Our path to zero waste is nothing short of amazing, and we haven’t told that story publicly until now. This week, Quartz ran an article outlining our entire journey, how we accomplished our zero-waste goals, and how other manufacturing companies can follow our lead. The article was written by our own Matt Iverson, who led our companies zero-waste sustainability efforts.
An excerpt is below, but we encourage you to read the full article. Congratulations Matt!
Quartz: The problem big manufacturers have with recycling—and how to fix it
For the normal consumer, recycling is pretty easy—when you finish something that comes in a jar, bottle, or any type of recyclable packaging, you rinse out the container and throw it in a bin. Maybe you have to roll the bin to the curb once a week.
For a large manufacturer, however, scale becomes a big problem. In fact, for many US manufacturers, recycling is nearly impossible.
Sustainability should be a priority—especially for the companies that create vast amounts of the waste we need to account for. But there are a ton of challenges to actually achieving that goal, and the manufacturing industry is behind.
Who is Matt Iverson?
Matt Iverson developed Accumold LLC’s first sustainable recycling program in 2013. As a sustainability-first warehouse and facilities operations pro. He is an expert in metal and plastic scrap recycling and he and his team have won three Continuous Quality Improvement awards.
Matt and his team’s efforts at Accumold were awarded the Exceptional Commitment to the Environment Award by Mega Recycling and Compounding Services LLC in 2017.
He believes continuous communication between production personnel, supervisors, managers and executive leadership is key for success when developing and implementing new programs like sustainability initiatives within manufacturing facilities.
