Bring the Possible out of Impossible

A common phrase in Elemental Impact founder Holly Elmore's speaking engagements summarizes the overall driving force in Ei initiatives:

Ei determines what could be done that is not being done and gets it done. Ei brings the possible out of impossible.

While nurturing the Zero Waste Zones from their 2009 launch until the September, 2012 National Restaurant Association purchase, the Ei Team worked closely with industry pioneers to create zero practices grounded in sound business principles and easy to implement.  Quotes, like the below from Dave Rossman, then general manager at the Doubletree Atlanta-Buckhead, were common by late 2009:

"By joining the Zero Waste Zones we were given an easy and cost-saving solution for food waste composting.  We have fewer and lighter compactor pulls since there is no smell from decomposing food in the compactor.  The process was easy and our employees feel good about helping the environment."

With the ZWZ success, the possible was brought out of what seemed impossible in 2008. It was not easy getting to consistent ZWZ Participant quotes on how easy it was to implement food waste collection practices in commercial kitchens. Ei specializes in creating pathways within frontiers by working closely with pioneers willing to make the effort so others may easily follow.

As documented in the ZWA Blog post, Ei: An Established Program Creator, the NRA ZWZ acquisition moved the Sustainable Food Court Initiative center stage for Ei's zero waste focus. True to the Ei tagline: Sustainability in ACTION, the SFCI is in full action mode. In early March, the SFCI Shopping Mall Pilot - Concord Mills in Charlotte, NC - hosted the third Ei Partner Tours. For an overview of the tours, see The IMPACT Blog post, Charlotte Ei Partner Tours.and the Ei FB album, 03-04-13 Ei Ptr Tours - Day 1, for a pictorial recap.

Concord Mills - a Simon Property Group mall with the food court operated by HMSHost - was a natural pilot choice. With Ei Partner HMSHost at the backbone of the Atlanta Airport SFCI Airport Pilot, the foodservice tenant buy-in challenge was not applicable. The ZWA Blog post, ACTION: Theme for the SFCI Shopping Mall Pilot, is an overview of how the Concord Mills Team embarked upon food waste collection for composting, wasted food donation and plastic film recycling pilots.

The Ei Partner Tours were an excellent opportunity to showcase how the WE Conciousness results in programs where all benefit. The ZWA Blog post, Zero Waste is a Team Sport, introduces the WE Consciousness as integral to zero waste success.

The Charlotte "Can Do" Team
Ray, Brian & Larry Jenkins

For an overview of Ray Soporowski's - CM SPG general manager- and Brian Shetron's - CM HMSHost food & beverage director, "can do" attitude that results in action, see the ZWA Blog post, Concord Mills: The Power of "WE" in Action.

Working with the Concord Mills team. Susan Stanton with Tomra | Orwak was instrumental in launching the plastic film recycling pilot. Beyond providing the baling equipment, Susan's industry expertise was invaluable, especially during the chaotic energy present in the creation process.To make it easy for tenants, Ray implemented a porter service for weekly plastic film collection. Tenants are enthusiastic to participate and doing their best to shift internal practices so a clean stream is generated. From the August program launch through the end of February, 18,000 pounds of clean, clear plastic film was baled and sold for recycling at Concord Mills

Jim, Brian & Ray by the new
food waste container

For food waste collection, Jim Lanier of Earth Farms worked closely with Ray and Brian to develop a system that worked well for all. With Earth Farms located 45 minutes from Concord Mills, Jim developed a weekly collection system that kept odors under control. When the original 95 gallon totes proved less than ideal, Jim replaced totes with a 2.3 yard container. Working as a team, Ray's staff moves the container from the interior hallway site to the loading area for Earth Farm's collection. Note: a layer of spent coffee grinds on top of the food waste is an excellent odor control option.

Concord Mills is an exception to most mall designs with their "race track" internal hall system. The halls are wide (equipment placement is relatively easy without infringing on fire codes) and built for vehicle traffic. The mall has forklifts making it practical to move the food waste container to the loading area.  

Brian explains BOH practices to
Laurette & Susan during tours

On the DAY 2 of the Charlotte Ei Partner Tours the entourage traveled to Stanley, NC for an excellent tour of Earth Farms' composting facility.The Ei FB album, 03-05-13 Charlotte Ei Ptr Tours - Day 2, includes a pictorial recap of the Earth Farms tour.

