Recycle or Die!

Midland Loan is an Overland Park-based company which has partnered with Bridging The Gap on a number of sustainability initiatives—designing and installing rain gardens, hosting an annual Earth Day with a BTG speaker, and even raising vegetables in hand-decorated pots to sell as a BTG fundraiser.  So when Midland was stuck with 50 faulty coffee mugs, they knew who to call—Bridging The Gap’s By-Product Synergy program.

Shortly after Midland purchased and distributed a new set of company coffee mugs, their associates noticed many of them started to develop a rust-colored ring on the inside. New mugs in a different color were ordered to avoid this “rusting”, but unfortunately the distributor wouldn’t take the “rusted” mugs back.  Because of their sustainable mission, Midland Loan did not want to improperly dispose of the faulty mugs.  After all, the whole point of providing “re-useable” mugs was to avoid unnecessary landfill waste!

When Midland approached her about the mugs, KC-BPS program coordinator Noelle Morris called Extreme Recycling in Topeka, KS, a dedicated BPS member.  Their enthusiasm for recycling is concisely expressed in their corporate slogan:  “Recycle or Die!”   Because of their Primax 770 Shredder which can pulverize 10-20 tons per hour, even very large electronic devices such as commercial copiers and printers, Extreme Recycling can handle a very wide range of materials which would not be recyclable by ordinary means, including a full-sized 4-wheeler!! They took Midlands’ mugs, smashed each one and separated the materials for recycling.

Though only a small volume of materials were diverted, Midland’s zero-waste thinking and their dedication to every aspect of “going green” forged a new relationship which could be the start of something big!

Synergy Metrics

27 pounds were prevented from landfill

Synergy Partners

Extreme Recycling, Midland Loan Services