Are you interested in reusables but don’t have commercial dishwashing capabilities, space, or time? Third-party warewashing may be the solution.
Pegasystems (Pega) is a software company headquartered in Waltham, MA. One of the perks of working from their offices is the staff pantries offering coffee, tea, and other beverages for employees. Pega realized the pantry beverage stations were generating significant single-use cup waste and decided to make a change.
Partnering with Re:Dish, both a MassDEP Reduce, Reuse, Repair Micro-Grant recipient and a MassDEP Recycling and Reuse Business Development Grant (RBDG) recipient, Pega replaced all single-use cups with reusable cups in their pantries. Re:Dish now collects, washes, sanitizes, and returns the cups to supply the office. Additionally, Pega received on-site launch support and purchased custom return bins to streamline the collection process and better meet the needs of the space. Over five months, Pega’s implementation of the Re:Dish cup system has prevented 14,000 single-use cups from entering the waste stream!
“Finding a solution to single-use packaging is really important for the world we live in, for the environment and our health,” says Caroline Vanderlip, Founder and CEO of Re:Dish. “What we’ve done at Re:Dish is answer the call for folks who want to move to reusables but don’t have the software or the dishwashing capability to do it internally. Think of Re:Dish as an outsourced washing solution that also enables one to measure the environmental metrics of carbon reduction, water reduction, and waste diversion that comes with reuse.”
Stephen Ferrick from Pegasystems said, “We have a strong sustainability effort. [O]ne thing we were able to do when we partnered with Re:Dish was to have a very visible sustainability effort. Not only is it a win on our sustainability ledgers, but also a win for our workplace [morale].”
Pega successfully made the switch to reusable cups without on-site dishwashing capabilities by partnering with Re:Dish, a third-party warewashing service provider.
How does it work?
Re:Dish’s warewashing facilities can wash roughly 75,000 reusable items each day. Re:Dish’s trucks visit participating businesses to collect used containers. Returned dirty containers are unpacked and placed onto a scanner-equipped conveyor belt that automatically counts and loads them onto a dishwasher. All data is displayed in real time in DishTrack, Re:Dish’s proprietary tracking software that provides instant inventory monitoring. Re:Dish’s machines reach a minimum temperature of 170° and contain a complete drying mechanism to reduce time between washing and packaging. Clean containers are immediately packaged for each customer, sealed in reusable totes, and then loaded onto a truck for redistribution.
“We want to emulate the 1950’s when reuse was prevalent. It’s what everyone turned to. Coke washed their bottles. The milkman dropped off the milk and took bottles back every week,” stated Caroline Vanderlip.
Looking to learn more about third-party warewashing? Call (888) 254-5525 or email info@recyclingworksma.com to get started.
RecyclingWorks in Massachusetts is a recycling assistance program funded by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), and delivered under contract by CET, that helps businesses and institutions reduce waste and maximize recycling, reuse, and food recovery opportunities.