HMSHost works closely with The Food Donation Connection on wasted food donation programs at their airport, turnpike service center and mall operations. At airports the grab 'n go items were the first step to creating a national donation template.The ZWA Blog post, Reduce First, Donate Second, Compost Third, gives an overview of the Tampa Airport donation program.

Brian took the next big step in wasted food donation: prepared, unserved food from Quick Service Restaurants. In accordance with Popeye's quality control chicken must be sold within 20 minutes of frying. Standards like Popeye's generate a significant amount of wasted food that is perfect for donation.

Rev White & Brian

Working with the Food Donation Connection, Brian identified the wasted food generated in the food court operations that meets the Good Samaritan Food Donation Act. Next  the local Second Harvest office identified a shelter set-up for food requiring further processing before serving. Reverend White of Urban Street Ministries was a perfect match and collects 300 - 400 pounds of food weekly to feed those living in the streets. 

It is an honor to witness the team work and heartfelt caring required to create and launch the Concord Mills wasted food donation program. Future blog posts will dive deeper into the program along with advice on how to create similar programs where donatable, wasted food goes to composting or the landfill.

As of the tours, 38 tons of food waste was diverted from landfills to composting and 6800 pounds of consumable food was distributed to hungry folks at Concord Mills. By working with Simon & HMSHost, the impact of templates developed at Concord Mills has potential to impact nearly 400 Simon malls and around 80 plus North American airports with HMSHost foodservice operations.

Concord Mills is the perfect pilot: 1> mall & food court managers who operate within the WE Consciousness 2> food court is operated by one tenant, Ei Partner HMSHost 3> mall back-of-the-house design accommodates equipment placement and material transport. With plastic film recycling, food waste collection for composting and wasted food donation programs in-place, it is time to explore zero waste practices in malls with more typical scenarios.

Clean plastic film ready for baling
@ Concord Mills

On DAY 2 the partners started the busy day with a tour of SouthPark Mall, a high-end Simon mall in Charlotte. Plastic film recycling is underway at SouthPark with their baler arriving days earlier. Ray, Brian and Jim joined the Ei Partners to educate Randy Thomas - Southpark general manager- and operations manager Ron Rentschler on the support the Ei Team provides while implementing new practices. First action steps are for SouthPark to explore back-of-the-house food waste collection with staged-in implementation. 

SouthPark has three strong national restaurant tenants - The Cheesecake Factory, Maggiano's Little Italy and McCormick & Schmick's Seafood & Steaks  - who contract for their own waste & recycling services. Ei plans to work on a talking points template for SouthPark to educate the restaurant management that food waste collection for composting makes good business sense. Besides the zero waste impact, the food waste volume from these restaurants creates route density to keep Earth Farm's costs in-line.

Bruce & Ray with
SCFI FOH recycling center

For Concord Mills, the next frontier is front-of-the-house food waste collection in the food court. Challenges abound, making the scenario perfect for the SFCI Team to lend valuable industry expertise. CleanRiver Recycling Solutions Tom Lembo chairs the FOH Recycling Center SFCI committee and is excited to move into action mode. Bruce Buchan - CleanRiver founder & CEO - attended the tours as a featured partner and gave an excellent presentation on DAY 1. The first rendition of the SFCI recycling center is in-place and ready for its next evolution - thank you CleanRiver for your generosity with both expertise and equipment.

Transport and consumer-facing packaging is foundational  to moving the zero waste needle closer to no waste. In the ZWA Blog post, Supply Chain Critical to Zero Waste Success, transport packaging is addressed along with approaching suppliers as partners.  Examples are given where suppliers shifted from "landfill packaging" to reuseable | recyclable options where all win, including the supplier's bottom line.

Jim showing Lynn the final
product @ composting site

Representing single-use consumer foodservice packaging, Ei Advisory Council member Lynn Dyer - Foodservice Packaging Institute president, joined the Ei Partner Tours. FPI is active in industry sustainable options with their Paper Recovery Alliance and Plastics Recovery Group. On her quest to learn industry best practices and potentials, the Earth Farms' tour was a top priority in Lynn's busy schedule. It was Lynn's first visit to a food waste composting site, the final destination for many single-use compostable consumer foodservice packaging. The entire tour group learned from Lynn's inquisitive conversation and questions. 

