Sustainability is one of our core values, so we’re always looking for ways to reduce the negative impact we have on the earth. Here’s how that works when it comes to tossing things out.

First Goal: Reduce #

First, keep in mind that “tossing something out” or “throwing it away” just means it’s no longer in your presence. There is no “out” or “away”. The stuff doesn’t just disappear. It all has to go somewhere. So, the first goal is to reduce so there’s less to pass on to someone else to deal with.

We, as a business and a community, make choices every day to keep waste down. We buy break room food in bulk packages. We get our creamer and milk in reusable glass bottles. We opt in for services like composting. We provide reusable rags for cleaning up spills. And so much more.

Do your part. Give a side eye to anything that would only be used once. Bring your lunch in reusable containers. See if you can get your to-go coffee or tea in a reusable cup you give them. When getting take-out, skip the plasticware. Get less take-out. Instead, dine in the restaurant. There are so many ways to reduce waste.

Compost (from the earth back to the earth) #

We have compost buckets in each break room/kitchen. When they get full, they should be emptied into the large bin by the bike racks in the backyard of 120 E Patrick. We pay for a service with Compost Crew, who picks up our compostables each Thursday.

• – All food (including eggs, meat, dairy, bones, and seashells)
• – Coffee grounds (including the filter)
• – Tea leaves (and bags that aren’t plastic)
• – Paper towels
• – Paper wrapper from the toilet paper
• – Toilet paper rolls
• – Wood chopsticks and stirrers (please break in half)
• – Pizza boxes (flatten and put next to the bucket)
• – Other cardboard food containers – if not lined
• – Anything marked compostable (like the cups – but not the lids – from Beans & Bagels)

TIP: Instead of rinsing your dish in the sink, grab a paper towel and wipe the food from the plate into the compost bucket, then toss the paper towel in too.

Recycle (transformed to find new use) #

There’s also a recycle bin in each break room/kitchen. For convenience, there’s also a small blue recycle bin at the top of the stairs on the 2nd floor of the 122 building. That should periodically be emptied into the larger bin in the break room. Recycling is picked up in the wee hours of the morning Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Here’s what should go in the recycle bin:

• – Cans
• – Glass bottles and jars
• – Clean cardboard (pizza boxes should be composted)
• – Newspapers and magazines
• – Junk mail
• – Plastic bottles and jars
• – Plastic tubs (like large yogurt or cottage cheese)
• – Thick, flexible to-go containers (like the black ones from Sumittra)

NOT: plastic bags (save clean bags for reuse), plastic drink cups (trash), thin, brittle to-go containers (trash), white paper (shred bin), napkins (compost), paper plates (compost), Styrofoam (trash), or bubble wrap (Pop Shop bin).

Paper Shred Bin #

All white (or mostly white) paper should go in a shred bin, where it will be recycled after being shredded. While the City and County say you can recycle paper, but if anything spills on the paper, which is very likely when it’s in a bin with open drink cans, the paper is ruined. We use local company All-Shred, who picks up paper from the secured shred bins we have in our buildings. The shred bin for the 122 building is in the first-floor hallway, by the mailboxes. The shred bin for the 120 building is in the lower-level workspace, by the printer.

Pop Shop Packing Material Collection (reuse) #

Bubble wrap and packing air pillows can’t be recycled, but they can be reused and a fellow downtown business will reuse them. We collect packing materials for the North Market Pop Shop in a box in the first-floor hallway, by the mailboxes, in the 122 building and by the hallway to the clubhouse restroom in the 120 building.

• – Bubble wrap
• – Padded envelopes (please remove or mark out your address)
• – Air pillows

TIP: Plastic bags are in the break room. It’s A-OK to bring these things in from home to contribute.

Batteries & Ink Cartridges (reused) #

We collect used batteries and ink cartridges of all kinds and take them to Staples to be recycled. In doing so, we keep them out of the landfill and also get points we can use toward buying office supplies for Cowork Frederick. There’s a basket on the office supply shelf in the clubhouse library.

TIP: You absolutely can bring batteries and ink cartridges from home. Every little bit helps!

Trash (left in a landfill for centuries to come) #

Everything else goes in a trash can. If we do the stuff above well, not much will leave this building destined for the landfill.