmental impact, and the next step may be solar panels! Our recent renovation at our Bethel Park facility improved heating and cooling efficiency, and our roof is poised to generate power. Stay tuned for updates as we continue to make improvements in reducing our carbon footprint.
