Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle: CRI environmental committee implements Go Green initiatives

The Environmental Committee at Cook Research Incorporated (CRI) has taken to heart Cook Medical’s commitment to leaving the environment better than we found it through various environmental and sustaining initiatives.

So far we have established two environmental goals: becoming a zero-landfill facility and eliminating single-use plastics. In order to meet those goals, we have launched a campaign to eliminate single-use plastics in our facility (bottles, straws, stirrers, take out containers, and cups) and we are partnering with a local composting company that will be able to remove the remaining waste that is suitable for composting.

Good-bye to single-use plastics

So why eliminate single-use plastics, they are recyclable right? The answer: yes, but we have produced more plastic in our world than we are able to destroy or recycle. Consequentially, this has led to 12 billion metric tons of plastic in our landfills (because 91% of all plastic is not recycled). It is projected that we will have more plastic by weight than fish in our oceans by 2050. The number one pollutant in our oceans is single-use plastics.

The only way to confront the single-use plastic crisis, is to stop our personal plastic consumption. This has led to our “reduce first, reuse if possible, and recycle responsibly initiative.”

The reduce initiative started in the CRI kitchen by eliminating all single-use plastic. The single-use plastic items, such as cups and silverware, have been replaced with compostable single-use items. This means, we will be able to combine the compostable single-use items with our food waste and paper towel waste to create compost. Following treatment of the compost, it will then be placed on Indiana farm fields to promote the growth of healthy crops. Composting what would be landfill waste, ensures we have drastically reduced what we are actually contributing to the landfill—and CRI is one step closer to becoming a zero-landfill facility.

Reusable water bottles

The other big piece of our Go Green plan is the reuse initiative. CRI has removed water bottles from our facility and instead, we are encouraging employees to bring in a reusable water bottle. It is estimated that over half a trillion plastic single-use bottles will be sold in 2020. These bottles are a major contributor to our single-use plastic crisis. By utilizing a reusable bottle, single-use bottles are rendered unnecessary.

Recycling in full swing

Although we are primarily targeting reduce and reuse, we are still promoting responsible recycling practices. CRI recycles batteries, electronics, aluminum, and glass as well as any plastics that might find their way into our facility. By following these simple principles we will maintain our responsible recycling practices and become a zero-landfill and single-use plastic-free facility.

Employees have been both eager for and patient with these changes, and we are excited to start tracking how much we are reducing our landfill footprint. It is encouraging to see companies like Starbucks, Marriott, and Disney demonstrating their commitment to reducing their single-use plastics consumption through the launch of their own campaigns.

We look forward to sharing additional updates on our Reduce, Reuse, Recycle initiative, and welcome other Cook facilities to reach out if there are questions or need help in starting a program locally. Please feel free to contact sarah.boylen@cookmedical.com.

• Earth Day Network. Earth Day 2018 End Plastic Pollution: Fact Sheet: Single-Use Plastics. earthday.org/2018/03/29/fact-sheet-single-use-plastics/. Published 2018. Accessed August 21, 2018.
• Forbes. We’re Now At A Million Plastic Bottles Per Minute – 91% Of Which Are Not Recycled. forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2017/07/26/million-plastic-bottles-minute-91-not-recycled/. Published July 26, 2017. Accessed August 21, 2018.