J.
P. MASCARO & SONS’ COMMITMENT TO “SUSTAINABILITY”
Dear Current and
Future Customers:
As the President of J. P. Mascaro
& Sons, I would like to talk a bit about the concept of “Sustainability” as
it relates to the solid waste industry.
Today, the term “Sustainability” is
thrown around often in our society. You
hear it all the time in marketing campaigns:
“Live more sustainably,” or “Our company has developed a sustainability
plan to save the environment!” But what
does this really mean and how do we actually work toward achieving it?
Sustainability is considered to be
the healthy and productive maintenance of something; the capacity to endure
indefinitely. Applied to the solid waste
industry, “Sustainability” means the implementation and management of a
customer waste service system that now and for future generations is
economically viable and socially and environmentally progressive, and that
conserves natural resources without damaging the environment.
Most people don’t even realize the
natural resource depletion and environmental harm caused by seemingly everyday
innocent actions, like disposing of that plastic water bottle after a workout
or tossing out all of the paper products that come with a take-out lunch. Part of “Sustainability” is the elimination
of such wasteful tendencies.
Advertising has helped bring
environmental consciousness and the concept of “Sustainability” to our
attention. This is a good thing. However, there are companies in our industry
that just preach about having a Sustainable Waste Service System, and then
there are those, like J. P. Mascaro & Sons, that actually implement such a
system. Authentic sustainability is not sophisticated marketing and
advertising campaigns that tout green goals, but that do not actually take the
steps needed to make a Sustainable Waste Service System a reality.
A “Sustainable Waste Service System”
is one that maintains and sustains itself over time by taking into account and
balancing the three vital “Sustainability” concepts of economic growth, social
progress and environmental protection, without doing damage to the
environment. Having a “Sustainable Waste
Service System” is a desirable and achievable goal, and it is one that J. P.
Mascaro & Sons has achieved, while others in our industry have not.
Mascaro is 100% committed to
“Sustainability” in all of our business operations and facilities. We understand that “Sustainability” must be
at the foundation of any bona fide entity engaged in the solid waste industry
in order to provide excellent service.
We are proud to report that we have invested over $100 million in the
development and implementation of a customer waste service system that is both SUSTAINABLE
and REAL, not merely a catchy advertising jingle.
Since we went into business over 50
years ago with merely one truck, our corporate mission has been about
exceptional customer service, employee relations and community participation. Staying true to this concept enabled us to be
a leader in the solid waste industry and, as a leader, I feel it is imperative
for our customers and future business partners to understand how we truly
accomplish sustainability, how integral it is to our business and how it benefits
your own business endeavors.
The two integral aspects of the
solid waste industry equation that impact sustainability are waste disposal and
waste transportation. While we at J. P.
Mascaro & Sons attempt to recycle and reuse as much as possible, there
still remains waste material that must be disposed of at an end use
facility. There are two primary end use
options – landfilling and incineration (sometimes referred to as “landfill-free”). Mascaro has access to both of these options;
however, we primarily recommend and rely on landfilling as part of our
“Sustainable Waste Service System,” for we have found it more economically and
environmentally sound. Others must agree,
because our research demonstrates that the vast majority of today’s waste
stream, about 54%, is landfilled, while only 12% is incinerated. About 34% is recycled/reused.
Landfilling is the engineered
land-based disposal of waste at strictly regulated facilities that have
advanced environmental protection and control systems. Incineration, a more recent technology, is
the mass burning of the combustible portion of the waste stream.
In terms of sustainability, today’s
“Best Practice Landfills,” such as those operated by Mascaro, are not only
strictly designed and regulated to protect the environment, but also are economically
viable and affordable without any taxpayer or governmental subsidization from
an operational and disposal point of view.
