Green Business
Message in a Bottle
It can be hard to recycle when you are out and about in Dakota County. Well, now there is program that makes it easy for businesses and customers alike. The program is called Message in a Bottle and is facilitated by the Recycling Association of Minnesota (RAM) in partnership with the Minnesota Beverage Association and ProAct, Inc. Message in a Bottle is a voluntary community-based recycling program for bottles and cans and is available to businesses and organizations at no cost. The actual collection and sorting of the recyclables will be taken care of by ProAct, Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides employment opportunities to individuals with disabilities. So not only does the program keep valuable recyclables out of the landfill, but it provides green jobs for local communities.
Message in a Bottle uses an eye catching recycling bin shaped like a giant soda bottle as seen in the picture above. The service is offered most commonly to gas stations or car wash facilities but is available to any other “place” Minnesotans visit when they are away from home.
If your organization would like to become a collection site for Message in a Bottle, visit RAM Message in a Bottle webpage, fill out the form at the bottom of the page and submit to the Recycling Association of Minnesota.
Since 2007, Message in a Bottle has become available to 15 communities, covering much of Minnesota and has recycled over 1 million pounds!
Winter Maintenance
Do you use salt on your parking lots and driveways during the winter? You may be washing money and pollution down the storm drain. Salt is a useful tool to improve safety but it also ends up washing into our ponds, lakes and rivers where it can harm the plants and animals that live there. In fact, just one teaspoon of salt can pollute 5 gallons of water forever and contrary to popular belief, there is no treatment plant between your parking lot runoff and the nearest water body. The good news is that there is a way to reduce this source of pollution. Most people apply more salt than needed or apply salt when it won't be effective, so educating yourself on the proper amount and timing for salt application can save you money and help keep our waters clean. By applying these practices, the average business can reduce costs by 65%.
Here are some simple ways to manage winter ice and snow more efficiently:
- Shovel that snow during the storm and after. Staying on top of the storm will be more effective than trying to catch up later
- Temperature matters when using salt and sand. Use salt when it is warmer than 15 degrees and sand when it is below. Most road salts won’t be effective well below freezing temperatures and the sand will help with traction on pathways and walkway.
- Less is better when applying salt. If you can see the salt after it has been applied; you’ve used too much. Once its dried; sweep it up and it can be reused; or throw it in the trash.
These aren't the only ways to improve the effectiveness of your winter maintenance program. Other practices, like calibrating your truck's salt applicator or using an application rate chart to determine salt/sand ratios can also help. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has a great training video that you can use to train your staff in some of these best management practices. If you would like to take it a step further, send your crew to a road salt applicators training. Contact Andrew Ronchak, 651-558-6157 or email him directly. for additional information regarding this program. This training lasts about 4 hours; there is a comprehensive test and then a certification upon completion. Over 3,000 workers have recieved the training in Minnesota.
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