Maggie Caldwell

Waste haulers and recycling companies can be impacting your business – and you may not even be aware of it. Price increases, incorrect bills, missed pick ups, and service charges from your hauler are commonplace in the industry, but finding those mistakes and fighting for corrections is time-consuming and painful. They rely on the fact most companies don't pay attention, and that costs you money.
There are also built-in ineffeciencies in the hauling industry that are never brought to your att...

Diverting as much waste away from the trash and into your single-stream recycling will definitely save you money; click here to read more about the benefits. Once you make a committment to increase your revenue by decreasing your waste, what do you do?
First, do a waste audit to determine what it is you're throwing away by taking a look in the trash and making a list of what you see. Calculate the weight of your recyclables to estimate how much you can save.
Then figure out what you can move ...

One sure-fire way to decrease your monthly overhead is to streamline your waste and recycle stream. This is an often-overlooked avenue to increased profitability in many companies for one of a variety of reasons, usually because:
you have a program in place and don't think there's a need for change
it's hard to focus on this when there are other things going on
you don't know there's a problem (say, your dumpsters aren't completely full at pick-up so you're paying to haul air)
Make the time t...

Foods turn brown in one of two general ways. Enzymatic browning occurs when food is exposed to air; it's avoided with of fresh fruits and vegetables but gives coffee, tea and cocoa their characteristic colors. Non-enzymatic browning happens when foods are exposed to heat. These are the reactions that can give cheese a golden brown color and deepened flavor.

Teppanyaki is a Japanese style of cooking food; "teppan" refers to the electric iron grill or griddle used to cook on, and "yaki" means to grill. There are no set rules to cooking teppanyaki, other than that the meals are meant to be cooked around the table and shared...

Art Supplies, Ink is Aptos’ world-class destination art supply store, and in keeping with the spirit of our community is also truly a family-run business ...

Gift shop business profile

Business profile of local dance studio

Humpback whales are a common sight off the California coast during their annual migration. This article highlights the local show.

Seacliff Memorial Wall Controversy

Article on a local airshow anniversary

Smart waste management always saves you money, even if you are locked into a franchise waste market ... even though your solid waste hauling fees are non-negotiable. Just because prices are fixed, DON'T make the mistake of thinking your waste hauling bills have to be fixed as well. Trash service is NOT a fixed utility. There's always money to be saved when you manage your service by right-sizing your waste. Sometimes we find the cost savings to be pretty phenomenal; the monthly trash bill for...

You need a simple, reliable solution for recyclable storage, whether your materials are graded or single-stream, compacted or baled. Gaylord boxes and plastic bins are the most common solutions for recyclable storage; so how do you know which one is right for you? Each has advantages and disadvantages; ultimately it comes down to available space.
Gaylord Boxes
Advantages of gaylord boxes:
Gaylord boxes fold flat to save space. One pallet holds 25 boxes folded. Two pallets holds all the gaylor...

"Cats and dogs" are what we call the odds and ends of recyclable waste we find that most manufacturers generate. Here's what happens: you've got the big stuff in your waste program covered, for example, baling your OCC, densifying your EPS foam, and compacting your LDPE. You've got a commercial single-stream collection system in place. Maybe you've even gotten rid of the trash cans. There are always a few stragglers, often up to 20% of your waste stream, that can still be addressed.
Here are ...