Recycling effort at Blackbaud expands - thanks to Charleston County!
This is an exciting week. Of course, a lot of that has to do with the fact that the World Cup in going on in South Africa. And, for all those people who say soccer doesn't have any action, how about the last 15 minutes of the USA vs. Slovenia match today? Do I wish that last goal had been allowed? Yes. But a 2-2 tie is better than an 0-2 loss, which is where we were standing at the half.
Anyway, in addition to being excited about the World Cup and the chance to see so many great players in action, I'm also completely jazzed by a recent announcement made by Charleston County dramatically expanding what we can recycle. Maybe I'm just unsually interested in things like recycling and how individual people can do small things that drive sustainability (guilty as charged), but I don't think I'm alone.
Instead of limiting our recycling to containers labeled with #1s or #2s, residents can now recycle all plastics except plastic wrap, plastic bags and Styrofoam. Yep, that means anything from #1 to #7. I can't tell you how many times I have lamented that the yogurt container I was throwing away was a #5 and how we needed to expand what we could recycle. In fact, I was stomping around my kitchen on Tuesday saying exactly that. Charleston County Council must have heard me!
Actually, I'm sure I'm not the only one who has wanted an expanded effort, and it's nice to live in a place that cares enough to make the investment required to handle this change.
The other really cool piece of news is that, in addition to being able to recycle more at home, Blackbaud's 1,100 employees who work out of the Charleston-based headquarters are also able to join in the effort. We've long had a commitment to recycling, and this just makes it better. I remember, back in 1992 when I joined the company, being presented with cardboard recycling bin for my workspace. Now I'll be able to recycle all those yogurt containers I bring to work.
Yep - within a few hours of the county's announcement, my colleagues in facilities had already confirmed that the new policy applied to us and that we'd be adding a second recycing pick up each week in order to handle the increased volume.
Although recycling the yogurt container that sits on my desk right now won't exactly compare to seeing Landon Donovan put the ball in the back of the net, it is important and satisfying. Instead of creating more garbage for a landfill, my colleagues and I will be sending these plastics back into a system aimed at reuse.
That, as Martha Stewart would say, "is a good thing."