Taking Out the Trash
The best way to cut landfill waste is to eliminate using what ends up as waste – excess packaging, for example. The second-best way is to find another use for it. In 2007, Southwire launched a company-wide recycling effort. This initiative works on several levels.
RAISING AWARENESS We made efforts to raise employee awareness about our recycling program and other waste reduction strategies.
DON'T JUST THROW IT AWAY Southwire distributed containers for recycling paper products, aluminum cans and plastic bottles. Large bins were placed in parking lots, giving employees places to recycle the stuff that tends to accumulate in their cars.
BRING YOUR GARBAGE TO WORK... AND TAKE THE ISSUE HOME We encourage employees to bring certain materials from home and put them into our recycling bins. Because recycling is a way of life, we urge everyone to recycle at home as well as at work.
ELECTRONIC RECYCLING Twice each year, Southwire partners with Keep Carroll Beautiful to stage electronics-recycling events. At one recent drive, volunteers collected more than 25,000 pounds of old computers, cell phones, copiers and other electronics items.
TOXICS RELEASE INVENTORY
Each year the EPA requires companies to report their releases of more than 600 chemicals to air, water and land. The agency publishes the data in an annual Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) report.
In 1999, Southwire’s company-wide total releases of TRI substances was over 10 million pounds. For 2009, our total releases were less than 110,000 pounds, an improvement of approximately 99%. While this number may increase some due to recent acquisitions and fluctuate slightly from year-to-year for various reasons, we are proud of our efforts to minimize our environmental impact.
