Business Success Stories Comcast Summer 2004 The warehouse manager at Comcast in Bellingham had a problem — dumpsters overflowing with phone cable and outdated electronic equipment, piles of wooden spools and pallets, and a garbage bill that seemed a bit too high. "It all started with a call to the Recycling Hotline," explains Brett Fontes, General Manager of Comcast's Bellingham system. "We had a dumpster full of waste and cable scrap and didn't want it to end up in a landfill." Fortunately, the RE Sources "Business Recycling Technical Assistance" program was able to find a recycler for the cable — more than one service, in fact, that could separate the wire, plastic and rubber into recyclable components. Comcast chose the most convenient option for their Whatcom County location. Over the course of a year, Comcast's recycling efforts would divert 14.5 tons of wooden spools and pallets — generating enough wood chips to help make almost 29,000 square feet of "Trex"-style wood/plastic siding. James Street Estates Summer 2004
Board members of James Street Estates were in a pickle when the Bellis Fair Mall stopped accepting newspapers in 2004. The association's volunteers had been taking newsprint to the free drop-off for recycling: When that opportunity closed, the volunteers needed a new way to recycle.
The RE Sources "Business Recycling Technical Assistance" program stepped in. The Estates are classified as a "business," and, as such, aren't eligible to receive curbside recycling as it's offered to single-family homes. The business assistance program worked with Sanitary Service Co. to create a special category and bring curbside recycling to Estates residents. Now, volunteers don't have to make those trips to the recycling station. Instead, all kinds of recyclables are picked up at Estate homes every other week. The association is saving hundreds of dollars on its yearly garbage bill, and members are recycling more than a ton of bottles, cans, old mail, newspapers and cardboard every month. Over the course of a year, the Association's recycling efforts prevent nearly 15 tons of waste and save the equivalent of:
- 163 trees,
- 67,000 gallons of water, and
- enough electricity to heat a house for 3.5 years.
Trailer parks and other residential communities that offer detached dwelling units to their members might be eligible for similar service. For more information, email  recycle@re-sources.org
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