Around the world, businesses are increasingly being pressured by rising waste costs, public opinion, or by law to take action on food waste. Rather than seeing it as a problem, businesses should seize the opportunity to invest in food waste… Continue Reading...
From Waste 360: May 6, 2019 | Sarah Womer, Founder of Zero to Go & Sustainability Consultant at Great Forest Sarah saw a recycling problem in her hometown, which propelled her to take action, turning her biggest passion into a grassroots… Continue Reading...
Want a primer on zero waste and understanding your waste stream? Watch these two videos below with your kids. Both are great introductions to the topic. We’d like to thank Planet Bonehead for these fun lessons in sustainability, which are distributed… Continue Reading...
Earth Hour 2019 is on 30 March 2019, 8:30 pm. Earth Hour, which began as a lights out event in 2007, has grown to become an international movement encouraging individuals and businesses alike to raise the conversation and spark action about ways… Continue Reading...
Glass is infinitely recyclable without loss in quality. Recycling glass has many proven environmental benefits–it reduces emissions, saves energy, and reduces consumption of raw materials. And as a common household item, recycling the material maintains much public support. In fact, 93% of… Continue Reading...
Missed us at Swanapalooza? See our poster below, or click for a pdf. Related: Over 100 Waste Audits Reveal 77% Of Commercial Trash Is Not Trash At All! Continue Reading...
Waste costs have been rising and seem slated to continue its ascend. Depending on where your business is located, the forecast over a five-year period is an increase of between 4.8% to 10.7% in MSW tipping fees. Take a look at… Continue Reading...
In response to rising waste costs and the passing of the waste audits San Francisco mandate in December 2018 (requiring the city’s largest waste generators to conduct waste audits every three years), Great Forest tells industry news source Waste Dive that businesses… Continue Reading...
More than 27.4 million real Christmas trees were sold in the U.S. in 2017, according to the National Christmas Tree Association. What happens to them after the holidays is up to us! Remember, trees that end up in the garbage will… Continue Reading...
A version of this article was published in Environmental Leader. The conversations are getting louder — people and businesses are getting more concerned about waste, in particular food waste and plastic pollution, and also about recycling. Costs are rising. We’ve all… Continue Reading...
Effective January 1, 2019 businesses, nonprofits and agencies can no longer sell or use any expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam items, such as single-service items like cups, bowls, plates, takeout containers, and trays or loose fill packaging, aka “packing peanuts”. See exceptions to… Continue Reading...
* Click here to calculate Your GHG Emissions From Waste Now Is it time for your business to take carbon footprint accounting and reporting seriously? Many small and medium-sized businesses have yet to calculate their impacts and risks. If you know… Continue Reading...
Are you in compliance? New York City businesses are required by law to separate their organic waste. Hotels and other businesses in the hospitality industry are most likely to be affected. In NYC, we’ve reported that inspections are up and that… Continue Reading...
In April 2018, it was announced that over 100 projects had been certified under the TRUE Zero Waste rating system by the GBCI, the same credentialing body that administers LEED. These projects reported up to $6.5 million in savings and… Continue Reading...
Dallas’ new Multifamily Recycling Ordinance mandates recycling for apartment complexes with 8 or more units by Jan. 2020. Over 90% of the city’s apartment complexes have at least 50 units. This means that the majority of Dallas apartment building owners and… Continue Reading...
On July 26, 2018, the Metro Council, the regional governing body for Portland, voted to put a new commercial organics ordinance in place. Establishments that generate 1,000 pounds or more of organics per week must comply by March 2020 Generators… Continue Reading...
China Ban Summary: A brief history: The China ban began in 2013 as the “Green Fence” policy, which stopped the flow of low quality recyclables at the Chinese border. This was followed in 2016 by their “National Sword” campaign, which continued… Continue Reading...
NYC Benchmarking updates: LL84 (2009) deadline approaching Earlier this year, we reported that due to a glitch in data provided by utilities, New York City pushed back the deadline for LL84 (2009) benchmarking data filing for 2017 from May 1 to December… Continue Reading...
Q: What is the estimated temperature difference between a standard and cool roof? Is it: a) 10 degrees F b) 30degrees F c) 50 degrees F WATCH the 18-sec VIDEO answer from Great Forest CEO Ross Guberman Q: If all… Continue Reading...
Congratulations to Great Forest President Richard Fuller on being awarded the prestigious Order of Australia Medal for his service to conservation and the environment. It is a well-deserved recognition for his work with Pure Earth, the nonprofit he founded, the… Continue Reading...
July 2018 ENERGY STAR will be re-calculating almost all commercial building scores this summer, which will impact your properties’ standing. All the changes in source data will result in lower scores generally across the US. ALL scores will adjust as of August… Continue Reading...
Hotel inspections are up in New York City. Violations are being issued for non-compliance. That is what we are hearing and seeing, following the expansion of regulations covering recycling and organics in the city. In some cases, such as with “persistent violators,” ballooning fines… Continue Reading...
Late last year, we received an email from one of our hotel clients that began: “FYI. The DSNY were here today.” Since the expansion of regulations covering commercial recycling and organics, the DSNY has been stepping up checks on hotels… Continue Reading...
“Businesses that respond appropriately can lead the way before they are forced to comply with bans and regulations. This is not only good for the environment, it is also good for business.” As reported in the New York Times, the… Continue Reading...
