New, Innovative Program Will Collect Cans, Plastics by Mail at its
Smaller Facilities
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 15, 2012--
U.S. Bank, lead bank of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), is expanding its
recycling program, and in the process, has been the impetus for the
launch of a new Ohio business that is solving the conundrum of
developing a cost-effective recycling program for smaller work
facilities.
Created by an Ohio small business, this new Eco2Go recycling box is being used at U.S. Bank offices with fewer than 50 employees. Plastic and cans will be collected and then the environmentally friendly box will be shipped when it is full via UPS to the nearest recycling center. U.S. Bank estimates more than 50,000 pounds of additional materials will be kept out of landfills with its new Eco2Go program. (Photo: Consolidated Waste Management)
Eco2Go Recycling Solutions LLC. will provide a creative and efficient
way to help U.S. Bank recycle cans and plastics from approximately 1,100
of its bank-owned facilities that, in the past, were deemed too small
for traditional recycling services. It is expected that more than 50,000
pounds of materials from the bank’s smaller sites will now be recycled
annually, which aligns with U.S. Bank’s commitment as a responsible
environmental steward. This is in addition to the material already
recycled at its larger sites and the more than 20,000 pounds of shredded
confidential documents that U.S. Bank recycles each year.
Lisa O’Brien, senior vice president and director of environmental
affairs at U.S. Bank, said the bank, along with its waste management
consultant Consolidated Waste Management (CWM), determined that there
wasn’t a good market alternative to traditional recycling services. As a
result, the idea for Eco2Go was spawned -- and a new company formed --
to make user-friendly containers that would not only be able to collect
employee’s recyclables, but also be durable enough to ship to the
nearest recycling center when they were full.
U.S. Bank is placing environmentally friendly Eco2Go portable recycling
containers at its smaller sites to collect recyclable materials,
including those with plastic recycling symbols 1 through 7, aluminum,
tin and other metal cans, plastic grocery bags and plastic bottles with
lids. When the Eco2Go box is full, it will be picked up by UPS as part
of a regular delivery or pickup at the branch, and then delivered to a
nearby recycling center.
“Reducing our environmental footprint is always top of mind at U.S.
Bank,” said O’Brien. ”We had to think creatively to identify a recycling
service that met the needs of each of our bank-owned premises. Employing
the Eco2Go concept makes sense for many of our traditional branches and
smaller sites where we have fewer than 50 employees because it takes
advantage of a cost-effective distribution system that’s used only when
needed. ”
Mark Wiseman, principal and vice president of CWM, which currently
manages the waste and recycling services for 1,600 U.S. Bank locations,
said, “In trying to meet U.S. Bank’s objective to reduce and minimize
the amount of waste going to a landfill, it was easy to implement
traditional recycling services for those properties that generated a
significant amount of recyclable waste. But, as we evaluated the amount
and type of recyclable material generated in typical bank branches and
smaller offices, providing a convenient and cost effective recycling
service proved to be more of a challenge.”
After designing a user-friendly container to collect and ship the
materials, Wiseman said it made sense to use one of the most efficient
routing and delivery systems in the world, UPS, which already made
regular delivery and pickups at U.S. Bank locations. “The Eco2Go concept
eliminates the need for a waste collection truck to make weekly or
bi-weekly pickups, resulting in the additional benefit of reducing
carbon emissions and fixed monthly costs associated with those services.”
The program was piloted in 60 U.S. Bank branches and Wiseman said that
U.S. Bank’s employees were engaged and excited to participate.
O’Brien added that employee feedback from the pilot program was
supportive and most boxes were returned within six to eight weeks. “The
cost was significantly less than traditional recycling, allowing us to
provide an effective way to recycle while still managing our expenses.
Eco2Go also provided a formal life cycle analysis for their program to
ensure that it would have a positive net environmental impact, given the
impact of the transportation and materials.”
Designated by the Environmental Protection Agency as an ENERGY STAR®
Partner, U.S. Bank has been recognized by both Newsweek and Bank
Technology News for integrating green behaviors into its employees
daily work practices, as well as into the products and services it
provides to customers.
U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), with $340 billion in assets as of Dec. 31,
2011, is the parent company of U.S. Bank, the fifth-largest commercial
bank in the United States. The company operates 3,085 banking offices in
25 states and 5,053 ATMs, and provides a comprehensive line of banking,
brokerage, insurance, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services
products to consumers, businesses and institutions. U.S. Bancorp and its
employees are dedicated to improving the communities they serve, for
which the company earned the 2011 Spirit of America Award, the highest
honor bestowed on a company by United Way. Visit U.S. Bancorp on the web
at www.usbank.com.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50165300&lang=en
Source: U.S. Bank
U.S. Bank
Lisa H. Clark, 608-877-7517
lisa.clark2@usbank.com
