You’ve heard of locally grown food. But how about locally processed waste?
In early June, Great Forest accompanied clients on a tour of Five Star Carting’s recycling facility in New York and the Marcal paper factory in New Jersey.
The visit offered a behind-the-scenes look at a “closed loop” recycling system, where NYC office paper waste is processed and sold locally, within a 500-mile radius. The tour made clear the value of many of the city’s corporate green programs.
“We saw that waste from office buildings do not have to travel very far to be given new life. This local process means less emissions and energy wasted and a smaller corporate footprint, something our clients, their employees and tenants are very appreciative of,” says Great Forest sustainability consultant Nate Kimball.
Five Star Carting’s state-of-the-art facility handles waste from numerous NYC office buildings and recycling from the Department of Sanitation and the company itself, separating out paper by grade as well as glass, metal, and plastic beverage containers and bulk metal. All recovered paper is sent to recycled-paper products company Marcal Paper, where the group witnessed recycled paper become paper towels, napkins, toilet tissue, and face tissues.
Photo: Great Forest’s Nate Kimball and Ken Richards with giant rolls of recycled paper that would stretch 30-miles long if unfurled. These rolls will be made into paper towels and other paper products.