With impeccable timing, Ei founder Holly Elmore served on a SWANA Road to Zero Waste conference panel with Laurette Hall - Mecklenburg County director of sustainability - the week prior to the Charlotte Ei Partner Tours. For an overview of the conference session, see the ZWA Blog post, Zero Waste, Southern Style. Laurette accepted Holly's invitation and joined the Ei Partners for the DAY 1 tours & presentations at Concord Mills.

Laurette Hall with Linda Dunn
of HMSHost

Jake Wilson - Keep Mecklenburg Beautiful executive director & works with Laurette - is instrumental to Ei's Charlotte presence. Holly connected with Jake long before the first Charlotte adventure and relies on Jake as a local anchor. For the tours, Jake made the majority a priority in his hectic schedule. Local government support is critical to success and Ei is most appreciative of the strong Mecklenburg County bond.

The SFCI Team is staged for action bringing the possible out of what is perceived as impossible.  Exciting times!!!

Food Waste Donation: Everyone Wins!

Perry Kranias, steward of the
 amazing Tampa Airport program

Inspired by the successful food waste donation program at the Tampa Airport HMSHost operations, Brian Shetron - Concord Mills HMSHost general manager - decided to explore how a similar system would work in a food court scenario. 


At an airport, most of the donated food is "grab and go" meals that are pre-packaged with definitive shelf life. The ZWA Blog post, Reduce First, Donate Second, Compost Third, gives an overview of the Tampa Airport donation program started in September, 2010. To date, 41 airports joined Tampa's lead with a total year-to-date donation of over 500,000 pieces of food (e.g. sandwich, yogurt parfait).

Quality control and high standards by their nature result in food production overages. At HMSHost airport foodservice operations, the pre-packaged foods have a maximum 24-hour shelf life for customer sales.  Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen, a high-volume restaurant in Concord Mills, has a maximum 30-minute hold time once chicken is cooked. Working the balance of food overage and customer selection, the lean is on an overage to ensure customers are happy with menu availability.

Concord Mills staff freezing
food for doantion

At Concord Mills the majority of the food is eaten in the food court versus at an airport where most of the food is carried away. Thus, the mall food is generally in bulk versus pre-packaged in "grab and go" containers easily stacked for donation. For bulk donation items, the food is frozen as soon it passes the quality threshold for later thawing and heating at the shelters.

HMSHost contracts with the Food Donation Connection for their food waste donation programs. As part of their services, FDC assists the operator to determine what food waste generated meets the Good Samaritan Food Donation Act and identifies food bank or shelter programs complementary with the food donation. With an intricate tracking system, FDC works closely with the operator's accounting department to ensure the appropriate inventory donation tax deductions are taken.

one of the first donation collections
photo courtesy of HMSHost

In mid-September, Brian started Concord Mills food court donations to the local Second Harvest affiliate. Current estimates are 300 - 400 pounds of food donated per week from the HMSHost-operated food court for an annual 7.5 tons of food going to hungry bellies instead of composting.

The Concord Mills food waste program epitomizes how best practices create scenarios where all parties WIN:  

• Local shelters receive additional food for a hungry population.
• Simon Property Group, owner of Concord Mills, has reduced waste | recycling tipping fees. More importantly, SPG has a template to implement in their almost 400 malls nationwide.
• HMSHost receives an inventory donation tax deduction resulting in an improved bottom line. More importantly, a template is created for their shopping mall food court operations. Brian and his team know their efforts make a huge difference to their local community and beyond.

Kudos to Brian for taking the helm on the Concord Mills food waste donation program. The best part is Brian did not wait for the FDC green light for the tracking system, which begins in October. Stay tuned for more tales once the Concord Mills program is running full-steam.

ACTION: Theme for the SFCI Shopping Mall Pilot

Within a week of announcing Concord Mills serves as the Sustainable Food Court Initiative shopping mall pilot, the Elemental Impact team visited Charlotte.  An incredible action plan came together during the 24-hour visit.  The ZWA Blog, Concord Mills - SFCI Shopping Mall Pilot, gives the pilot launch details.

