A collaboration between three organizations has led to the design and production of a set of simple collection containers for batteries and fluorescent bulbs that are easy for Marin County residents to use in their homes. The new collection containers designed by Ditto Sustainable Brand Solutions will be made available by the Marin Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Facility to their residential customers starting this July.
Ditto and the Marin HHW Facility joined forces after Ditto won the 2013 Green Arrow award from the California Product Stewardship Council. The Green Arrow Award is given to companies that redesign products to reduce toxics and be recyclable. 鈥淲e were very excited when we heard we won the 2013 Green Arrow Award from the California Product Stewardship Council,鈥� said Ditto鈥檚 founder and CEO Gary Barker.鈥淒itto鈥檚 core mission is to design beautiful and non-toxic products and do it in a way that keeps them out of landfills and the Award is a recognition of that effort,鈥� said Heidi Sanborn, Executive Director of the California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC). 鈥淧erhaps one of the best advantages to winning the award is the collaboration and networking opportunities provided through ongoing support from CPSC to encourage like-minded companies to work together.鈥�
And collaboration is exactly what happened when the Marin HHW Facility was looking for new outreach materials that wouldn鈥檛 just be tossed into a landfill. 鈥淲hen I was looking to produce unique, consumer recycling bins for batteries and fluorescent bulbs, I remembered learning about Ditto through a meeting arranged by CPSC. I was so inspired by Ditto鈥檚 stewardship that I knew right away that Ditto was the right company to partner with,鈥� said Kathy Wall, Marin HHW Facility鈥檚 Household Hazardous Waste Coordinator. Marin County and the City of San Rafael have both adopted a goal to be zero waste by 2025.
鈥淲e worked closely with Kathy to come up with a set of collection boxes that were fun, informative and practical at the home level,鈥� said Barker. 聽鈥淭he idea was to design a simple collection bin for the batteries and fluorescent bulbs, then cover the surface with bold graphics and facts about recycling.鈥�
According to Wall, 鈥淥ur goal was to make recycling easy and fun while educating consumers on how to keep harmful substances out of landfills and Ditto has helped us do that!鈥� The benefit of receiving the Green Arrow Award goes far beyond the plaque that hangs on Ditto鈥檚 wall. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a confirmation of their mission statement of intelligent product design and an entry into the club of other companies working to innovate ways to keep precious materials out of landfills and in the materials loop,鈥� said Sanborn. 鈥淭he collaboration of Ditto, the Marin HHW Facility and CPSC shows just what can be accomplished when like-minded organizations work together.鈥�
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