Natural Logic has provided site assessment and technical services to more than 30 Alameda County (CA) businesses under contract to StopWaste.
Industry: County government
Service: Implementation—site assessment and data processing tool
Natural Logic has provided site assessment and technical services to more than 30 Alameda County (CA) businesses under contract to StopWaste. To date, we have helped StopWaste clients divert a cumulative 9000 tons of waste from the landfill over the past four years.
The StopWaste Partnership is sponsored and operated by the Alameda County Waste Management Authority and the Alameda County Source Reduction & Recycling Board in partnership with Pacific Gas & Electric, the East Bay Municipal Utility District, the Economic Development Alliance for Business, and Science Applications International Corporation. StopWaste provides comprehensive resource efficiency services for businesses in Alameda County with a focus in solid waste prevention services that:
- Assess operations
- Assist in implementation of opportunities
- Analyze the financial impact of resource efficiency projects
- Secure funding assistance
- Develop training programs
- Select vendors for material reuse/recycling
- Publish case studies and guidance documents on accomplishments and best practices
In addition to general support for the services above, Natural Logic’s primary work for StopWaste is working on supply-chain waste issues and working with regional/national chains.
This includes:
- Improving marketing protocols and waste prevention tools, including an on-line tool client management database, and cost/benefit analysis methodology.
- Recruiting, assessing and assisting companies where national chain/supply-chain issues are barriers
- Creating a supply chain waste prevention tool
- Developing workshops for public agencies on sustainability and resource efficiency
StopWaste Supply-Chain Tool
Natural Logic designed and built a Supply-Chain Tool for Alameda County’s StopWaste business outreach and technical assistance program. The tool is designed to help companies prioritize which suppliers to engage on waste-minimizing supply alternatives based on on-site solid waste generation caused by the supply.
In using the tool, key parameters for data collection include the following:
- amount (units, volume, weight) of supplies received per month
- packaging material type by supply
- mass of packaging by supply
- supplier name
- supplier location
Functions and features of the tool include:
- Provides data collection templates in Excel format.
- Provides a straightforward methodology to characterize and prioritize site waste by source of supply
- Graphically showing which site wastes are significant, and which supplies are the most significant sources of waste
- A Report Card to score supplier progress
StopWaste has piloted the tool with four area companies with favorable results in identifying and prioritizing suppliers to work with on waste prevention.