Case Studies

Fast Growth Meant Even More Waste

With their sights set on revitalizing the newly acquired facility and producing world-class quality products, City Brewery Company did not have expendable time or energy to allocate toward waste management or recycling efforts. The business saw exponential growth in a short span of time due to facility upgrades and new avenues for sales, such as the production of hard seltzers– a wildly popular venture. This unprecedented growth, however, resulted in even more waste costs and landfill-bound trash leaving their doors each month. 

The intense growth experienced by City Brewery allowed their waste provider to run roughshod when it came to equipment fees and general billing. As it turned out they were also overcharging on service and disposal costs and using multiple account numbers for the same location, resulting in billing confusion. City Brewery was spending $70,000 to $80,000 per month on waste disposal under their contract with one of the largest waste management companies in the U.S. The City Brewery waste and recycling program was yielding 500 tons of garbage each month, 95% of which was being hauled directly to landfills. With an excessive amount of waste equipment, an overabundance of waste services, confusing waste invoices, a “broken” recycling program, and frequent price increases, the entire waste and recycling program was significantly impacting City Brewery’s bottom line.

Fortunately for this growing company, iSustain exists to clean up messes such as this. The team stepped in to develop a comprehensive game plan that dramatically lowered costs and maximized recycling efforts. Dumpster dives, reviews of operational processes, and invoice audits led to a better understanding of needs and a baseline cost per ton at the start of the project. With this better understanding of the processes and financial baseline, improvement strategies were developed that included changes to operational processes, recycling equipment needs, and a “revamp” of the management of the existing waste vendor.

One unique solution that helped make a huge difference was iSustain’s installation of an aluminum can crusher and baler that removed the liquid inside cans and baled them into “mill quality” material that could then go directly to an end user, creating a 100% recycling solution. Instead of more than 90 open-top bins taking full aluminum cans to the landfill each month, City Brewery was able to dispose of the liquid properly and capture the aluminum for recycling for an added value of more than $400,000 a year!

The current waste management company was charging unapproved price changes, excessive hauls, improper and excessive equipment, and multiple accounts within the waste management program. City Brewery appointed iSustain as its representative to manage the contract and use its expertise in the industry to get the right equipment, service, and billing, all at the right price.

The installation of high-density balers for the collection of case and stretch film also made a big impact for City Brewery. iSustain trained teams on how to bale plastics and help the maintenance team bring existing balers back up to full performance with skilled baler technicians.

iSustain is a Distributor for Sweed chopping equipment, which came into play in this overhaul as well. City Brewery had excessive green PET banding becoming a trip hazard, and taking up excessive space in trash dumpsters. With the installation of multiple Model 450 choppers, PET strapping could be efficiently densified, eliminating floor safety hazards and making this material recyclable.

A culture change took place with the partnership. The new culture stemmed from daily communication, regular waste audits, an open exchange of information, and much-needed changes to processes. iSustain and City Brewery worked together and achieved incredible success. They improved landfill diversion and reduced costs by more than 70% in total.

iSustain’s proven methods and expertise in the area of commercial recycling are what give us the ability to completely overhaul and transform waste management programs for various clients.

When a big-name waste management company handles your waste and recycling streams, their primary business is supplying their landfills and profiting off of you. But when you work with iSustain, we make money when you save money through effective recycling programs. Our objectives align with yours, and we are eager to help you cut costs exponentially while implementing more sustainable, earth-friendly practices. Let’s get started today!