How We Started a Composting Program at Work

Composting is a topic of growing interest throughout the U.S and other countries for many reasons, including trying to reduce landfill waste. When organic material is sent to landfills, this results in the release of Carbon Dioxide and Methane gases, which contribute to the greenhouse effect. 

Yamaha Guitar Group (Line 6, Ampeg) saw an opportunity to reduce waste from our corporate facility that gets sent to landfills, which is an essential part of “waste diversion”.  A recent estimate from the Environmental Protection Agency predicted that up to one-fourth of all landfill waste could have been thrown into the compost and turned into nutrient-rich soil. 

At the Calabasas YGG HQ we have two 5 gallon buckets in the two primary café locations, where employees can contribute any compostable waste.  Currently, we are concentrated on collecting coffee grinds, veggie scraps, papers, tea bags, and any other organic matter that isn’t meat, dairy, or oils. YGG has partnered with “The Muse School”, which is a local private school that has their own composting, garden and sustainability program.  YGG makes weekly compost drop offs, which helps the Muse School’s garden to promote healthy soil. 

Composting at YGG was implemented on April 12, 2019 and as of July 20th, we’ve dropped off 338 lbs (153 kg) of compostable material!  In addition, as a part of implementing the compost program at YGG, we have switched to using unbleached coffee filters, and have made non-plastic cutlery available as well.  We are always looking for new ways to support our community and to do our part to help our environment.

 

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