Busch Systems on the Road

It has been a busy fall season with trips to Charlotte, North Carolina to attend SWANA (Solid Waste Association of North America), and Atlanta, Georgia for NRC (National Recycling Coalition Conference).  As always it was a pleasure to reconnect with old friends and make some new ones as well. 

By regularly attending events and conferences like these, our people have a chance to get even more feedback on our products and to hear about new areas of interest in the recycling community. We were thrilled to see such an enthusiastic response to our centralized-recycling and apartment-recycling programs, so this seems like a fine opportunity to share these programs with those of you who couldn’t join us on-the-road.

Multi-Unit Residential Recycling

Most North American municipalities have some portion of residents living in multi-unit complexes, in fact many large cities have up to 1/3 of the population who reside in apartments, condominiums or townhouses—without the option of recycling, all waste from this demographic goes straight to landfill.

Admittedly, apartment recycling has its challenges; small spaces make in-unit separation of recyclable materials inconvenient, building infrastructure with garbage chutes were not designed for waste diversion opportunities and a high-turnover of tenants with little investment in building management policies are just the obvious ones.

Despite these challenges, many building managers have had great success in implementing multi-unit recycling programs.  These successes can be attributed to taking advantage of two key elements:  the existing partnership between management, tenants and hauler; and acquiring the right tools for the job. The old model of collecting refuse via garbage chutes and trash compactors is out of step with the desire to separate recyclables out of the waste stream.  To address this shortfall, a combination of in-unit recycling containers, centralized collection and content-specific Blue Carts appears to be emerging into a universally accepted standard to facilitate waste diversion in apartment complexes.

Busch Systems, in consultation with several municipal recycling coordinators has developed a comprehensive line of apartment recycling solutions.  Our Apartment Recycling Bag is a semi-rigid blue plastic container (minimum 25% recycled content, of course!) which may stand-alone, hang by its handles, or be mounted inside a cabinet door.  Its small footprint (10.5” x 14.5”), and ergonomic design, allowing it to be carried with
one-hand to a centralized container, makes it ideal for apartment, condominium, or dormitory applications.

By placing the Apartment Recycling Bag in a convenient location, collection of recyclable materials becomes effortless.  Each unit now has its own
two-stream waste management system!!   

Common areas such as laundry rooms, fitness rooms, recreation rooms, parking lots, entrances and patios also need containers to capture recyclable materials.Busch Systems fills this need with a choice of centralized containers from the purely functional recycling rack, to the practical sorting cart, to the attractive Sentinel Series One-in-One & Three-in-One waste & recycling collectors.  

As these containers become full, the contents may be conveniently transferred into clearly labeled Blue Carts (65/95 gallon capacity is standard).  These large-capacity Blue Carts, one for fibers and one for containers, will hold an entire building's recyclable material until collection day, when management will simply roll to the curb for recycling pick-up.

Like so many things in life, the solution to implementing a successful Apartment Recycling Program lies in the right mix of education, communication, organization, and having the right tools for the job. 

For assistance in creating your own Apartment Recycling Program, just give us a call.

Centralized Recycling Solutions

We’ve always known that our Sentinel Series Three-in-One and One-in-One Waste and Recycling Containers were going to be popular but nothing could have prepared us for the overwhelming reception these new containers received at the NRC.  Clearly we underestimated the need in the marketplace for a centralized recycling container which is attractive, easy to use, easy to service, weather resistant, and ensures a clean-sort. 

Both containers in this program are made from a minimum 50% recycled content, are available in a variety of colours, either solid or granite finishes. A quality sort is virtually guaranteed by our Super-Sorter Openings, which are colour-coded and hot-stamped to permanently communicate the appropriate material for disposal.  The Three-in-One uses 3@30-gallon liners to separate waste from paper from cans/ bottles.  If you only require two-stream collection, we will be happy to modify the openings to suit your needs. 

This centralized system is perfect for high-traffic areas both indoors and outdoors, and the best part is that it even comes with signage capabilities to promote your recycling program or generate revenue with advertising sales.  This system literally pays for itself!

The Sentinel Series One-in-One gives you all the benefits of the Three-in-One but with a smaller footprint.  As a single unit, 30 gallon capacity, we will be happy to create a single-stream collection container to suit your recycling program.  Stand-alone or combine multiple units as space permits.

“Oh my, this is just perfect for our school cafeteria” declared one recycling coordinator from Illinois.  What so impressed this recycling professional?  She was admiring our 26 gallon upright container with the Clearview Lid.  At 28” tall, this container is easily accessible for children, while the Clearview Lid is transparent, allowing users to easily identify appropriate contents.  Additionally, the Clearview Lid features Super-Sorter Openings to clearly communicate the desired content. 

Combine 2 or 3 of these containers onto a dedicated rolling cart to make light work of transporting your source-separated waste and recycling. 

The Clearview’s size, portability, and nesting-ratio also make this an ideal container for events.

Whether you need a centralized waste and recycling program for your School, Office, Downtown Business Association, or Community Event, Busch Systems is happy to help.