If you look at certain bags, cartons, or paper stock, you may notice a small image or message regarding its recycled content, sometimes referenced as a percentage of Post-consumer materials. Curious as to what this label meant, we decided to do some research. Post-consumer means that the product you’re using is garbage or waste “that’s been used by a consumer, disposed of, and diverted from landfills.” Simply put, it’s made of recycled material. This is often items such as paper or plastic bottles. Pre-consumer waste…

A relatively new term to emerge in the composting industry is “food scraps” which includes two general categories: 1) pre-consumer food scraps; and 2) post-consumer food scraps. Pre-consumer food scrap composting includes vegetable culls and trimmings from restaurants, college dining halls and the produce department at your local grocery store. This term even includes used coffee grounds from the corner latte stand. Post-consumer food scrap composting includes domestic food that is discarded and often co-mingled with yard debris and then collected at the curbside. As…

Pre-consumer waste is waste that is generated by manufacturers, facilities, or organizations – that doesn’t reach the consumer. Many industries have done their best to be as efficient as possible and reduce pre-consumer waste and unusable raw materials in their business, but unfortunately pre-consumer waste is still a natural byproduct of most industries. To that point, many companies and industries have become resourceful and found uses to repurpose a lot of pre-consumer waste to make new products. Since pre-consumer waste can range from anything from…

Recycled glass countertops are exactly what they sound like: surfaces made from glass that has been repurposed from items such as bottles, jars, and windows. The glass is combined with a binding agent, usually cement or resin, to create a solid, durable surface. The result is a countertop that is not only strong but also visually stunning, with a variety of colors and patterns available to suit any design preference. Environmental Benefits of Recycled Glass Countertops One of the biggest advantages of recycled glass countertops…

Recycled timber is wood which has previously been used either in furniture, buildings or other applications such as piers and bridges and has been salvaged to use again. Sometimes the timber is immediately ready for use depending on the intended purpose but in other cases, it will be processed to ensure suitability. Decks or floorboards which are taken from an old house can be transferred to a new project, for example. The boards are re-cut, sanded down, planed, or polished so that they look fresh…