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The following case studies show how investing in reusable supplies and equipment can save money and decrease environmental liability.
Saving money by promoting bag reuse ShopRite Supermarkets (Wakefern Foods), a partner in the NYC Wastele$$ Business Project, is the largest retailer-owned food cooperative in the United States, with more than 190 stores in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Delaware. In 1990, ShopRite began a customer bag-reuse program called “Save-A-Bag” in its stores, to reduce internal costs and to reduce the solid waste burden on customers. “We found that reusing bags is good for the community because it reduces the amount of waste that goes to the landfills. It's also good for business because buying and warehousing fewer bags leads to significant savings for the company,” says Tim Vogel, Wakefern Corporation’s Manager of Environmental Affairs. The program involves distributing educational materials and offering a refund of $0.02 per bag. The outside of every bag contains information about the reuse program, and the company posts signs about the program in stores. ShopRite tracks refunds through cash registers, and at the end of the year rewards stores with the highest bag-reuse rate with prizes. When the program started in 1990, the bag-reuse rate was about 5 million bags per year. The reuse rate has fluctuated yearly, reaching about 6.7 million bags in 2002. All 190 ShopRite stores participate in the program. “Our customers have reused over 50 million bags, getting two cents back for each bag,” says Vogel. Through the program, ShopRite saves about $134,000 per year by reducing bag purchases. According to Wakefern, if labor, storage, and transportation are factored in, ShopRite saves closer to $300,000 to $800,000 per year. The wide range is a result of differences in bag type, material, size, and use (for example, partially full bags versus completely full bags). Since its inception, the Save-A-Bag program has saved customers $1.2 million and has saved ShopRite $1.5 million. Source: NYC WasteLe$$ Summary Report, spring 2000, p. 69, and conversation with Wakefern Food Corporation’s Environmental Affairs Department, Spring 2003 Reusing mugs and turning coffee grounds into compost Starbucks Coffee gives a $0.10 discount to customers who use reusable mugs. Starbucks also sells reusable mugs in their stores. In 2002, customers used commuter mugs more than 12.7 million times, keeping an estimated 550,000 pounds of paper from landfills. Starbucks’ Grounds for Your Garden program encourages the reuse of spent coffee grounds by giving them to customers and parks as a nitrogen-rich soil amendment. Source: Starbucks Coffee Switching to reusable dishes and flatware The Ford Foundation, a charitable foundation headquartered in New York City, replaced paper plates and plastic utensils in their cafeteria and dining room with permanent flatware and china. Approximately 150 to 200 employees use these facilities each day. The Foundation estimates that they have saved approximately $10,500 a year ($44 per day) by replacing paper dining goods with durable chinaware. Source: Conversation with Ford Foundation facilities management, summer 2003 ALSO SEE measurement tools for assistance in measuring the costs and benefits of switching to reusable dishware. Switch to reusables cuts hospital waste disposal costs Between 1995 and 1998, Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH), a NYCWasteLe$$ Business Project partner, cut its yearly waste management costs from $1,200,000 to $721,167 by reducing the use of disposable supplies, increasing recycling, and minimizing the improper use and locations of regulated medical waste (RMW) containers. The following chart breaks down the waste stream reductions by type:
SIUH implemented waste-reducing strategies at their North and South sites and in some of the 28 clinics and other buildings that they maintain. Key aspects included:
Source: NYC WasteLe$$ Business Project findings Medical center moves to reusables From 1991 to 1997, the Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, a partner in the NYC WasteLe$$ Business Project, implemented a variety of waste management initiatives that reduced their annual waste disposal and associated purchasing costs from $1,027,000 to $582,637. During this time, the yearly tonnage the medical center discarded also fell by 850 tons, or 1.7 million pounds. Changes in purchasing practices contributed to almost half of the tonnage reduced over the project period. Jacobi Medical Center realized sizeable savings by reducing their purchase of waste disposal supplies (such as autoclave bags, red bags, and disposable sharps containers). The cost of waste disposal supplies decreased from $210,854 a year in 1991 to $66,649 in 1997. Jacobi Medical Center reduced the bulk of their annual waste management costs primarily by implementing a series of operational changes. Key measures included:
The waste management contractor assumed the initial capital costs to equip the medical center with reusable containers for plastic medical apparatus (PMA) and sharps collection, which were subsequently recovered through a negotiated hauling fee. The table below presents the equipment costs and payback schedule:
Source: NYC WasteLe$$ Business Project findings Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital in Portland, Oregon, purchased several hundred permanent waterproof mattresses to replace 95 percent of their disposable egg-crate foam mattresses. The cost of the initial purchase was significant, but the decision paid for itself in just one year. The savings in purchasing costs per year amounted to $80,710. The hospital also saves over $800 per year in reduced disposal costs and prevents 16,350 pounds of waste annually. Source: Kentucky Pollution Prevention Center’s Health Care Guide to Pollution Prevention Implementation through Environmental Management Systems, Section 4 — General Pollution Prevention. ALSO SEE using reusables in tips for your business for parameters to consider when switching to reusables in healthcare facilities. Cornell-Carr, a Connecticut manufacturer of marine windows and doors for both commercial and military ships, was generating twelve 55-gallon drums per year of rags containing toluene residue. Through the assistance of the CONNSTEP Environmental Management Program, the company learned of a permitted industrial laundry that could clean and return the rags to them at a cost lower than what they were currently paying to dispose of the solvent-laden rags properly. The rags are put in specially designated containers provided by the laundry service and are picked up weekly. The laundering service costs approximately $3,500 per year, while the disposal service was costing about $5,000 a year. In addition to saving money, Cornell-Carr’s reduced its regulatory status and reporting requirements from that of a generator of hazardous waste to that of a Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generator. The rags cannot yield or be saturated with free-liquid solvents. This has helped to establish best management practices by reducing the amount of solvent being purchased and used. Minimizing solvent use also helps reduce health risks to workers. Cornell-Carr no longer has large barrels with hazardous rags hanging around for what could be (in the past) up to 180 days. The manufacturer also finds that rags that are recycled seem to all find their way to the laundry containers, whereas before they started using the service, rags were constantly found all over the factory. Source: CONNSTEP ALSO SEE measurement tools for assistance in calculating the costs of switching from disposable to reusable shop towels. Switching to reusable oil filters Two fleet facilities, Barton Sand and Gravel (a sand and gravel carrier in Minnesota) and the City of Walnut Creek, California, realized environmental and cost benefits from a switch to reusable oil filters.
Source: The California Department of Toxic Substance Control ALSO SEE measurement tools for assistance in calculating the benefits of switching from disposable to reusable oil filters.
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Reusable Supplies and Equipment Case Studies
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