CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Greater Cincinnati Green Business Council released its first collaborative project; a Workplace Composting Toolkit to support the recent development of composting services in the Greater Cincinnati area. The Toolkit is intended to serve as a guideline for larger employers focused on cost effectively managing waste associated with dining operations, cafeterias and break rooms. It outlines all necessary prep-work, regional resources, suppliers and steps to develop a company’s Workplace Composting Program.
“We are excited to collaborate with these great companies to develop a roadmap for success for Greater Cincinnati employers,” said Pamela Brailsford, Senior Director of Supplier Diversity & Sustainability for Cintas Corporation. “We have come together with a common goal of identifying solutions to environmental issues in hopes that we can collectively reduce our environmental impact while making solutions more cost competitive,” she added.
Members of the Greater Cincinnati Green Business Council are embracing composting as part of their overall waste reduction efforts and some members are using composting to support zero-waste-to-landfill programs.
“Last month we switched out all disposable Styrofoam food containers to compostable packaging and we challenged our associates to compost throughout our entire facility,” said Bill Gross, Senior Director of Building Services for Luxottica North America. “Only a few weeks in and our results have been fantastic, reducing what is being sent to landfill by almost 50 percent,” he added.
A Workplace Composting Program collects and diverts food scraps, paper products and other organic material from landfills to Class II licensed composting operators. The organic material which can be a large portion of waste generated by some businesses is composted, producing a commodity with value for use in landscaping, gardens and farm operations.
To find a solution, the Greater Cincinnati Green Business Council members worked with Rumpke, the local waste hauler to connect with composting facilities in the area, improving the transportation process.
“At Rumpke, our goal is to be the total waste solution provider,” said Jeff Rumpke, Vice President. “We are pleased to partner with Future Organics and local composting farms to offer our customers yet another way to recover material from their waste stream and help achieve their sustainability goals,” he added.
The composting toolkit is the first project developed by the council. Participating companies can focus on ways to address challenges faced by businesses when it comes to environmental sustainability.
"This Council provides us a great opportunity to work with companies who share our commitment to environmental sustainability," said Len Sauers, Vice President – Global Sustainability at P&G. "As we did with composting, we look forward to jointly leveraging our scale to accelerate positive environmental sustainability changes in our community."
About Greater Cincinnati Green Business Council
Formed last year, the Greater Cincinnati Green Business Council includes firms dedicated to promoting sustainability while increasing the bottom line. The original members include representatives from Cintas Corporation, Procter & Gamble, Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America, Melink Corporation, Macy’s, Luxottica Group and Fifth Third Bank. Recently the council has grown to include more than 18 large corporations. To download The Workplace Composting Toolkit or for more information about the Greater Cincinnati Green Business Council, please visit; www.gcgbc.org.