Contributed by Sammy Taylor, Mid Valley Recycling
The average American household saves 75% of its trash bill by recycling and composting. But what about businesses that have the potential for huge waste bills? One local small business proves that the percentage of savings is fairly accurate for profit enterprises as well as families. Affordable Catering near Big Lake has been recycling and sending its food waste to a farmer for four years. As owner Andrea Thistle says, “We have just one Earth, so we need to keep it healthy.”
“I’m not a bunny hugger; I’m a bunny eater,” she says, showing her understanding that clean water, air and land keeps our food and us healthier. To that end, Andrea does what she can by buying local, keeping her overhead low and by reducing waste. She buys local meat, wild fish and produce in season. Her food waste is kept separate in a small container, stored outside at the end of each day and picked up by a local pig farmer. She separates what can be recycled at the Big Lake transfer site for free on weekends, not far from her Parks Highway location.
Those efforts alone have reduced her weekly trash fees to the cost of one or, at the most, two bags. Andrea says once her employees (one to three part- or full- time employees depending on the season) are familiar with her setup they embrace recycling and food waste separation. She emphasized that it is essential to wash recyclable items. Without cleaning they can create a nuisance (and a potential health hazard) for her business as it does in our homes. Now that she knows she can take glass and other recyclables not taken by VCRS to Target, she may save even more!
After eight years of operating, Affordable Catering Andrea knows her customers appreciate her conscientiousness. She provides them with recyclable food containers whenever possible. She uses drink dispensers of #1 and of #7 plastic. Often the #7 compostable ones must be doubled for extra strength but at least her customers don’t have to throw them in a dumpster when recycling is preferred. She has even purchased some plates made of sugar cane waste, but the cost is prohibitive for some applications.
Andrea looks forward to the future of recycling, sustainability and responsible waste management in the future. “The benefits are beyond the saving of money and I’d recycle regardless.” She would like to see all of us get involved. She feels that the most effective means to encourage more recycling is through regulations and incentives. The Mat-Su Borough government could provide leadership in this regard. Perhaps the government could even provide tax incentives for the local remanufacture of recyclables. This will probably require regulations regarding recycling so all the recyclables that currently end up at the landfill can be channeled into a reliable supply for any remanufacturing effort. Andrea knows that this would make everything more sustainable and even provide local jobs. . (Currently, Thermokool in Palmer is the only user of local recyclables.)
Staff at Valley Community for Recycling Solutions has gotten calls from those re-manufacturers looking to start a business in the Valley. However, the current supply of materials falls short of their needs. So more recycling is needed.
In the meantime, Andrea continues to do her part by keeping Affordable Catering recyclables and food scraps out of the landfill.
Thank you, Andrea!
Here’s a tip she provided:
“If fruit flies are bothering you near your compost or food waste containers, add a bottle with a little yeast, sugar and water. The flies can’t resist, but don’t get out.”
