Green deficiency: Private-sector recycling lacking in Phoenix
The Business Journal of Phoenix - by Annalyn Censky
July 27, 2007

'Help us help the planet."

It's on the recycled cardboard sleeve protecting your hand from Starbucks' hot coffee. The company, it reads, "is committed to reducing our environmental impact through increased use of post-consumer recycled materials."

But Rochelle Lebhar of Organic Ventures in Scotts­dale asks, "Where does this 'socially responsible' restaurant keep its recycling waste receptacles for customers?"

The answer: There aren't any in the company's Phoenix stores. Instead, Starbucks encourages customers to take recyclable goods with them or use reusable coffee mugs in exchange for a 10-cent discount.

Unfortunately, many communities that offer comprehensive residential recycling provide minimal or no commercial recycling, which limits Starbucks' ability to provide recycling bins inside its stores, said company spokeswoman Maura Donaghey.

While the city of Phoenix offers a residential curbside recycling program, it has no commercial programs in place and offers businesses no incentives to create their own recycling programs, said Al Shiya, spokesman for the Phoenix Public Works Department.

That's why companies such as Starbucks, despite their socially responsible reputations, don't recycle at all their locations.

The majority of Starbucks-operated stores in the U.S. and Canada -- 79 percent -- do have recycling programs in place for waste generated behind the counter, Donaghey said. But in cities such as Phoenix, the company's ability to recycle waste is limited by the lack of availability of commercial recycling programs.

Whereas other Valley municipalities -- including Mesa, Scottsdale, Tempe and Gilbert -- offer recycling for businesses as part of their regular solid waste programs, Phoenix is prohibited by city ordinance to offer commercial waste and recycling programs, Shiya said.

"It's not that we couldn't and that we don't want to, but that's the way it was structured," he said.

Businesses that want to recycle have to contract with their private garbage pickup companies and often incur additional fees for those services, said Mark Shaffer, spokesman for the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.

That's why a minority of Phoenix businesses recycle, said Anjali Tierney, executive director of Keep Phoenix Beautiful, a nonprofit that promotes environmental preservation.

"When you're paying for your regular solid waste disposal and you have to pay more to recycle, that's not an incentive for businesses to participate," she said.

But a few Valley businesses have found alternatives.

The Arizona Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired offers recycling services to businesses. About 3,000 businesses throughout the state -- 80 percent of which are in Maricopa County -- pay the center about $30 per load to pick up recyclable materials including paper, metals and other trash, said Beth Bass, the center's president.

The nonprofit sorts and sells the byproducts for a higher price, and the profit goes to help the blind and visually impaired.

Recycling can be cost-effective for large companies such as Ikea, Intel Corp., Motorola Inc. and Staples, which have a large amount of recyclable waste, said Anne Reichman, spokeswoman for Earth 911. The national environmental organization, which has a Phoenix chapter, offers an online recycling guide targeting businesses.

Ikea's Tempe store recycles 67 percent of its waste and offers three recycling centers for the public, according to spokeswoman Jackie Terry. Customers also may return materials such as packaging, batteries and low-energy bulbs to the store to be recycled.

Companies that throw away at least 2 tons of paper a month also can make a small profit from their waste.

Abitibi Consolidated, which has a factory in Chandler, places free recycling bins at businesses, picks up the loads and pays businesses $5 to $20 per ton for the materials. The company provides the service throughout Maricopa County and part of Pinal County.

The company makes a reasonable profit after processing and shipping costs, as it sells the processed fiber to its own paper mill for $80 to $110 per ton, said Rick Meek, area manager for the company's recycling division. Businesses also can choose to have some of the profits donated to a local charity.

The company makes a reasonable profit after processing and shipping costs, as it sells the processed fiber to its own paper mill for $80 to $110 per ton, said Rick Meek, area manager for the company's recycling division. Businesses also can choose to have some of the profits donated to a local charity.

The demand for recycling services in Phoenix has increased significantly in the past 12 to 18 months as "going green" becomes a public mindset, said Linda Arters, spokeswoman for private waste contractor Waste Management.

In the long term, that demand brings waste disposal rates down as businesses cut back on their garbage loads, she said.

And by the way, she said, it happens to be good for the environment -- or, as Starbucks would say, "socially responsible."