Sustainable Packaging with Cory Connors presented by Atlantic Packaging
Join industry leaders, innovators, and changemakers as we explore the future of packaging through the lens of sustainability. Hosted by Cory Connors, an industry expert with over 25 years of experience, and presented by Atlantic Packaging, the leader in innovative sustainable solutions, we dive into what’s working (and what’s not) from cutting-edge materials to circular design strategies that can reduce waste and protect our planet.
Each episode blends real data, expert insights, and a dose of fun to help you stay informed and inspired. Whether you're in the packaging industry or simply passionate about sustainability, this podcast is your weekly go-to resource for making smarter, greener choices.
Sustainable Packaging with Cory Connors presented by Atlantic Packaging
Texas Trash Talker Stacy Savage / CEO Zero Waste Strategies
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Welcome to Sustainable Packaging with Cory Connors. Today's guest is Stacy Savage, the founder and c e o of Zero Waste Strategies. How are you,
Stacy Savage:Stacy? I'm well. Thank you so much for having
Cory Connors:me, Corey. Yeah, thanks for making time. We are TikTok buddies, which is really cool. I love to talk about that because it's Such a small world on TikTok and it's just a, it's amazing how we can connect virtually like that. it just blows my mind. But let's talk about your background. How'd you get into, to the world of waste?
Stacy Savage:Ooh, that's a long story. But, you know, I was in the restaurant industry slinging margaritas in fajitas and for a good five years, and I said, there's gotta be something else out there for me. So I looked in a circular publication that comes out weekly here in Austin called the Austin Chronicle. On the back page it said, get paid to fight the man. And I was like, that sounds awesome, but who's the man? Right. You know, I was completely uneducated about politics and, you know, human rights and all of that. So I went on a major exploration of door-to-door grassroots canvassing. So, And so that's what that ad in the back of the paper was for is, a door to door group on environmental issues working statewide, knocking on doors in all 181 legislative districts across the state of Texas. Wow. And really getting out there and talking to hundreds of thousands of people, with our, you know, our whole crew, not just me Of course. you know, talking about, so. Recycling and zero waste and pushing the social justice aspects of why does our environment have to suffer in the way of capitalism? Why does our environment have to suffer, in order to put food on the table for our families? So we really need to make those connections for people that we should be holding our government officials and polluting entities, corporations accountable to the air we breathe, the water we drink. And the soil that we grow crops in. So that was a huge mission, is to push legislation at the local level here in Austin. So we've got several ordinances passed, such as the plastic bag band or the single use bag ordinance is what they like to call it, right? As well as, you know, a composting, curbside composting ordinance for residents even at the state level. Our group, pushed and won the Dell computer Takeback. A policy of 2007 and wow. We, because we, worked with Dell to help not only draft the policy, but also lobby for it. Dell's the biggest employer in central Texas. We got a unanimous vote in both the House and the Senate. Yeah. Which is unheard of on an environmental issue in Texas. So, two years later we repeated the victory with televisions. so we worked with Panasonic and Thompson, I believe. So we, it was wow. Bipartisan, it was great. Takeback is really where it's at for companies to take ownership of the full life cycle of their own products and not put the financial burden or the environmental burden on taxpayers like you and me or municipal and county governments when it comes to land filling. So that was kind of my start.
Cory Connors:Yeah, I love that. That's a great point.
Stacy Savage:Yeah. Environmental realm. And one day it just hit me out of the blue. you should build a business around your knowledge. And that's the very next day I went down to the Travis County Courthouse dropped my $17 best money I've ever spent, and I got.
Cory Connors:I love that. So, to do an l C
Stacy Savage:to do, yeah. I had a DBA and then my account switched it over to, an L C and now we're an S-corp. And, zero waste strategies bloomed out of this idea of, you know, you know, all of the haulers, you know, the council members, you know, the city, the, state government, you know, the heavy hitters in the environmental field, statewide. Why do, why are you not the hub? Yeah. and that was my goal is kind of be that go-to Green Gal in Texas. So I just gave myself the moniker of the Texas Trash Talker.
Cory Connors:And that's your TikTok handle, right? That's right.
Stacy Savage:Texas Trash
Cory Connors:Talker. I love that. So, Texas Trash Talker. Write it down. I got, well, I just put it on my notes here. So that I'll include it in the link so people can follow you. I know that we are already connected there. Well, tell us about the zero Waste Business Academy. I'm interested to see what that's all about.
