The Postal Service™ celebrates Earth Day 2017 to emphasize our corporate commitment to waste reduction and recycling. Our job is to help you reduce your operating expenses by keeping waste out of landfills and optimize revenue from the sale of recyclable materials. Nearly everything in our trash containers can be recycled, which protects the environment and makes good business sense. Key Postal Service partners who share this initiative include the Office of Sustainability, Network Operations, Maintenance, Facilities, and Supply Management. We work together to reduce wasted energy, water, fuel, and trash to landfills, while promoting the purchase of environmentally preferred products.
Most of our trash is mixed paper — a commodity that is easily recycled and transformed into a business opportunity. Currently, our National Recycling Operation (NRO) at blue.usps.gov/sustainability/national-recycling-operation.htm has made great strides in reducing paper waste and developing new ways to generate revenue.
Our short animated video describes the NRO program in detail (blue.usps.gov/corpcomm/uspstv/sustainability/animated-video-of-national-recycling-operation.htm). Under NRO, we backhaul mixed paper, on a space-available basis, to plants using existing transport equipment. Then, we consolidate the materials for sale to recyclers. As more mixed paper is recycled, the volume and related cost of trash disposal at the area and plant levels decreases significantly.
We provide guidelines to capture these savings by reducing trash container size and/or pickup frequency. As you recycle more, we also provide guidance for your local finance specialist to ensure they apply correct accounting codes to document your savings (blue.usps.gov/sustainability/national-recycling-operation.htm#ledger). This allows you to accurately track your progress at the district, area, and national levels.
Earth Day may happen once a year, but sustainability practices need to be a daily part of our working lives. Thank you for doing your part to identify local opportunities to conserve resources. Let’s celebrate Earth Day 2017 by recycling.
— Corporate Sustainability Initiatives,
Office of Sustainability, 4-13-17
