This week is Waste and Recycling Workers Week, and here at Rubicon® we couldn’t be more excited to have another opportunity to celebrate the great men and women in the waste and recycling industry, and thank them for all that they do to keep our communities safe and healthy.
The novel coronavirus and COVID-19 (the disease it causes), have proven that waste and recycling workers are everyday heroes. At Rubicon, this was always clear to us, but during this public health crisis, more and more people have come to fully appreciate the work that these men and women perform each day.
Rubicon, a software company born in the waste and recycling industry, works with more than 7,000 independent waste and recycling haulers. These men and women are continuing to pick up and dispose of our waste and recycling, despite the dangers imposed by the novel coronavirus. For this, and for all their work in helping to clean up our environment and make our communities cleaner and greener places to live and work, we want to say a special thank you during this year’s Waste and Recycling Workers Week.
Haul of Fame: Waste and Recycling Workers Week Edition
If you’re a regular reader of the Rubicon blog, you will be familiar with our Haul of Fame interview series, in which we (from a social-distance, of course) sit down with a hauler partner to talk about their company, their community, and how they’re collaborating with Rubicon in our mission to end waste.
In celebration of Waste and Recycling Workers Week, here are some of our favorite answers to our Haul of Fame questions from the series’ introduction, last summer, to now:
“Bolster Sustainable Waste Practices”
When asked their company’s view when it comes to participating in the circular economy, Black Bear Composting Chief Composting Officer, Eric Walter, said “Part of our collection service is to periodically return some finished compost to our customers for them to use or donate to a community organization, such as a local school’s garden. This small activity goes a long way to bolster sustainable waste practices and build community.”
“Everything is Reused and Recycled”
When asked how they believe their company helps build a more sustainable future, Wuestco Waste Solutions co-owner, Tom Wuesthoff, said “I was in the scrap business for five years before I began the waste management business here at Wuestco. In the scrap business, everything is reused and recycled. We apply this same principle in our everyday operations at Wuestco, going as far as separating materials back at our yard so they don’t end up in the landfill.”
“Fifteen Tons of Lettuce”
When asked what is one of the oddest items or the largest amount of something that they had ever been asked to compost, Natural Organic Process Enterprises (NOPE) co-owner, Marshall Hall, said “[We] once composted three-quarters of an entire tractor trailer full of wilted bagged lettuce. We had a reverse assembly line going and diverted about 15 tons of lettuce from landfills.”
“No One Wants to Throw Away Food”
When asked how they believe their company helps build a more sustainable future, Full Sun Composting owner, Natalie Mallory, said “No one really wants to throw away food. There’s this knowledge that so many resources went into growing and getting it on their plate, that we are thrilled when customers find us […] and experience the circular economy when they use our compost in their gardens, which was made from food scraps that came out of restaurants that they most likely ate at.”
“We Are One with the Environment”
Finally, when asked what they love most about the community in which they work, Maui Disposal sales manager, Bill Hendershot, said “We love the Hawaiian spirit of Aloha; caring for our families, our ohana, and our neighbors, working together to help save and protect our land, our aina, and preserving our ocean, malama kai. We are one with the environment.”
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Please join us in celebrating the waste and recycling workers who work so hard to keep our communities safe and clean. At Rubicon we’re grateful for everything you do, and we’re excited to continue working alongside you in our mission to end waste, in all its forms.
Chris Watts is Sr. Director of Innovation and Hauler Relations at Rubicon. To stay ahead of Rubicon’s announcements of new partnerships and collaborations around the world, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, or contact us today.
