Ohio Company Initiates National Recycling Program

The distribution company Xpedx, Cincinnati, has announced plans to implement a national recycling program in association with its parent company, International Paper, Memphis, Tenn.

According to Xpedx, the initiative is an element in its overall sustainability strategy and committment to maintaining sustainable operations, offering sustainable product choices and providing leadership in sustainable business practices to its customers and suppliers.

“Xpedx includes recycling as one of its major sustainability priorities,” David Wallace, the company's director of sustainability, says, “Our emphasis is part of xpedx’s responsible stewardship of natural resources, and it is saving costs and generating new revenue for our business.”

The company has set a goal to recycle 2,400 tons of material in 2011 and reduce its waste by 10 percent per year throughout the next three years.

Xpedx is targeting locations that are larger than 50,000 square feet and already has the program established at nearly 70 locations, representing more than 50 percent of its targeted locations. Xpedx’s Minneapolis division averaged 14 tons of recycled material each month in the fourth quarter of 2010 and has recycled more than 119,000 pounds of material since October 2010.

International Paper helped Xpedx design and implement the program. Xpedx says it is now recycling LDPE (low-density polyethylene) plastic, old corrugated containers (OCC), office paper, coated paper, mixed paper grades, pallets and wood as well as materials such as UBCs (aluminum beverage cans), fluorescent lights, polystyrene, batteries and used oil. In select locations, Xpedx also is investigating the possibility of helping customers recycle materials such as pallets and additional plastics.