It's the Little Things that Make Big Things Happen!
July 27, 2017
If you’ve ever stepped into any of the 128 Connect Hearing stores across Canada, you may have noticed The Little Green Box!
Since 2013, the Canadian retailer has been providing its customers with a convenient service to recycle the small button sized batteries from hearing aids.
True to the idea that a bunch of little things is what makes big things happen, the Little Green Box has helped Connect Hearing and its customers recycle more than a metric ton of batteries over the years. That’s the equivalent of recycling 1.5 million hearing aid batteries!
“With the assistance of our marketing department we created ‘The Little Green Box’ which our clients can take home to recycle their used hearing aid batteries,” said Elizabeth Manthorpe, HR Specialist at Connect Hearing. “Once full, the box is returned to the nearest Connect Hearing for recycling. We have a variety of pamphlets and information on our website so that all of our customers are aware of this great program.”
Prior to rolling the program out, the marketing department sent teasers to all the staff to pique everyone’s interest. When the program launched, all 128 stores were onboard and ready to promote the program to customers. Connect Hearing routinely updates its staff on the company’s recycling programs, a great reminder about the positive impact employees and customers are making.
The company’s corporate sustainability efforts don’t end there. In fact, Connect Hearing has recycling programs for paper and plastics as well as an organics program. The company even removed most of the filing cabinets and drawers at its head office to encourage electronic filing. With all that extra room, the head office moved from a 10,048 ft2 space into a cozier and more efficient 5,859 ft2 space. The new office environment promotes open communication, which has led to better collaboration between employees.
“I think one of the biggest reasons for our success has to do with the buy-in we received from our staff. Everyone, all the way from upper management to the frontline, was and still is very excited about our battery recycling program and it shows,” said Manthorpe.
The batteries recycled at Connect Hearing are sent to Raw Materials Company in Port Colborne, Ontario where they are sorted by chemistry and processed to recover the resources inside. Those resources are then reused in the manufacture of new products, displacing the need to mine for equivalent amount of raw materials from ore.
The company’s Ontario locations participate in the Stewardship Ontario Orange Drop program. The transportation and recycling of the batteries collected at the Ontario sites are funded by the battery industry. RMC offers several recycling programs for retailers and other customers across Canada and the US. Please contact RMC to discuss a program that is right the right fit for your company.
About Raw Materials Company:
Raw Materials Company has recycled over 1 billion batteries since its establishment in 1985 RMC’s current patented battery recycling process achieves the highest sustainable recycling rates in the world. RMC is an approved transporter and processor under the Stewardship Ontario Battery Incentive Program.
Did you know?
Zinc is one of the world's most commonly used metals. Approximately 30% of the zinc today comes from recycled sources. Raw Materials Company is able to recover zinc from the batteries that you recycle. The zinc we recover is then reused as micronutrients in fertilizer to grow corn for biofuel.
As a result of RMC's recycled materials, farmers are able to increase their yields by over 20 bushels per acre. This is important considering our growing population and the need to make efficient use of our existing farmland.
Find out more about our technology and how together we are turning waste into a valuable resource.