Without being overly critical of
incineration, there are some serious issues in relation to this option. While landfilling is 100% self-sustaining,
incineration is dependent on landfills for the disposal of the noncombustible
portion of the waste stream and the concentrated ash resulting from the process
itself, thus disproving the claim that incineration is a “landfill-free” end
disposal method. Incineration also
results in the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere and, unlike
landfills, almost all incinerator projects have to be subsidized by taxpayer or
governmental dollars to be developmentally and operationally viable. For a further comparison of incineration and
landfilling, click here
Now I will address the
transportation aspect of the solid waste industry equation. The transportation of waste is heavily
regulated at the local, state and federal levels. The regulations are precise, and the
monitoring and enforcement regulations are in-depth and consistent. Sustainability opportunities resulting from
waste transportation regulations are present in the areas of vehicle
efficiency, alternate fuels, reduced emissions, lessening the vehicle carbon
footprint and high efficiency power units.
Rigid regulatory enactments in the area of waste transportation make
governmental agencies the principal stimulus and advocate to ensure
sustainability in this aspect of the solid waste industry equation.
I now turn to the specifics of the
“Sustainable Customer Waste Service System” developed and implemented by
Mascaro. At J. P. Mascaro & Sons,
the fundamental core components that govern our company’s successful
“Sustainable Waste Service System” are waste reduction, waste recycling, waste
reuse and end disposal that meets the highest environmental standards and
produces Green Energy.
In the management of our
“Sustainable Waste Service System,” we first encourage basic waste reduction at
the customer level by creating customized plans for each of our clients and
offering education programs to create success.
We also prioritize waste recycling and reuse through our collection
services and at our modern single stream recycling facility and our
one-of-a-kind beneficial use composting facility. Lastly, we landfill the remaining materials
at one of our company-owned facilities that have in place comprehensive
environmental protection and control systems and produce Green Energy.
The three key environmental
facilities in Mascaro’s “Sustainable Waste Service System” are TotalRecycle,
A&M Composting and Pioneer Crossing Landfill.
TotalRecycle, located in Berks
County, Pennsylvania, is our cutting-edge 85,000 sq. ft. single stream
automated recycling facility, also referred to as an MRF (Material Recovery
Facility). This operation uses the most
advanced and innovative sorting equipment available and has the capacity to
process 700 tons of recyclables daily.
TotalRecycle receives, processes and markets almost all products capable
of being recycled.
A&M Composting, located in
Lancaster County, is the largest indoor composting facility in
Pennsylvania. This 445,500 sq. ft.
DEP-permitted beneficial use facility is where municipal sludge and food waste
are processed into Class A exceptional quality compost for use by landscapers,
nurseries and topsoil blenders, among others.
The Pioneer Crossing Landfill,
situated next door to TotalRecycle in Exeter Township, is our primary, modern,
DEP-permitted landfill that provides necessary long-term end use disposal
capacity for unrecyclable waste. It has
the unique ability to generate Green Energy from its onsite gas to electric
plant.
The combination of TotalRecycle,
A&M Composting and Pioneer Crossing Landfill enable Mascaro’s “Sustainable
Waste Service System” to meet the three-prong test of true “Sustainability” –
economic growth, social progress and environmental protection. As to economic growth, all of our facilities
provide necessary waste services that are financially and operationally viable
and affordable, with none of them requiring monetary subsidization for survival,
which is common with other technologies.
All of the facilities are socially progressive, with TotalRecycle and
A&M Composting recycling and reusing materials that would otherwise be
disposed of, and with Pioneer Crossing generating green electrical energy. Lastly, all of these facilities operate under
strict governmental and regulatory standards to ensure the utmost protection of
our environment.
Click to view our Sustainability Report
In closing, I wish for all of J. P.
Mascaro & Sons’ valued customers to recognize that our company has
developed, invested in and implemented an Integrated Customer Waste Service
System that currently is, and will continue to be for future generations,
economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. We have researched and implemented the best
practices available for the benefit of our customers and the environment. Ours is a real “Sustainability Commitment”
and not merely an advertising jingle.
Sincerely,
Pat
Mascaro