How we can help businesses

We are here to help you reduce your waste, conserve resources, and understand what the law requires. We offer a variety of services and materials at no charge. If you need something you don’t see listed here, let us know and we will do our best to make it available.

Collection containers and education material

CSWD will provide a limited number of recycling bins and food scrap collection buckets to your organization at no charge. Additionally, we offer various brochures, posters, stickers and other printed materials to help businesses label their containers and educate their customers and staff.

To download and print, or to submit a request, visit our Available Resources page and select “Businesses” from the drop-down menu.

Staff training

We’re here to help you bring your staff up to speed! We can offer:

• General group presentations on composting, recycling specifications, etc.
• Sessions on specific waste reduction topics that are tailored to meet your business needs
• Tours of our facilities, such as Green Mountain Compost and the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), to learn more about the “whys” and “hows” of composting and recycling

Consultations

We’re ready to talk trash—or recycling or composting—with you! We can provide basic confirmation of what’s recyclable or compostable (and what’s not), or explore a range of topics in more depth:

• Facility walk-throughs

  Inviting us to tour your site allows us to better understand your operational constraints, collection procedures, and materials management practices. We can help make you aware of common mistakes and preferred practices, and assist you in developing systems that optimize your recycling and composting programs.

• Purchasing recommendations

  Your company can promote social responsibility and sustainable waste management by buying conscientiously. We can recommend non-hazardous cleaning products for an office workplace, navigate the nuances of compostable servingware in the food service industry, or identifying ways that you can support commodities markets by using recycled materials in your manufacturing processes, and more.

• Contract considerations
  

  We can provide guidance and best practices regarding contracts for trash, composting and recycling services.

• Challenging materials

  You tell us about the waste materials you’re generating, and we’ll help you evaluate your disposal options. We can share information about commodities markets and factors impacting marketability to assist you in pursuing recycling opportunities.

Waste audits

Join local businesses and institutions like Burton Snowboards, Seventh Generation, Autumn Harp and the VT Army National Guard in (dumpster) diving into a hands-on evaluation of your waste streams.

There’s no better way to assess your materials management practices and progress toward waste reduction. Don’t worry – we’ll guide you from start to finish!

Waste audits (a.k.a. trash sorts) help to:

• Engage your employees in waste-reduction efforts
• Measure the efficacy of new or existing programs and initiatives
• Identify additional opportunities for improvement

Composting program support

Act 148, Vermont’s Universal Recycling Law, bans all food scraps from the trash. We will assist you with  complying by:

• Outlining how the law applies to your company and sector
• Providing guidance about implementing a food scrap diversion program
• Addressing common questions and concerns, and troubleshooting existing systems

Grant opportunities

CSWD offers thousands of dollars in grant funding annually to help Chittenden County communities, businesses, institutions and not-for-profit organizations keep more resources out of the landfill and meet State and CSWD requirements. Grants include a Community Clean Up Fund, Recycling & Composting Container Grant, and Waste Reduction Project Grant.

Learn more about grant opportunities.