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Innovative Solutions for Challenging Zero Waste to Landfill Facilities

Posted: 2/27/18

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Heritage takes pride in our ability to recognize innovative opportunities that can be leveraged to help our customer’s reach their sustainability goals.  As we continue to successfully transition many customer facilities into Zero Waste to Landfill (ZWLF) status, the task remains challenging where we encounter sites with smaller volumes, limited space for containers, and locations that are further away from resources.

While Heritage has been able to show success through a number of unique mechanisms, one recent innovation happened almost by serendipity.  Heritage Interactive Operations Manager Shaun Miller was traveling through a New York airport when he noticed something that many people stroll by every day but take for granted. He decided to inspect the small trash cans located every hundred feet that were in actuality, small scale compactors.

Once back at the office, Miller brought the idea of scaling up the technology to assist with our customer’s needs to Senior Program Manager Drew Steuer.  Steuer volunteered to research the manufacturers and sellers of the small footprint compactors and form strategic partnerships with them.  His expanded knowledge of this equipment field allowed us to develop pilot programs at key facilities where small amounts of general trash remained after full recycling programs were implemented.

With the addition of the small compactors, we were able to roll out the following values to our customers:

  • Small footprint equipment combined with lower capital investment allowed for greater options at facilities where financial capabilities, available space, and small volumes had previously created roadblocks to ZWLF success.
  • By including an onsite scale, the program was able to demonstrate true waste weights versus the historic industry estimates, which allowed for some facilities to demonstrate that they were already below the “2″ Material to Landfill Threshold”, in order to qualify for ZWLF status without changing any current processes.
  • The leak free, bagged, baling system on the compactor meant that Heritage could consolidate the material onsite, eliminating the cost currently allocated for separate containers.
  • The waste bags were able to be packaged in gaylord boxes that are easily transported by standard shipping trucks to a landfill free treatment facility.

The Heritage team’s constant diligence in keeping their eyes open for innovation, along with their hard work and the perseverance of our customer partners, made this program a success.  With our long-standing habit of sharing best practices, Heritage is now rolling out these small compactor programs at similar locations for our other customers.  As we continue to think strategically and push for new and exciting innovations in environmental sustainability, it is our customers that reap the rewards.

For more information contact: Shaun Miller, Heritage Interactive Services, smiller@heritage-interactive.com

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