The Microsoft retail store at The Shops at Mission Viejo has been named “Super Recycler of the Quarter,” receiving $125 worth of Simon gift cards for working to reduce its carbon footprint.
The program was launched last year by Simon Property Group, the City and Waste Management of Orange County at The Shops at Mission Viejo in an effort to encourage shop tenants to recycle. To qualify for the award, tenants must utilize the mall-wide recycling program for recyclables generated within their store. Tenants who break down their boxes and recycle their shrink wrap are considered for the award. Internal recycling programs such as e-waste and beverage container recycling are also considered.
The Super Recycler is selected based on weekly site visits conducted by the City’s recycling consultant, EcoNomics, Inc., to all trash enclosures.
At the Microsoft store, employees flatten and recycle all cardboard through the mall-wide recycling program and the shop has an internal recycling program. Employees recycle their bottles and cans in addition to electronic waste and ink cartridges generated at the store. Staff members in charge of taking out their recyclables and trash received the gift cards.
Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour and Express for Men and Women received honorable mention recognition for their individual recycling efforts. Williams Sonoma took the top recycling prize last quarter with Gap and Crate and Barrel receiving nods for their efforts.
The Shops at Mission, which is managed by Simon Property Group, is making an effort to become “greener” in its malls. Two years ago, Simon Property Group completed the largest solar installation by a mall owner in the country with a solar facility on the roof that is used to power the mall’s communal lighting. Simon’s Laguna Hills Mall last year implemented a mall-wide food scrap diversion program.
The mall recycling push is a win-win for The Shops and complements the City’s environmental efforts.
The City has long been committed to protecting the environment by implementing and expanding recycling and waste diversion programs in an effort to preserve and protect the environment and exceed the state’s mandated 50 percent diversion rate. The City diverted 64 percent of its waste in 2008, up from 42 percent in 2003. For 2009, Waste Management diverted 33,197 tons of solid waste from landfill disposal through a variety of recycling programs such as residential curbside, green waste, business, construction and demolition waste recycling. A portion of the City’s waste also goes to a transformation (waste-to-energy) facility.
