(Reprinted with permission from Green Marketing Coalition.)

Harold Kirstein, President of Greenstar-Kensington, comes from a long line of recyclers and his sons are following in his footsteps. Greenstar, America’s fastest growing recycler, is headquartered in Texas. The company currently processes 2 million tons of recovered paper, plastic, glass and metals a year through 16 material recovery facilities. Read the "inside story" of a recycling company.

In 1910, Harold Kirstein’s great-grandfather was a “rag man” or “trash man” who used to pick up newspapers, glass bottles, rags and other usable trash. Over the last century, handling of recyclables has changed from a horse and wagon business to multi-million dollar automated processing business. Kirstein’s great-grandfather’s business evolved into American Recycling and the company became part of Greenstar in 2008. GMC: When we think of a "green" company, the first thing that comes to mind is recycling; particularly recycling of paper products, glass, and plastics. We don’t often take a closer look at the company doing the recycling. In the early 1900s, cities began to provide regular collection of trash; how has the business changed over the last 100 years? Kirstein: I’ve been in this business for over 40 years. Things stayed pretty much the same from 1910 until the late 60s and early 70s. Automated process machinery such as high-density balers brought about dynamic changes. Of late, the biggest changes are geared more towards “single stream” recycling and larger capacity balers for other recyclables. In the past, a state of the art baler could process five tons of material an hour. Now 30 to 40 tons an hour is the norm. As a result there is a big increase in capital costs. Machines used to cost $100,000, now they cost millions. GMC: People might assume that a recycling company is green because - after all - you’re recycling.  How are you expressing your environmental commitment? What are you doing within your plant to make your operation green? Kirstein: You’re right, people assume that you’re green, and in our case, we are. We are proud that Greenstar was recognized in 2009 as a Climate Leader by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Recycling is one of the best ways to decrease greenhouse gases and preserve our natural resources.  Based on EPA estimates, by recycling 2 million tons each year, Greenstar is reducing emissions by approximately 6 million Metric Tons of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (MTCO2E). That’s equivalent to:

• Removing 1.3 million cars from the nation’s roads
• Eliminating the energy use of 182,000 households
• Saving 6 million barrels of oil, 275 million gallons of gasoline
• Preserving 4 million cubic yards of landfill space

In addition to the carbon reductions achieved by recycling activities specifically, Greenstar made a voluntary commitment to the EPA to reduce its own carbon emissions by 10% over the next five years. For example, when it comes to our office environment, we have our own recycling programs and most of us take pride in recycling at home as well.  In our plants, the new equipment and new technologies use much less energy, so that also contributes to a positive green scenario. And, we work closely with the direct mail industry to produce mail pieces that can be easily and more efficiently recycled. GMC: In some cities, residents separate out various recycling streams such as glass, plastic, and paper, while in others everything goes onto one bin. What is the impetus behind single stream processing? Intuitively it seems more expensive. Kirstein: Despite an unprecedented focus on “going green,” nationwide the recycling rate has been essentially flat at about 30% over the last several years. However, in markets where Greenstar has introduced innovations like one-bin, single stream processing, recycling rates have increased by 20-300%. For example, in our Texas markets (not traditionally known for recycling), recycling rates have increased by 60% in Austin, 200% in San Antonio and 300% in Dallas with the introduction of single stream. The sharp increase is a direct result of the city implementing a single stream collection system as well as converting their existing 18-gallon collection system to 95-gallon carts. Single stream processing lets participants put recyclables conveniently into one bin, allowing for more efficient collection of materials and a decrease in labor. This year Greenstar opened a new recycling facility in Texas in San Antonio.  The new plant is among the largest, most automated single stream facilities in North America.  It provides greater economies of scale with increased environmental and economic benefits to San Antonio local area. In my division, we work with printers, manufacturers, and distributors where we implement source separation programs to maximize our customers’ revenue from the waste. Waste recycling is no longer a cost; it’s a revenue stream. Being part of a company like Greenstar, I have a brand. I have legitimacy. In the trash business, you don’t always have boy scouts in the trade. It’s easy for a disreputable firm to say, “Yeah, it’s worth $50,” when it’s really worth $100. Our honesty in weights and measures is why our company thrives when weighed against a lot of the competition. We know what we’re going to make, and our customers know what they’re going to get. In the past, companies used to be happy that someone just took it away. That has changed! With our commercial customers we act as a merchant, tying them into national and international markets. Because we track the selling price of recyclables as established by the market, we can pay our customers the highest price and they share directly in the market. By having both domestic and international marketing divisions, we can sell worldwide. GMC: How are you working with people to help them look at the product end-of-life? To make sure that what they design can be processed? Kirstein: We are always looking for new processes. For example, we take labels with pressure sensitive adhesive. Those can be labels, decals, bumper stickers; but they’re not something that is recyclable. Ordinarily these would go in the trash. By using a process we call Refuse Derived Fuels, we can shred and dehydrate waste that is not recyclable and burn it for fuel. At Greenstar we help our customers improve their recovery rate to conserve a raw material source. As recycling comes in vogue, for lack of a better word, there are so many people getting in with all kinds of ideas. A lot of them are just junk and guys looking for schemes, but there are some truly great things coming out. Our parent company - NTR out of Ireland - is involved in multiple environmental fields. They have companies in the US that do solar, they do biofuels, solar, wind power, and there’s water reclamation. Not only do you have recycling and waste management, but energy creation. GMC: How do you position your company as a sustainable company when you’re talking to your prospects? Kirstein: It’s interesting; in most cases our prospects - the commercial customers - are interested in what we’ll pay them for their waste first, then we discuss efficiencies and the environment. Waste is an important revenue source for our customers. It can be very profitable. The second component of our service is to look for operational efficiencies, when can be financial as well as environmental. We do what we call a waste audit and look at the whole operation from a waste perspective, from recyclable waste to trash. For example, we’ll make recommendations on the type of compactor that is most cost effective for their volumes. We’ll look at the frequency their waste hauler collects compacted trash; sometimes a daily pickup can be reduced to a weekly pickup. There are people in our company who assist with the process of ISO certification or other certifications that require documentation of waste flow. GMC: Where do you think your industry is going? Would you advise your son or daughter to get into the business? Kirstein: Actually both my boys, at 27 and 30, are working with Greenstar. Recyclables is a global market, particularly with metal and paper recyclables. We’re selling our stuff to China, Vietnam, and India. It’s just going to grow and get bigger and it will involve investing in more expensive technologies. That means larger companies. There are really two types of companies - those who come from the waste management side and those who come from the recycling side. Waste management companies are trash-driven, landfill-driven; they don’t have long histories in recycling. Greenstar is positioned for the long term. About Green Marketing Coalition Members of the Green Marketing Coalition (GMC) believe marketers have a responsibility to reduce their own impact on the environment, not just promote their clients’ green products. That’s why, in 2007, a group of marketers banded together to help develop their own best practices for green marketing – and discover what others are doing to reduce their carbon footprints. Hacker Group invited representatives from marketing organizations, vendors and other interested parties to join – and now the group has expanded to include Greenstar, AT&T, BECU, Carnival Cruise Lines, Cascade Land Conservancy, Central Marquardt, Data-Mail, EmblemHealth, Hyatt Vacations, Kawasaki, KP Corporation, MSP, Nahan Printing Inc. and Optima Health. The first item on the agenda was to help define and establish green marketing standards and guidelines. Coalition members now meet quarterly and are helping to demystify green marketing, making it accessible for companies of all sizes.