The Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Authority (Authority) is pleased to announce that the Compassion Coalition, located at 509 Lafayette St. in Utica, has obtained the Authority’s RecycleOne Business Certification.
The RecycleOne Business Certification requires an on-site review from Authority staff to verify that specific solid waste management, recycling and energy reduction criteria have been achieved. If the criteria have been achieved, the Authority will issue the facility or business an official RecycleOne Business Certification.
This certification is free and available to businesses located in Oneida and Herkimer counties. Accepted businesses will receive RecycleOne logos and updated quarterly recycling information. In addition, they will be featured as a RecycleOne Business on the Authority website and will be eligible to win the Authority’s annual Recycling Champion Award.
In order to connect people in this area to overproduced foods and household goods, Mike Servello founded the Compassion Coalition (Coalition) in 2000. In 2002, Servello opened Your Bargain Grocer (located on Lafayette St) to help fund this humanitarian cause and sell the overproduced food at a discounted price.
Earlier this week, the Coalition celebrated the opening of a new Your Bargain Grocer store (located on Lincoln Ave). This building project gave them an opportunity to utilize environmentally friendly machines and equipment. It also gave the Authority a chance to see the following ‘green’ practices put in place at the Coalition:
- 5,000 pounds/week of unsold foods donated to local pig and chicken farmers for animal feed
- Daily recycling of all plastic, metal, paper, and glass
- 1 tractor trailer load of cardboard (baled on site) is picked up bi-weekly for recycling
- New Your Bargain Grocer location has all LED lighting, repurposed cash registers and repurposed commercial kitchen equipment
- All refrigerators are Energy Star certified
“Our CEO (Servello) started this business to join a market that is overproducing food to people that do not have enough to eat. The grocery store is essential to funding our entire operation (including our various donation and waste diversion programs) and it is open to everyone! We are excited to continue battling America’s food waste problem right here in Oneida County,” says Rachel Daughtry, Director of Agency Relations at the Coalition.
“Food waste is a tremendous problem in this country, and people are starting to be more aware of it than ever. It is great to see all the work that the Coalition has done to keep edible food out of the landfill. We are very happy to see the Coalition join our RecycleOne team, says Emily Albright, Authority Director of Recycling.
Recycling in the workplace not only helps the environment, but can be economically advantageous by allowing for lower costs for waste removal and possible revenues from recycling. The program also encourages social responsibility, positive public response and sustainability.
For more information on the Authority’s RecycleOne Business Recycling Program, please contact Emily Albright, Director of Recycling, at (315) 733-1224 ext. 1600 or visit www.RecycleOneBusiness.com to download the RecycleOne Business Recycling Program Guide.