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July 2017 Spotlight: Lourdes Convent

Posted on July 10, 2017


Lourdes Convent

Our Lady of Lourdes Convent

Our Lady of Lourdes Convent’s Story

Nestled between redwoods and beautiful gardens, Our Lady Lourdes Convent has served San Rafael for over 50 years caring for aged and infirmed Dominican Sisters . Six months ago the Convent began composting and took extra steps to recycle more. The results have been fantastic. Through composting and recycling Lourdes Convent has been able to cut their garbage service in half and are saving 33% on disposal fees every month. Custodian Rodolfo and cook Leonorilda have been with Lourdes for over 15 years and said the switch was easy and became routine in no time. Michael Berringer, Director of Food Services and Housekeeping, was quick to add “It’s the simplest thing we could have done, I wish we would have started earlier.”

Michael said setting up the composting was easy. Marin Sanitary Service was happy to provide the new green carts, and a food scrap bin was placed near the kitchen’s prep station to streamline the process.  Michael and his staff were excited to show off their best practices and are happy knowing they are making a positive change in their community. His advice for other business owners considering composting and taking extra steps to recycle is “Just do it! It’s so simple, you’ll be very happy with the end results.”

View full article, tips and resources case study.

Secret to Success:
Kitchen and Bathroom Composting
Buying Recyclable Goods and Streamlining Recycling Process

Major Gains:
Savings of $288/ month!
Cut garbage service by 50%

How They Did It:
Worked with Marin Sanitary to compost their food scraps, food-soiled paper products, and bathroom paper towels
Began buying products that could be recycled instead of being sent to landfill

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