Biker Scout
New Member
Since I got started in this industry some 20+ years ago, even as a broom pusher and trash taker-outer I've noticed the exorbitant amounts of trash that a small sign shop can produce. It's always bugged me... the endless silicone paper that seems to always flow over the dumpster. The large boxes and cardboard tubes. The scrap vinyl, paper masking and clear vinyl masking. Behind the curtain, it's a real issue and daily chore for a moderately busy shop to have to contend with. I honestly don't even think you can legitimately recycle silicone liner paper with regular paper. Can you? What about all that gooey masking? I'm willing to bet that nearly all sign shop's trash just ends up in the landfill.
Which kind of brings to light this industry push to become green, as if it's some kind of badge we can proudly put on our front windows as soft advertising about how eco-conscious we are. Look, our inks have no odors, or we use branded things that say "eco" and we all sing kumbaya at break time and small forest critters break out in song every time we break down a cardboard box and put it in a pile destined for the recycling center. But if our so-called eco-conscious customers could look into the production area during a busy shift, they'd see horrible, horrible things that would make them screech the tires on their Prius and head to some other enchanted land of solar fairies and wind powered dreams.
So, my question is this: How do you guys contend with your trash? Does it bother you the amount of waste that's produced? Do you make an effort to reduce the size of your trash? (Tear it up, shred it, break it down, roll it up, get it wet?)
I've had this idea for about 5 years to create a sort of Franken-Mulcher that sits over a 55 gallon trash can. Were we can at least reduce the amount of paper trash down to one bag. I mean the amount of trash bags we go through is kinda obscene. Also, in my current industrial complex, we don't have shared dumpsters anymore. Management has placed locks on them, as they are now designated just for small office use. Any of us that have roll-ups, warehouse space, industrial space etc are left to our own garbage collection. A few tenants have their own smaller dumpsters that they pay for, and when I first moved into the complex I got an earful about using one of them. I didn't realize I couldn't throw out my trash in the only dumpster for a block. Just figured it was for the row of businesses. So that leaves us with having to haul off our trash every few days. I don't mind so much, as it's forced me to make a concerted effort to sort and recycle. After all, we are "Eco Mouse, llc" :Big Laugh
So this trash thing has brought my idea to the forefront out of necessity, and was wondering what everyone else thought about their refuse?
Which kind of brings to light this industry push to become green, as if it's some kind of badge we can proudly put on our front windows as soft advertising about how eco-conscious we are. Look, our inks have no odors, or we use branded things that say "eco" and we all sing kumbaya at break time and small forest critters break out in song every time we break down a cardboard box and put it in a pile destined for the recycling center. But if our so-called eco-conscious customers could look into the production area during a busy shift, they'd see horrible, horrible things that would make them screech the tires on their Prius and head to some other enchanted land of solar fairies and wind powered dreams.
So, my question is this: How do you guys contend with your trash? Does it bother you the amount of waste that's produced? Do you make an effort to reduce the size of your trash? (Tear it up, shred it, break it down, roll it up, get it wet?)
I've had this idea for about 5 years to create a sort of Franken-Mulcher that sits over a 55 gallon trash can. Were we can at least reduce the amount of paper trash down to one bag. I mean the amount of trash bags we go through is kinda obscene. Also, in my current industrial complex, we don't have shared dumpsters anymore. Management has placed locks on them, as they are now designated just for small office use. Any of us that have roll-ups, warehouse space, industrial space etc are left to our own garbage collection. A few tenants have their own smaller dumpsters that they pay for, and when I first moved into the complex I got an earful about using one of them. I didn't realize I couldn't throw out my trash in the only dumpster for a block. Just figured it was for the row of businesses. So that leaves us with having to haul off our trash every few days. I don't mind so much, as it's forced me to make a concerted effort to sort and recycle. After all, we are "Eco Mouse, llc" :Big Laugh
So this trash thing has brought my idea to the forefront out of necessity, and was wondering what everyone else thought about their refuse?
