Here at the ranch, recycling and taking care of the planet is very important to us. Did you know that the average American produces 4.4lbs of trash EACH day? So ridiculous!
We wanted to share some of the ways we recycle and reduce the impact of our consumption rate in the workplace. Perhaps some of these ideas will inspire you.
- We have reusable mugs, silverware, glasses, hankies as napkins and a Berkey water filter. This way, when we eat in the office we have things to use rather than relying on single-use plastic items.
- We have 2 recycling bins
- We have recycling cans at most of our desks to make it easy to separate and dump into the large one
- We have a fridge for bringing fresh foods for lunch and to share. Not only does this reduce waste (less take-out containers) but it also encourages us to save money, and eat healthy because we are eating out less.
- We use a composting basket for our food scraps and any containers, bags and silverware from our awesome local restaurants that utilize compostable wares. The composting basket gets taken up the street to a local church that serves meals to the community. They have local City pick up bins for their composting scraps. So cool!
- We used to take turns taking the recycled materials home until our recycling master, Paige, came on board. We are so fortunate she makes all of the recycling magic happen now.
And it’s not all just about recycling materials.. We also love a good clothing swap! Swaps are a great way to get together with friends and liven up your wardrobe on a low budget, PLUS all the clothes leftover can be donated. (p.s. we have a co-worker that solely makes her clothes or thrifts them. She purchases nothing new, ever. So inspiring!)
We have a lending library where we bring in books we’ve read to share with anyone at the studio. We make our own all natural hand soaps and multipurpose cleaners using the same glass containers and just refill them as needed. We have a few employees who bike or scooter to work too. Need kindling for a fire for your social distanced outdoor hang? We recycle lint from the dryers, and TP/paper towel rolls to make fire-starter bundles. There are so many options for reusing and recycling resources.
It takes a company village to reduce your carbon footprint and environmental impact! We are doing our best, one compostable fork at a time!
We hope you have a Happy Earth Day. Love this planet, it’s our home.
P.S. You can shop our facemasks made from up-cycled bandanas here.
those scraps from the cutting out of the masks are sent to a company that takes the "waste" fabric back down to cotton fibers and re-spins them into new yarn to make new cloth! our masks are truly zero waste.