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As Earth Day 2023 approaches, Kristen, our fierce leader asked us, “What can each of us and Johnny Blue as a whole, do to help save the planet for future generations to come”. She tasked the office personnel to think of the things we already do to recycle, reuse and reduce and to find other ways Johnny Blue could become more Earth friendly.

Recycle
We recycle! You read that right. We not only recycle water pumps, breaks, rotors, ball valves, oil and ink cartridges, but many of our paper products are made from recycled materials. By recycling we are not only reducing the amount of waste going to landfills but also conserving natural resources.

Our biggest recycle effort comes from the water we use. On average or portable toilet waste is anywhere between 5,000 to 10,000 gallons a day. We pay $0.10 per gallon for this water to be treated through the water treatment plant and turn back into non-potable water. That is enough water to fill a 12’ X 15’ X 6’, daily!

Reuse
Here at Johnny Blue, we reuse as much as possible. Scrap paper, blank on one side is used for inner office purposes. Shipping boxes are reused to store items and for return shipping purposes. Gallon jugs and spray bottles are reused for our cleaning products. We even disassemble damaged porta potties, keep the pieces that are not damaged, to use as replacement parts.

Reduce
A few years ago, Johnny Blue announced we were “going green”. We started offering autopay and email invoicing. Since then, hundreds of customers started receiving their invoices and statements via email, saving hundreds of envelopes and thousands of sheets of paper each billing cycle. By offering autopay, it stops the number of checks we receive each month also saving not only paper the checks are printed on, but also envelopes. This may seem like a small step, but according to Eco Friendly Habits, paper makes up about 16% of solid waste in landfills and only half of all the paper produced is recycled. They all state, “the average American office worker uses 10,000 sheets of copy paper every year. We have seven office personnel so that means approximately 70,000 sheets of copy paper per year! Now, that’s a lot of paper!

Our service and delivery routes are scheduled and arranged with little to no driver crossovers, saving fuel and reducing the amount of air pollution.

Not only is the lighting in our restroom trailers LED but the lighting in our office has been replaced with LED lighting. Also, the office HVAC system is on a set-back thermostat allowing the system to cut back on use while the office is closed. These are big energy savers!

Our office kitchen is almost fully stocked with dishes, silverware, small appliances and gadgets not only provided by Johnny Blue, but also by the employees. This hodge podge of kitchen supplies allows us to reuse over and over, eliminating the need for paper plates, plastic bags and plastic ware.

There is still so much more we could do to help save the Earth for future generations, and as this Earth Day approaches, we task ourselves with implementing new ways. Even if it is something as simple as adding a recycle bin in the kitchen for soda cans, every step help!

So now I challenge you. What is one thing you can change to help save the Earth?