Q: Can I recycle plastic bags? A: This is a question we get asked very often. From the bags you get with your shopping to the plastic bags, wrap and film that encase many of the items you buy. It is… Continue Reading...
April 2018–While New York mulls a ban on single-use plastic bags, San Francisco just took another step forward. Now in the West Coast city, which already has a bag ban in place, it is possible to easily recycle plastic bags and… Continue Reading...
Diversion initiatives such as recycling and composting mandates are popping up across the country as more and more local governments start to realize the value of zero waste. This is just the beginning. Once cities begin to ramp up their zero… Continue Reading...
Assess the efficiency of your waste and recycling program with just one look? Yes, it is possible. You can get an idea of what is happening by just glancing around you. Is your waste and recycling program optimized? Is it running… Continue Reading...
The future of office waste management is here, and it is simpler than you think. This white paper shows how you can optimize your waste and recycling program, and achieve multiple benefits, with one simple change — switching to a centralized… Continue Reading...
The Environmental Defense Fund’s (EDF) Climate Corps is a terrific program that places trained fellows on staff at businesses over the summer to help jump start clean energy projects. Great Forest worked with EDF fellows on two projects last year with… Continue Reading...
As we begin 2018, let’s look back on some highlights that made the news last year to see how it will affect your business this year. Let’s continue doing great things together! 1) TRUE Zero Waste In September 2017, the… Continue Reading...
Did you know a portion of Great Forest’s profits support cleanup work in some of the world’s worst polluted places? We do this through the nonprofit Pure Earth, founded by Great Forest President Richard Fuller. And this year we joined… Continue Reading...
Did you know Americans throw out 25% more waste during the holidays? Think of all the packaging, gift wrap, food and more that end up in our waste bins. The Ohio EPA has some great infographics and tips on how to… Continue Reading...
Microgrants for food waste reduction DSNY’s Foundation for New York’s Strongest has launched a Microgrant program to help NYC businesses take action to address food waste. Grants are worth up to $15,000 in funding and technical support. Applications are due Jan. 8, 2018. Grants… Continue Reading...
How do you increase recycling and lower costs? By making recycling simple and convenient… at least that is the idea behind single-stream recycling’s popularity. But the reality is more complicated. The number of communities and cities using single-stream recycling has reportedly increased from 20 to… Continue Reading...
First published Nov. 2017. After a year of collaboration among architects and New York waste professionals (including Great Forest), AIANY/Center for Architecture has launched their Zero Waste Design Guidelines to encourage building design that facilitates recycling and waste diversion.… Continue Reading...
Education and learning is a big part of what we do at Great Forest. This is part of the formula for success at every business we work with. Recently, David Troust, Great Forest’s V.P. of business development, was part of… Continue Reading...
If you live and work in this world, this open letter is addressed to YOU. The open letter–It is time to put pollution on the map–is an urgent plea from Richard Fuller, President of the nonprofit Pure Earth (and Great Forest), and Dr. Philip Landrigran,… Continue Reading...
Great Forest President Richard Fuller, in his capacity as President of the nonprofit Pure Earth, joined former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy and other leaders and experts on October 23 for the launch of The Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health. The landmark… Continue Reading...
It is one of NYC’s most talked-about new developments with over 750,000 sq. ft of mixed-use commercial/industrial space. Following a waste audit investigation, Great Forest identified key problems with the waste and recycling program at one of its buildings. This flaw was preventing the… Continue Reading...
Sept., 2017. Last month, Washington, D.C. became the first city in the world to receive a LEED for Cities Platinum leadership certification, the highest award bestowed upon cities by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). D.C. has 120 LEED-certified… Continue Reading...
Having a Zero Waste business mindset is becomingly increasingly crucial. This is because effective waste management has one of the most direct impacts on business operations, the environment, and your bottom line. It is why some of the world’s largest… Continue Reading...
Waste costs are rising. Going Zero Waste is one key long term strategy to controlling rising waste costs. There are other Zero Waste benefits too. Here is why more and more businesses are moving towards zero waste: 1) Waste =… Continue Reading...
We’re glad to announce the return of the HANYC Sustainability Awards with a new venue and date. This year, winners of the fourth annual HANYC Sustainability Awards will be announced and celebrated on Monday, April 23, 2018 at the Second Annual… Continue Reading...
Using comprehensive waste audits, Great Forest recently helped a global consumer products brand uncover a breakdown in their waste and recycling program that kept its operation from running at optimum level. Our investigation also revealed a sizable revenue stream they… Continue Reading...
What is in your trash? A Great Forest study based on 100 commercial waste audits revealed that 77% of what is usually thrown out as trash is NOT trash at all but recyclable materials. Continue Reading...
REBNY (Real Estate Board of New York) President John Banks recently reached out to the industry about New York City’s updated commercial waste and recycling laws, which began enforcement on August 1, 2017. As the city with the biggest concentration… Continue Reading...
Attention all NYC businesses. The warning period is over. Commercial waste and recycling law enforcement is underway. Are you ready? What should you do to be in compliance and avoid fines? Read our Q&A On New Waste And Recycling Rules – What… Continue Reading...
Did you take part in Daylight Hour 2017? This year, Great Forest joined clients and more than 820 offices around the world, turning off the lights in about 100 million square feet of office space, saving enough energy to power 9,400… Continue Reading...