First on the agenda was jump-starting the plastic film recycling program after almost a year of discussions and planning. The June, 2011 ZWA Blog post, Simon Property Group Embarks on Zero Waste Initiatives, details the SPG Atlanta meeting marathon where the sky rocketing plastic film dilemma at malls was a major discussion point.  At the June 16, 2011 meetings, Matt Hupp, then  SPG director waste & recycling, met the two main partners in the plastic film recycling program, Louis Herrera of Hilex Poly and Susan Stanton of Orwak.

Ray with Orwak baler

Six days before the Charlotte adventure, the Orwak baler, workhorse for the program, was delivered to Concord Mills. Ray Soporowski, Concord Mills general manager, was prepared for the Ei group with several bales pre-made and an ample plastic supply from tenants. An unused back portion of a tenant space serves as a perfect plastic film recycling center location.  

During the afternoon educational session, a bale weighing approximately 150 -175 pounds was made of typical tenant-generated plastic.  A visual inspection noted the plastic was 80-85% LDPE (low-density polyethylene) and contained approximately 5% contamination.  Ray estimates Concord Mills' tenants generate approximately 150 tons of plastic film per year.

Ei Team with plastic film bale

In order to secure tenant participation, especially those located further away from the recycling center, Ray determined a porter service for material collection was a must. Including the porter service expense, Ray anticipates a nice bottom line improvement due to the strong LDPE commodity market.  With significant mall square footage, Ray plans to create a second recycling center to service the other half of the mall.

Kevin Robertson, SPG corporate,
with Susan & Ron in discussion

At Simon Property Group sister mall, SouthPark Mall, a plastic film recycling system for a mall quadrant is in place under the oversight of operations director Ron Rentschler. After meeting with the Ei Team, Ron is eager to explore how using the Orwak baling system may improve his collection ability, keep the loading area neater and improve the bottom line.

A central focus for the SFCI is food waste collection beginning with back-of-the-house and seguing into front-of-the-house.  On May 21, Earth Farms Organics began BOH food waste collection from the HMSHost-operated Concord Mills food court along with one other mall restaurant.  With approximately 3,000 pounds per week collected, the program to date collection is just over 8 tons of food waste previously destined for the landfill.

Brian Shetron, HMSHost
Concord Mills GM  

With one more mall restaurant to join the program, Ray plans to invite the single-standing restaurants on the mall outskirt property to participate in the collections.  In addition to the environmental impact, the restaurants' volume will build the Concord area route into an economically viable long-term option.  Jim Lanier owner of Earth Farms Organics is a true team player and to date willing to work on the SFCI pilot collections without route density.

At the Atlanta Airport SFCI Pilot, the concessionaires are required to use compostable foodservice packaging and front-of-the-house food waste collection systems will be implemented when the entire airport operates under the new contract provisions (about 18 months).  In Charlotte, current plans are to retain existing food court packaging, much of which is not compostable or recyclable.

CleanRiver signage on SPG
recycling compactor

Thus, an opportunity arises to develop a food waste and napkin-only food court collection system.  Easy-to-identify bins along with superb signage are key to success.  Ei Partner CleanRiver has the equipment and expertise to design an effective system.  One of CleanRiver's assets is their in-house graphics department and print shop.  As noted in the ZWA Blog post, Simon Property Group at Sustainability Helm, CleanRiver created an excellent signage program for mall recycling and trash compactors.

former landfill destined, BOH
food waste now goes to composting

During the SouthPark meetings, Ron and general manager Randy Thomas were enthusiastic to  join Concord Mills in BOH and FOH food waste collection.  With SouthPark's three big-box restaurants (Maggiano's Little Italy, The Cheesecake Factory, & McCormick & Schmick's) and a strong food court including a California Pizza Kitchen with seated dining, there is tremendous potential for impressive food waste collection and cost-savings.  Ron and Randy left the meeting with a big action item: Visit Ray at Concord Mills!

For a pictorial recap of the Ei Charlotte visit, see the Ei FB album, 08-12 Charlotte SFCI Trip.  Be sure to like the Ei FB page while there!

