The City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles Sanitation and Environment (LASAN) last week recognized Downtown LA Auto Group as a recycLA “Star.” The group of six car dealerships, each served by Ware Disposal, Inc., was honored with the distinction of “Gold Star” as part of the program that awards local businesses who demonstrate a commitment to reducing the environmental impact of their operations by making the investments and behavioral changes to achieve the highest levels of recycling.
Introduced in 2017, the recycLA program is a public-private partnership that offers customer-friendly and efficient waste and recycling services to all commercial and industrial businesses, institutions, and large multifamily buildings in the City of Los Angeles.
In this most recent award, Downtown LA Auto Group was recognized at a ceremony at one of the group’s dealerships by representatives from the City of Los Angeles and LASAN, including LASAN Executive Director and General Manager, Enrique C. Zaldivar.
Downtown LA Auto Group’s various locations, including dealerships and auto service, had been producing 141 cubic yards of waste per week before it began participating in the recycLA program. An initial waste assessment at recycLA’s outset determined that most of the materials being sent to landfill could be recycled. Since that time, Downtown LA Auto Group has realized full utilization in the recycLA program, reducing their trash capacity by 60% and diverting 73% of their waste from landfill.
“Downtown LA Auto Group is a true example of a Los Angeles business that understands the importance of environmental stewardship,” said Zaldivar. “Downtown LA Auto Group’s recycling and waste reduction efforts under recycLA are tremendous, and absolutely deserving of the distinguished honor of being named a ‘recycLA Gold Star.'”
Downtown LA Auto Group and Ware Disposal partnered to provide comprehensive, dual-language training for their large staff and ensure on-site recycling practices are performed to standards. Zero-Waste specialists met with managers and visited each service area to train service managers about the recycLA program, recyclable materials, and bin placement. Downtown LA Auto Group and Ware created an Auto-Service focused Recycling training plan, in both Spanish and English, and trained the staff of 300 employees at all six service area sites to make them aware of the transition and train them in correct practices. The training was implemented in combination with 96-gallon recycle carts being placed in the service areas that could be easily accessed by employees, as well as larger recycling bins in central collection areas to help effectively capture the recyclable materials.
“Sustainability and landfill diversion are incredibly important and core values of our business, and we are so grateful to have been recognized as a recycLA Star,” said Neal Goldman, fixed operations director, Downtown LA Auto Group. “We are immensely proud of the work we’ve done to improve our recycling program and reduce waste, which would not have been possible without the hard work of our employees. Our employees worked to understand and implement our recycling program every day, and we are so pleased to see their efforts recognized with this wonderful honor.”
