“Follow the Blueprint: Compliance for Sustainability Success”  originally appeared in the July/August 2022 issue of IFMA’s FMJ  Staying ahead of new and continually updated regulations is key to maintaining compliance and avoiding potentially costly fines. But did you know, compliance is also a valuable tool that can guide businesses toward greater sustainability and less waste? … Continue reading Compliance For Sustainability Success →

Over the past few years, we have been hearing a lot about how consumers have been given the burden of recycling for too long. John Oliver, the New York Times, Frontline and others have given a hard look at the industry and question how we have been approaching waste and recycling, particularly when it comes … Continue reading Rethinking Recycling: One Company’s View →

Inflation has hit the waste industry hard, just as it has touched almost every aspect of our lives. A big driver is the cost of diesel, which is currently around $5.719. Since most waste hauling vehicles are diesel powered, waste management companies are passing on the increased costs to their customers through rate increases and … Continue reading How To Control Waste Cost Inflation →

Thank you to everyone who attended our special Earth Day webinar on April 14 to learn all about plastics and pollution, food waste and climate change, and what we can all do as individuals and businesses to protect and INVEST IN OUR PLANET. If you missed it, you can watch a recording of the presentation … Continue reading Watch: 2022 Earth Day Webinar on Plastics and Food Waste →

What are the key waste trends for 2022 that will impact your business? We’ve rounded up the top three trends to note, and included recommendations on what you should do. Managing waste sustainably is one of the most effective strategies to move your business towards greater efficiency, cost-savings, and sustainability. 1) Your Waste Streams Are … Continue reading Top 3 Waste Trends That Will Affect Businesses in 2022 →

TRUE CERTIFIED ZERO WASTE CASE STUDY Project: Great Forest, Inc. Certification Level: Gold Diversion Rate: 91.3% Type of Facility: 5-story Brownstone Facility operations: Office floors   In March 2021, Great Forest became TRUE certified to the Gold level for Zero Waste, with a diversion rate of 91.3%. This was verified by the GBCI (Green Business … Continue reading TRUE Certified Case Study: How Great Forest Achieved Zero Waste →

ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) is becoming a priority for businesses that want to identify risks and growth opportunities in the face of increasingly dire climate change news, such as the latest UN “code red” report. Released by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in August 2021, the report made headlines around the … Continue reading How Businesses Can Address ESG, Respond To “Code Red” Climate Change Report →

Businesses across the country are starting to see their offices return to capacity as workers return full-time or on a hybrid schedule. Restarting right not only means making sure everything is in order, in working condition, and functioning at maximum efficiency for reopening, but it also means having processes and procedures in place that ensure … Continue reading How To Restart Right: 12 Reopening Tips For Businesses →

Just as occupancy is rising in office buildings, the waste industry, like the restaurant industry, is dealing with hiring challenges.  As a result, we are seeing services being delayed across the country as haulers struggle to expand routes and provide on-time service. Industry watches say to expect potential rate increases as haulers may have to offer … Continue reading Waste Industry Facing Hiring Challenges – What This Means For Businesses →

You may already know how much waste your facility generates and how much is being diverted from landfill. That is crucial waste data you need. But now what? Is your building in legal compliance? How do you bring your program to best practice standards? What steps do you need to take to reach your waste … Continue reading What Is Your Waste Infrastructure Score? →

Great Forest has joined the EPA’s WasteWise program as an active participant. WasteWise encourages organizations and businesses to achieve sustainability in their practices and reduce waste. It is part of EPA’s sustainable materials management efforts. As a participant, Great Forest annually submits our company’s waste baseline, annual commitment/goal, and the most recent set of annual … Continue reading Great Forest Is An EPA Waste Wise Partner →

In November 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a national goal of increasing the U.S. recycling rate to 50% by 2030. As part of this process, Great Forest submitted comments to the EPA on recycling rate measurement methodology, drawing on our extensive work over 30 years of waste data collection and analysis. “Overall, we … Continue reading Great Forest Responds To EPA’s 50% National Recycling Goal →

THANK YOU to the 100+ people who spent part of their Earth Day with us at our webinar and Q&A. We learned so much together about how COVID-19 has impacted your waste management programs and policies, and what your successes and challenges have been. Let’s keep the conversation going: If you were a registered participant, … Continue reading Watch The Earth Day Webinar; Schedule Your Complimentary Consultation →

By now, many Great Forest clients would have received their annual waste report with data and details about their sustainable waste management performance over the past year. Here are 3 things every business should look out for in their reports, and what to do. #1 Understand How COVID Impacted Your Waste Data Due to COVID-19 … Continue reading 3 Things You Can Learn From Your Annual Waste Report →