Eric Dyer of Grease Lock
explaining the filter system

In addition to recycling, the SFCI is focused on REDUCTION.  While in Charlotte the first steps were taken for a kitchen hood filter system pilot designed to capture grease before it enters the hood system.  Anticipated results are a significant reduction in hood cleaning, kitchen labor and maintenance expense for grease build-up on roofs.  Note each hood cleaning uses approximately 350 gallons of water that goes into the sewer system along with the toxins inherent in the cleaning solutions. Renown engineering consultant Jayendra Parikh will analyze the pilot and write an independent report on pilot results.

Plastic film, food waste and kitchen grease are the three main initial action areas for the SFCI shopping mall pilot.  Although the SFCI Team in formation will retain a food court focus, the overall Ei Team is excited to work on  zero waste initiatives, including resource reduction, throughout the entire mall operations and grounds.  Stay tuned for future blog posts on the exciting Charlotte projects.

2011 Planning = 2012 ACTION

With coffee in-hand,
Louis & Matt ready to travel

In early January, Louis Herrera, Hilex Poly National Sales Director, Matt Hupp, Simon Property Group Director of Waste & Recycling and Holly Elmore, Elemental Impact Founder, headed to Charlotte for a two-day road trip.  With Simon the nation's largest mall operator and Hilex Poly the world's largest plastic bag manufacturer, the trip was an opportunity to take the many 2011 conversations and meetings into action steps.

Initial seeds for the January Charlotte trip were planted in June when Matt visited Atlanta for a day filled with meetings, including one with Louis.  See the ZWZ Blog post, Simon Property Group Embarks on Zero Waste Initiatives, for details of the June meetings.  A few weeks later Louis and Holly traveled to Simon's hometown, Indianapolis, for mall tours along with a day trip to Hilex Poly's plastic film-only dedicated recycling plant in N. Vernon, IN  See the ZWZ Blog post, Getting a Handle on Plastic Film Recycling, for an overview of the plant tour and the Ei FB album, 07-01-11 Hilex Poly Tour in Mt. Vernon, IN, for the pictorial recount of the educational day.

Daniel Rickenmann, Jake, Josh &
Doug during the Oct Charlotte visit

An active Sustainable Food Court Initiative Team Member, Simon is interested in one of their The Mills properties serving as a SFCI Mall Pilot. Concord Mills, located in the Charlotte metro area, is a prime property as the food court concessions are operated by fellow SFCI Team Member HMSHost.  

In October, Holly, Doug Kunnemann, NatureWorks Business Segment Director & SFCI Co-Chair, and Joshua Barone, HMSHost Sr. Manager, Business Analysis, visited Charlotte to tour Concord Mills and learn about local recycling infrastructure and support.  The ZWZ Blog post, Fertile Charlotte Grounds, details the trip highlights and the Ei FB album, 10-19-11 Charlotte Visit, gives the pictorial recap.

Jake Wilson, Keep Mecklenburg Beautiful Executive Director, was integral to the relationships forged during the October visit and Jake joined the group for dinner and some of the meetings during the January visit.

Action points for the January trip included starting a plastic film recycling pilot at Simon's two Charlotte malls and back-of-the-house prep food scrap collection for composting at Concord Mills.  With the foundation laid in 2011, the trip was a big success with many follow-up points already in motion.

plastic film drop-off area for tenants

Simon's SouthPark Mall was the first stop on the trip.  The visiting group was thrilled to learn mall tenants have the option to separate plastic film for recycling, a big step already in-process for the pilot!  

At both malls the loading docks, waste collection areas and tunnels | hallways supporting the retail operations were neat, well-organized and designed for efficiency, evidence of Simon's leadership role in the mall industry.  HMSHost is a leader in the contracted foodservice industry with a strong sustainability commitment.  The ZWZ Blog, Sustainability = SHARING, gives an overview of HMSHost's track record and future plans.  One of Ei's fortes is teaming industry leaders on projects to maximize impact and minimize start-up time.

The Ei FB albums, DAY 1 Charlotte Trip and DAY 2 Charlotte Trip, give the pictorial recap of the trip and shows how much fun the group has working together.

the group finishing a great dinner

The enthusiasm of HMSHost food court and Simon mall management for the pilots was inspiring.  With "Can Do" attitudes by the ones responsible for execution, the pilots are staged for success. Challenges encountered are viewed as opportunities to get creative and figure out the logistics necessary to sell former "trash" as valuable material.

Stay tuned for more tales from the exciting journey.