You are here:
Home > Businesses > Success Stories > Other Stories
Have a Question or Comment? Let us know!
Waste Reduction Success Stories - Other Stories
More and more businesses are implementing cost saving, environmentally friendly recycling, composting and waste reduction programs. Here are a few other organizations in Cuyahoga County and around the country, who are leading the way.
Zero Landfill
In 2005, a survey of several area interior design firms in NE Ohio determined that a typical staff library amasses up to 100 pounds of obsolete evaluation samples and numerous three ring binders over the course of 90 days. A solution to this buildup of goods was field tested in 2006 as 30 architectural and interior design firms (roughly 15% of the total specifier market in NE Ohio) claimed their place in the local sustainability economy by participating in the inaugural ZeroLandfill Celebration held September 1, 2024 in downtown Cleveland. An estimated 6,000 pounds of fiber based materials, 800 pounds of stone based samples, and 400+ three ring binders were collected from the participants. Local artists were then invited to claim items from the collection process and box after box of upholstery samples, brick, glass, metal pieces, and wall covering books were diverted and used for new works of art.
Over 400 three-ring vinyl binders were collected and donated to local school programs for student and faculty use. Stone, tile, and aggregate items remained a part of the local economy by recycling them into Rosby Resource Recovery’s material collection process. Carpet, wall covering, and upholstery samples were returned to Interface Flor Commercial in Atlanta, GA where they were repurposed into new carpet backing or used for waste to energy generation for the production plant. Remaining miscellaneous items (plastics 1-7, bound material, paper) were sorted and diverted from the solid waste stream through the City of Cleveland’s Recycling program and Abitibi Consolidated’s Paper Retriever system.
The overall objective of ZeroLandfill originally tested in 2005 and then implemented in 2006 and 2007 remains intact with the most recent ZeroLandfill experience concluded in 2008: divert unwanted specification samples from the solid waste stream and repurpose them for the benefit of the community.
Five ZeroLandfill projects are planned across Ohio for 2009. Collaboration and celebration will remain the hallmark of this grassroots effort as it achieves scale across the United States. For project updates, visit the ZeroLandfill project website by clicking www.zerolandfill.net.