SC Johnson partners to open eco center
As a family company at work for a more sustainable and waste-free world, Racine, Wis.-based SC Johnson noted, it has partnered with two South American companies to increase recycling awareness.
The partnership included the installation of an innovative collection center or “ecopoint,” centrally located at the Argentine coastal tourist destination Muelle Piedra Buena, to increase consumer access to recycling.
“At this collection point, consumers will be able to drop off paper and cardboard, plastic, glass, aluminum, steel and tin cans for repurposing,” SC Johnson noted.
The center includes an in-store educational campaign, training for local community environmental groups, ongoing waste management analysis and a beach clean-up, SC Johnson related.
Partners in the project include CEMPRE (Compromiso Empresarial Para El Reciclaje), a leading environmental group, and La Anónima, a local Argentine chain of supermarkets.
In the U.S.
In working to lessen its environmental footprint in the world, SC Johnson reported, it runs a cogeneration system at its largest global manufacturing facility in Mount Pleasant, Wis., using waste methane gas from a nearby public landfill to help generate 75% of the plant’s electrical needs.
“The ecopoint location itself is made of 100% recycled plastic and the roof is made of polyaluminium from recycled tetrabrik containers,” SC Johnson said.
“The goal is to increase recycling rates and capture more plastic and other recyclable waste material in the Patagonia region of Argentina,” the company added.
Puerto Madryn is a protected natural area and UNESCO World Heritage site and has significant environmental importance in the region, SC Johnson pointed out. This location is the largest breeding site for whales, the Magellanic penguin, elephant seals and sea lions.
The new ecopoint center includes a solar hot water tank, LED lighting powered by solar panels and an onsite composter for food waste. It will be accessible 24 hours a day and offer a USB charging station for 10 cell phones, it added.
