WASTE REDUCTION/RECYCLING

Waste reduction and recycling not only save your business money in disposal costs, but they are good for the environment. Recycling lessens garbage, conserve resources, reduces pollution and save water. Waste reduction is even better than recycling, since we can prevent waste in the first place. See if your business qualifies for a Green Business certification in the recycling and waste reduction category.

Recycling is FREE in Kirkland and your business can receive up to 150% of its garbage service, in recycling free of charge.

To qualify for the Waste Reduction/Recycling category, complete each of the sections below:

Business Name:
Contact Name:
E-mail:
Phone Number:
Number of Employees:

Section 1: Recycling.
Please enter your garbage and service recycling levels (number of, size of, and # of pickups per week for each). If you are unsure, please leave the box above empty and City Staff can help you to find this out.

Garbage Service Level:     (required)
Recycling Service Level:   (required)

The City of Kirkland offers free all-in-one recycling (no sorting required) and commercial food waste recycling.

Check off all the products that your business recycles. A minimum of six (6) are required to qualify.
 
Mixed Paper Yard waste
Cardboard Food scraps
Aluminum cans Tin/steel cans
Glass bottles/jars Wood debris/pallets
Plastic bottles/tubs Other:
Other:  

Hazardous Material Handling:

Electronics and fluorescent tubes are prohibited in your regular garbage or recycling. These materials need to be sent or dropped off to special recyclers/handlers. Information on recycling electronics and fluorescents can be found at www.kirklandwa.gov/recycle .

Check this box:
We send our fluorescents and electronics to special recyclers/ handlers.

Specialty Recycling:

Check off any items you recycle that cannot be recycled via your outside dumpsters/carts. A Minimum of two (2) are required.

Batteries (View a list of battery recyclers) Printer cartridges
Electronics (View a list of electronics recyclers) CDs, DVDs, flash drives
Other: Other:

 

Section 2: Using Recycled Products
Recycled products are made from recycle materials. Look for the label “recycled-content” on products you have or ask your supplier about recycled products.
Check off all that apply. A minimum of three (3) is required to qualify.

Copy paper (Required) File folders
Letterhead Garbage bags
Envelopes Cardboard boxes
Toilet paper Paper towels
Other Other

 

Section 3: Involving Employees, Customers, Supplier, and the Public

Your business must conduct at least six of the following activities that involve employees, customers, suppliers and/or the public in preventing waste, promoting recycling and using recycling products.

Check off all that apply. A minimum of six (6) are required to qualify.

Provide desk side containers to all employees to use for recycling (The City sometimes provides up to 10 containers per business. For more info, contact Recycle@kirklandwa.gov)
If applicable, have a recycling container in employee lunch areas with a recycling label listing what can and cannot be recycled.
Provide incentives to suppliers, customers, or employees to prevent waste. (If checked, please describe incentives in box below)
Promote recycling through periodic blurbs during staff meetings.
Place stickers or signs on deskside containers listing what can and cannot be recycled. (The City can provide these for your business, contact Recycle@kirklandwa.gov)
Email reminders to employees to recycle.
Ensure that janitorial staff properly recycles materials.
Invite a City recycling specialist to make a staff meeting presentation or to work with specific departments to improve recycling.
Post reminders about double sided copies above copiers/printers.
Establish a recycling committee to promote your recycling program.
Inform suppliers in writing that you want to buy recycled products whenever available.
Include recycling and waste reduction updates in new staff training.
Include language in janitorial contracts for recycling collection.
Other:
Other:

 


Section 4: Waste Prevention

Waste prevention is any activity that eliminates or educes solid waste that would otherwise be thrown out or recycled.
Check all that apply. A minimum of ten (10) activities within Section 4 are required to qualify.

Purchasing and Shipping Practices
Purchase products in concentrated form or bulk.
Negotiate with suppliers to provide merchandise in returnable or reusable. packaging – or in packaging that you can recycle.
Instead of cardboard boxes, use durable containers for shipping.
Reuse packaging materials from incoming shipments – such as boxes, newspaper, tissue, foam pads, and polystyrene “peanuts” – as alternatives to buying new packing materials.
Return, reuse, and repair wooden pallets and crates.
When billing customers have an option to pay online.
Repair rather than replace equipment. Purchase reused of reconditioned office partitions, and remanufactured office equipment.
Invest in equipment that prevents waste, such as: high quality, durable, repairable equipment; copiers that automatically make double-sided copies; computer printers that do not discharge unused sheets of paper; and dish washing equipment (along with durable cups, dishware, and fax cartridges).
Use rechargeable batteries for electronics; use solar-powered calculators
Purchase recharged copier, printer, and fax cartridges.
Purchase durable, reusable products instead of disposables; use refillable pens and pencils; install reusable furnace and air conditioner filters.
Other:

In Lunch Room
 
Encourage employees to use their own coffee cups instead of paper or plastic.
Provide durable cups, dishware, and cutlery in employee kitchen or cafeteria OR if you have food waste recycling service, provide Cedar Grove approved compostable service ware.
Provide cloth towels as an alternative to paper towels.
Use refillable water bottles for water coolers instead of throw-away cups or purchased water bottles.
Other:

For Outdoor Areas and Food Waste

Contact the City of Kirkland at (425) 587-3812 to assist your business with setting up a commercial food waste collection program at no extra cost through Waste Management.
Compost yard waste into a valuable soil amendment through yard waste service.
Use a mulching mower which eliminates the need to dispose of grass clippings.
Set up a worm bin to convert non-fatty food wastes into vermicompost.
Other:

In Office Areas

Donate used equipment, furniture and supplies to charitable organizations or schools.
Make double-sided copies (set double-sided as default) or reuse single sided pages for drafts and note paper.
Before running a large number of copies, do a one-page test of copier settings.
Avoid making extra copies. Make extras later if you need them.
Proofread documents on the computer screen before printing them.
Use outdated letterhead for in-house memos and drafts.
Reuse office supplies such as file folders, binders and envelopes.
Set up a “reuse station” area for employee use.
Make memos and reports available online, such as through e-mail. For example, employee may not need telephone directories or certain reference manuals in their offices if this information is available online.
Share publications or memos instead of having multiple copies
Store old documents on flash drive or external drives to minimize the number of hard copies needed.
Encourage employees to communicate via email.
Contact companies that send your business unwanted mail and ask to be removed from their lists.
Keep your mailing lists up-to-date by requesting corrections and offering the recipient the option of being removed.
Avoid cover sheets for faxes. Use a rubber stamp especially made for fax transmittal.
Create a central filing system instead of maintaining duplicate files for each employee
Other:

 Congratulations! You have completed the Waste Reduction/Recycling category. Please review your application and click on the “Submit” button. City staff will review your application and contact you soon.