Managing Waste

I mentioned my old minivan in an earlier post, and I have to say that it continues to be an inspiration for my posts here. I had no misconceived notions or emotional hangups as to what would happen to her when the tow truck took her away. But as I drove home in my new truck (new to me) I thought about how that model was one of the best selling models in the dump and her parts would be bought and sold with black market weapons efficiency. One man's trash is another man's treasure, right?

How many times can waste be re-purposed, resold or reused? The answer is surprising. Most metal outside of some alloys have an almost endless lifespan and the plastics reclamation industry has nearly tripled since the late '80s insuring almost unlimited recycling potential. As You Dump It grows, we will be implementing different stages of recycling and waste reclamation at each site. This is a small piece of what is an ambitious plan. Our company may be small at the moment but we have huge dreams. Stay tuned to see what we plan!

Ben

Let me introduce myself

        The way that I came to be involved in You Dump It has been nothing short of serendipitous. Just through casual conversations with Ben when we were first getting to know each other, he explained plans for a company he wanted to start. It sounded brilliant to me, but I never saw myself in the picture. Then, eventually he sought me out for a redesign for the logo. That turned out to be a good trial work experience. It all worked out great, so the logo led to the website, then to web content and signage. Months later, I’m managing everything under the marketing umbrella, which has been an enriching and exciting task.

        I think that when two people in business really click, that’s when the optimum productivity occurs. Through spitballing ideas in caffeinated brainstorming sessions, plus fully utilizing the network of our really talented and knowledgable friends around Austin, we’ve been able to accomplish much more than I ever would’ve expected.

        So, my official role at You Dump It is the director of marketing. My goal for this blog with our dual-writer style setting is that you all can get to know us as the individuals we are through our posts and any interaction in the comments. Plus, I hope we can develop some valuable conversations about what’s going on in our world.

Stephen

A beginning

I was driving an old Plymouth mini-van (RIP) filled with particle board, toilet seats, plumbing fixtures and easily my weight in fastener paraphernalia, lamenting the lack of options for getting rid of the crap, when I realized that I had a need every other subcontractor has, and decided to fill it. What started as a simple idea, a dumpster at every home improvement store, evolved into a company that will empower people to push our country towards zero waste. I know that 'zero waste' is a hyped up term that is often abused, misused and generally misunderstood. Our mission and goal at You Dump It is to be clear, informed and focused in our pursuit of this lofty goal. Very simply, we want to see all solid waste brought to a YDI (You Dump It) site, be recycled and all 'soft' or organic waste be composted and reclaimed for public distribution. Right now there is no national infrastructure for zero waste, and that is the reason that so many states are proudly announcing 40 year implementation plans for it.

Through the next couple years, as you watch YDI sites pop up across the country, we will be using our increasing clout to pull industry leaders together to develop a national zero waste infrastructure. I know that waste management companies are generally mistrusted by the public, but my hopes are that through consistent, responsible management of our waste, exponential growth in recycling services and the future launch of our composting services, we can earn your trust.

Ben