Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Highlights
What: Adding Single Stream Recycling to all four Anoka County Rent-A-Car branches and training staff to effectively collect recyclable materials.
Why: To continually improve their environmental impact and encourage employees to engage in environmentally positive behaviors both in and out of the office.
How: Partnered with MN Waste Wise to execute a recycling improvement plan and with Anoka County to obtain grant funding for color coded recycling bins and signs.
Results: Diverting over 21,000 pounds of recyclable material from their waste stream on an annual basis.
Enterprise Rent-A-Car maintains an ongoing commitment to environmental stewardship including a sustainability pledge known as the Ranger Pledge. The Ranger Pledge encourages employees to adhere to Enterprise’s sustainability initiatives. In 2016 one of those initiatives was to improve recycling at their Rent-A-Car branches. Senior Operations Coordinator, Scott Addison, and Account Manager, Adam Tucker both worked diligently to ensure that an improved recycling program would be implemented and effectively communicated to all Enterprise staff.
In order to achieve a successful recycling program, Enterprise worked hand in hand with the MN Waste Wise Foundation to identify opportunity areas for capturing recyclable materials and ensuring that appropriate recycling bins and signage were acquired.
In total, four Anoka County Rent-A-Car locations received recycling bins to pair with existing trash receptacles. In addition, each branch’s managers attended a recycling presentation led by Waste Wise providing them with the information they needed to encourage their employees to recycle more and waste less.
The results have been exemplary with an estimated 21,467 pounds of annual recycling diversion. But perhaps more importantly, Enterprise has experienced increased awareness and appreciation of recycling among employees. Adam Tucker mentioned employees were extremely excited to receive their new recycling bins and begin collecting material that had previously been going into the trash. Adding, “Appreciation for our recycling efforts is a common sentiment among staff.”
Tucker is very grateful for Anoka County’s business recycling grant program. “Our company lives and dies by keeping operating costs low and our past requests for recycling bins had been declined due to cost concerns. Anoka County’s grant program allowed us to achieve our recycling goals without the burden of added cost. Some of our branches have even saved money by reducing our trash services!” Tucker also added that through Waste Wise’s recycling presentation and ongoing recycling assistance, Enterprise employees throughout all areas of their operations are highly engaged with recycling and he believes their new recycling program is a boost to employee morale.