What does the future hold? If you have a plan, you can conquer whatever comes your way. Here’s a checklist to help you achieve all your 2021 sustainable waste management goals. #1 Study Your Data Look at your data from last year. Did you hit your waste reduction goals? How did 2020 and its many COVID-related challenges … Continue reading Your 2021 Checklist + Regulatory Compliance Guide →

Click here to calculate your GHG from waste now Did you know: Landfill and waste services are leading contributors to GHG emissions?  Waste is the next BIG frontier in fighting carbon emissions, but many property managers and building owners are missing this significant opportunity to reduce their building’s carbon footprint by focusing solely on energy use, and ignoring waste-related GHG (greenhouse gas) … Continue reading Calculate Your GHG From Waste; Reduce Your Carbon Footprint →

Once a building empties out for the night, cleaning staff move in to begin their work transporting waste to central collection points. Many people do not see cleaning staff at work but what they do is essential. Because cleaning staff are often “invisible,” they are sometimes forgotten. To ensure your waste program runs effectively, education is key, not only … Continue reading Video Helps Train “Invisible” Cleaning Staff →

Great Forest has returned to performing comprehensive waste audits by planning carefully and safely. Our first waste audit since March, and the first of the COVID-19 era, was conducted in July at the Folsom Corporate Center in Northern California, supporting LEED certification coordinated by Envision Realty Services. The results of the audit will be used to generate … Continue reading Waste Audits Are Back, With Added COVID Protections →

Even though much of the way we do business has changed since the onset of COVID-19, our zero waste and sustainability goals have not changed. No matter what business you’re in, here’s what you should continue to focus on, and why: 1) RECYCLING The pandemic has made it clear that recycling is here to stay. … Continue reading What The Pandemic Has Not Changed For Waste Management →

Construction, demolition and renovation projects are resuming around the country, and so is the flow of C&D waste (construction and demolition waste). With many commercial office spaces still under capacity and regular business operations restricted, C&D waste may currently be a businesses’ largest waste output, and thus the biggest opportunity available to impact zero waste efforts and … Continue reading C&D Waste:
Opportunity for Big Impact on Zero Waste and Corporate Sustainability Goals →

“Every business that is reopening should conduct a waste audit to determine how their waste has changed, not only in the type of materials being collected, but also how they are being discarded. Workers have been away for some time and may have forgotten how a building’s waste diversion program works.”  Facility Management Journal (FMJ) magazine recently … Continue reading Post-Lockdown Waste Has Changed. Businesses Need Waste Audits To Provide Insight →

After delays, New York State’s Bag Waste Reduction Law is now being enforced.  Violations will be met with civil penalties imposed under New York State law. Any  retailer that is required to collect New York State sales tax will no longer be able to provide plastic carryout bags. In New York City, all businesses covered by … Continue reading Regulations Alert:
New York State Plastic Bag Ban Begins Enforcement →

While recycling has slowed down during this COVID-19 health crisis, it is actually more integral than ever as many supply chains across the country depend on recycled materials. Toilet paper manufacturers, for example, rely on a supply of recycled office paper. This EPA video explains why you need to continue recycling during this health crisis: With many … Continue reading Recycling During Coronavirus. Why Your Toilet Paper (and Other Essentials) Might Depend On it →

CHALLENGES Businesses everywhere are adjusting to the ongoing crisis. The challenge to managing waste during coronavirus is to maintain gains made in waste reduction, diversion and sustainability, while taking advantage of opportunities. If this is done right, businesses will prevent a backward slide and will be ready to go once things begin to return to normal. Keeping the … Continue reading Managing Waste During Coronavirus – Challenges and Opportunities →

As we all grapple with the new reality brought on by the covid-19 pandemic, we pledge to be here to help you adjust to the new challenges we all face — as individuals, communities, and businesses. We will get through this together. Great Forest will continue to field inquiries and provide educational resources as usual. … Continue reading We’ll Get Through This Together – A Message From Great Forest About Covid-19 →

This article originally appeared in the NYSAR3 Fall 2019 Newsletter. Have you looked in your trash lately? Understanding what is in your waste stream is key to helping you reduce, reuse and recycle effectively. A waste audit may reveal some surprises. In a survey of 100 waste audits conducted nationwide, Great Forest found that 77% of … Continue reading Waste Audit Reveals What’s In Your Waste Stream – 77% of “Trash” Is NOT Trash At All →

Photo: Dan Gold, Unsplash Client: A fast casual national chain with locations across the country. Summary: Great Forest conducted food waste audits at 3 locations of a national restaurant chain, revealing that the chain could rescue an average of 26.7% of its daily food waste. The audit helped the restaurant brand determine how much of their … Continue reading Case Study: What A Food Waste Audit At A National Restaurant Chain Revealed →