With America Recycles Day approaching on Nov. 15, Cintas Corporation has signed the Green Umbrella’s recycling pledge in an effort to help Cincinnati achieve a top 10 ranking on the list of the most sustainable cities in the U.S. The Green Umbrella, an alliance of organizations across 10 counties in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, hopes to reduce landfill waste by 33 percent by 2020 through rotating recycling initiatives.
“Paper is one of the simplest things to recycle, yet the landfill in Hamilton County, OH, is comprised of roughly 30 percent paper,” Pamela Brailsford, Senior Director of Supplier Diversity and Sustainability at Cintas Corporation and Green Umbrella board member. “Raising awareness of the importance and ease of paper recycling will help our organization, and many others, cut back on unnecessary landfill waste.”
The Year of Paper initiative, which has been in place since 2015, encourages individuals and organizations to make a pledge to recycle more paper. This category includes everything from documents, magazines and newspapers to corrugated cardboard. The campaign will run through Earth Day 2017, at which point the Green Umbrella will select a new material to divert from landfills, such as electronics, food waste or plastics.
Cintas is just one of many organizations that has embraced the effort to increase commercial and residential recycling rates. It is using the corporate toolkit prepared by the Green Umbrella’s waste reduction team.
“Although recycling is voluntary and not mandatory, the more individuals and organizations that we can get on board with it, the better we position this region for sustainable growth,” said Elena Pfarr, Green Umbrella’s Co-Chair of the Waste Reduction Team. “We hope to add 50 new corporate pledges each year in order to make the biggest impact.”