At CLYNK, we’re committed to making recycling easy and convenient. We are also committed to meeting the expectations and requirements of our customers who are increasingly driven to do the right thing for the environment.

A few weeks back both offices offered viewings of the documentary “A Plastic Ocean”, for which Clayton Kyle, CEO had been a panelist speaker at a public showing a couple of months before. We asked Hylari Allen in our Maine office, and Allana Sendzicki in our New York office to share some of their thoughts:

Hylari: Since my viewing, I’ve been troubled by the monumental plastic pollution problem. I have had second thoughts about buying my favorite candy bars, buttering a bagel at work with a disposable knife, tubes of muscle rub and toothpaste that I use regularly, and even opening a new pair of disposable rubber gloves. The list of products that made me feel guilty for my part in this plastic pollution goes on, but I only have five minutes. Plastics are everywhere. The trouble is that many products are sold to live a short “disposable” lifespan, but are made of a product designed to last forever. It is a little overwhelming when you think about how much waste you create as an individual, as a family, and as a community.

Allana: For those of you who do not know about plastic pollution, or are not aware of the size of the problem, here is the gist of it. The current system does not work. This is the system of single-stream recycling. Single-stream recycling is when all recyclable materials are mixed in a collection truck instead of being presorted by the material. When these products arrive at sorting facilities a percentage of it will be too dirty to salvage. Some of it can be recycled but this means additional costs to sorting those materials which ultimately reduces their value. Unfortunately, when the value of the container declines, it increases the likelihood that these materials end up as marine plastics in our waterways, or they get landfilled or incinerated. This “disposable” society is poisoning our environment.

Hylari: The movie opened my eyes to how important our work at CLYNK is in the effort to solve a big environmental and business problem. This is motivating, it makes me feel even better about coming to work every day and I think everyone should have the chance to feel that way! In Maine we plan to start an organized Green Team to make sure that our internal business practices around plastic and recycling have the same level of impact as the services we offer out into the world.

Allana: I agree with you – we can all make a difference, by coming to work each day to support CLYNK’s mission, by making sure Team CLYNK is good for the environment, and by thinking through our choices at home too. Here are some ways you can cut down on single-use plastics and be an advocate for change:

• CLYNK all of your redeemable beverage containers. You know we’ll make sure it gets recycled.
• Bring reusable food containers to work, and with you for leftovers when you go out to eat.
• Refuse plastic as often as you can.
• Bring your own reusable bags when shopping.
• Do not take home plastics that you do not need. If we leave excess packaging at the store they will find a way to handle it as it will force them to take on that responsibility. It should also cause businesses to rethink their packaging strategies.
• Be an active member of your community. When presented with the opportunity to put your two cents in, vote! Support local, regional, and national legislation banning single-use plastics and the candidates that support it.
• Praise businesses that are cutting back on single-use plastics. They are out there and they are growing. Share them and celebrate them on social media when you get a chance. If you share them with CLYNK social media we will show them some love!

You are the consumer. Think sustainable. This is your planet. Be change.