Melanie Mann has been recycling since she opened Newberry Common Ground 10 years ago.
All the plastic they can is recycled. Mann recalled they started with milk jugs then started collecting all the containers. She has receptacles for plastic and glass. They also recycle a lot of cardboard. Keep Alliance Beautiful picks everything up through their curbside recycling.
“I feel I need to do my part,” Mann explained. “When I was a little girl I went to the landfill with my dad. It made me sad to see all the trash. . . . I feel like we need to do our part so we’re not leaving so much in the landfill. Everyone needs to do their part and reuse some of the things. Don’t want the landfill to double. It’s (recycling is) definitely learned. I’m trying to teach my kids. I’d day to people how affordable it is. It’s a team effort. I hope the girls here are learning and doing it at home.”
Mann hopes to make people more aware that the business recycles. “I need to make a new sign so that people are aware who rent the space that we recycle . . . would like people to know and that it’s important.”
It would be interesting to know how important it is to customers, she said.
Curbside recycling has benefited Newberry’s because it is less time and trips spent taking the materials in her car. “I’m not doing it to benefit the business,” Mann said. “I’m doing it to benefit the town and the world.”
There is not anything else Mann feels they could recycle. She hopes KAB keeps taking glass.
As far as other ways the business is green, Mann said they are conscious of electricity use. “Everything is turned off. We make sure toilets don’t run during events. Talked about doing air dryers instead of paper towels, but haven’t implemented it yet,” she said. “We try to purchase items that have already been recycled. We use more efficient lights and toilets that don’t use as much water.”
Convenience has been a bonus. “I’m grateful KAB started curbside, anyone can do it, it makes recycling easy,” Mann concluded.