The ways in which recycling pays: large or small, there are ways your company can help the environment.

• Author: Myers, Deborah J.
• Position: Corporate recycling is growing, tips for reducing paper usage

Who hasn't heard the mantra, "Reduce, reuse, recycle"? Environmentalists urge private citizens and companies to reduce waste, reuse what they can and recycle what they can't to positively impact the Earth. Although many people recycle for the personal "feel good" aspect, businesses also must consider how corporate recycling affects the budget.

Corporate recycling has grown in the past 15 years, largely because of its "gaining a much greater profile," said Sean Skaling, executive director at Anchorage-based Green Star.

PUBLIC IMAGE

It's a no-brainer that recycling is great for PR. In fact, recyclable hauler Mark Girmscheid, owner of Girmscheid Enterprises in Anchorage, said that "the majority of my customers do it for face value so that when they have customers looking for an environmentally friendly company, they look good.

"It's a frontier mentality of 'just bury it already.' Those who want to spend the four to five hours a month to recycle do it. In Alaska, it is a face value thing."

A good image can bolster the bottom line.

Skaling said that some corporate recyclers "are motivated by money, and others were motivated because it's the right thing to do."

Some companies make it a point to only partner with other companies that recycle. Since recycling doesn't seem to offend any population of clients, it makes sense to appeal to the segment that embraces the "Three R's."

Recycling can also attract "green" applicants who would prefer a company with principles that align with their own.

Recycling glass can improve safety a little. Because recycled glass is sorted out from regular trash, employees thus avoid cutting themselves when handling it.

REDUCING WASTE HAULING

Companies that generate lots of corrugated cardboard, plastic shrink-wrap or other bulky waste can save in their waste hauling by recycling the items, according to Skaling.

"(Cardboard) fills up the Dumpster more quickly," he said. "Recycling pays back. That's where we've seen the biggest success. Anything that's voluminous can save some money."

Fisher agrees.

"Do a waste assessment to see what you're generating, the types, and how much it costs to throw it away and what the processes are for throwing it away," she said. "Many companies pay for a Dumpster that isn't full."

Green Star provides waste assessment and help in developing a strategy for recycling.

For companies that don't generate much of any particular recyclable category, it is less expensive and easier to trash it...