Hello Sustainability Industry Roundtable,

Today would have been our regular meeting day but we were not able to get a location set up for a presentation this month. So in lieu of an in person meeting I would like to share this webinar that is presented by Rubicon today at 12 PM- Optimizing Waste Efficiency Across Multiple Locations. It looks like an interesting discussion. You can read more about the webinar and register online here. 
 
If you are interested in me sharing more webinars I come across that I believe might be of interest to you, please let me know.

Upcoming quarterly meeting dates

Thursday, August 19, 2021 at 8:00 AM- UGA Green Labs

Presented virtually- link will be emailed and available online at accgov.com/sir.
The University of Georgia Green Lab program is committed to implementing sustainable practices and technologies in research labs, without compromising the quality of research. This program focuses on reducing resource consumption, as well as reducing both hazardous and nonhazardous waste generated in our 1900+ chemical research labs on our main campus.  The UGA Green Lab program is the first of its kind in the SEC and stands to become one of the most robust programs in the country. Research labs consume ~10 times the resources of a classroom, and generate an estimated 20 times the waste, thus making them "low hanging fruit" for conservation efforts at UGA.

Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 8:00 AM (America Recycles Week)- Community

260 N Jackson St, Athens, GA 30601
Community is a boutique for sustainable fashion and locally made products. Its clothing label Community Service is created by redesigning vintage clothing into contemporary fashion, thereby extending the life span of quality garments and keeping them out of the landfill. The sewing area is an active part of the retail space to break down the wall between the consumer and the maker to invite curiosity and dialogue about the process of how our clothes are being made and who makes them. Community also offers alteration and repair services, and teaches sewing classes designed to show Athenians how to make, alter, and care for their own wardrobe.

If you are interested in hosting a meeting, please contact the Recycling Division.

Previous meetings

February 18, 2021- Introduction to TRUE

Learn more about TRUE (Total Resource Use and Efficiency), a zero waste program, and how it can help your facility go beyond recycling. TRUE projects are changing the conversation about waste by re-thinking everything that comes in and out of a facility from an upstream approach and viewing every material as a resource. We are asking businesses, campuses, and communities to go beyond recycling by reducing, reusing, rethinking, and redesigning their processes.

This virtual presentation provides an in-depth understanding of effective zero waste strategies such as the difference between a waste audit and a zero waste audit, showcase project case studies and give an overview of the TRUE Advisor professional credential.
Feel free to review the many resources on their website, https://true.gbci.org. Also, I am a TRUE Advisor and can assist you with reaching your zero waste goals through TRUE.

Hard to Recycle Plastics
Plastic straps and plastic woven bags cannot go in your mixed recycling and it can be hard to find an outlet for those materials. We are looking into ways to divert those types of materials and anything else you are having a hard time finding an outlet that will accept it. Please email us at recycle@accgov.com and tell us what you have. Together we can combine our efforts and make it worthwhile for a vendor to collect from Athens and keep these materials out of the landfill.
 
Pallets
Pallets can be recycled at CHaRM at no cost. Plastic or wooden and whatever condition. CHaRM is now open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10 AM- 7 PM. If you have a large load we do ask that you schedule a drop-off time by emailing recycle@accgov.com.
 
Food Scraps Collection
ACC Solid Waste offers collection of your food waste to be composted at our Commercial Composting Facility. This service includes weekly collection of compostable materials. Compostable items include, but are not limited to the following items: all food scraps (fruit, vegetables, meat, processed food); hair (pet and human); compostable plant-based products (plates, cups, cutlery, clamshells, plates); unrecyclable paper like brown paper towels and wax coated cardboard. For a complete list of items visit http://accgov.com/compost. In short, anything that used to be alive. If you are interested in learning more about tackling this waste stream and adding collection of your food scraps please contact Joe Dunlop at joe.dunlop@accgov.com.