Stacy Savage:The Zero Waste Business Academy is an eight week online course for executives, entrepreneurs, and managers. This is for probably mid-size to small-size businesses that can't necessarily afford a full-time, or maybe even part-time sustainability engineer or chief sustainability officer, but they want to move forward with their green goals. And they want to at least get a launch pad of the foundational knowledge that it takes in order to implement zero waste policies as well as practices. And so we give them that launch pad. Literally take you step by step in how do you assess your property? How much dumpster space do you need? Should you do a waste audit? Do you want one done for you? Because we can do that. So there's all kinds of, you know, ways that we can help businesses, get to waste reduction for cost savings to empower their employees to deepen their customer loyalty as well. So, And to drive a green marketing edge, which is critical. in this day and age, if you are not on the sustainability wagon, your business could become obsolete or, you know, irrelevant in your industry. Especially knowing you've got, zoomers, gen Zers and Gen Alphas coming up, being your kind of next, consumer base. they align with those values and your company should
Cory Connors:too. Yeah, well said. it's become aware to me, the more I listen to speakers, the more I talk to younger people, they wanna work for a company that has, motivations in the world of sustainability. They wanna work for somebody that's making a difference in the world for the better and not the old mentality of just look the other way. We're gonna throw this stuff in the garbage because it's. Trash. Right, exactly. so this is, it's so key, and I think you're right. if you don't get on board with this idea, it's gonna hurt. It's gonna hurt your business. It's gonna hurt your hiring practices. it's gonna hurt your fiscally, there'll be chargebacks in the future. I believe if we don't, and lost business.
Stacy Savage:Yeah, people are gonna find out what you're doing or what you're not doing. And if you say you're doing one thing and you're doing another such as greenwashing, they're gonna leave you. So it's, this is about also top tier talent recruitment as well, using the green initiatives in your business to vie for the top tier candidates, that are looking for positions in a company like yours. whichever company that might be. It's a big selling point.
Cory Connors:Absolutely. It's what we lead with at Aurora, my company. It's right, number one focus, right? Well after safety. but we talk about sustainability and, Making packaging more sustainable for the companies we work with. and being the leader in that industry is, it's exciting, but it's a huge challenge. but we've taken that on for sure. I'd love to get some advice from you on a few things that businesses can do to be more sustainable.
Stacy Savage:Well, In my opinion, efficiency is king. And anytime that you can find an operational efficiency anyway in your business, you gotta latch onto it and go with it. And even if you're doing that with water and energy, it's important to also look at your waste as well, because that is something that is tangible that every single person within your organization, Can change their habits around, it's like switching off a light or turning off the faucet. But this is training people to view waste, quote unquote, In a very different light, what's in their hands while they're walking up to a bin system, whether it's just trash or recycling, trash recycling or food waste, composting. Maybe you've even got a battery recycling bucket next to it. Yeah. You know, there's all kinds of different. Types of waste, but training your staff and setting the expectation not only at onboarding, but whenever you're doing like an annual or semi-annual training for, your environmental projects as well. Really getting people to change their habits and also view waste as a valuable commodity, which it is, right. Cardboard sells for hundreds of dollars, you know, per a hundred tons in many areas. there's all sorts of money that can be reaped whenever you are reselling your aluminum cans. you know, paper office paper is pretty lucrative. So we have to think about the economics behind what happens whenever it leaves your hand. And I don't think a lot of times there's. that, you know, dotted connection is made. Yeah. People are just trained. Okay. This goes in the blue bin. This goes in the gray or black bin. This goes in the green bin. But what happens after that? What happens when the janitorial crew collects all those bags from indoors and goes outdoors and puts it in the dumpster? What happens whenever it leaves the property? Where does it go? How does that equate to economic viability and, economic, you know, an economic boost in the local community. How does it build jobs? So if we're not making those connections, for people in their own minds, they don't really have a why. Yeah, behind the action change or the habit change that the company is asking them to do. So find the efficiency, put the programs in place, but tell people why we're doing it and give them tangible reasons and results as well, so that they can buy into it and they can help also. Be a peer-to-peer resource? Yes. When someone doesn't know where something goes, they should feel comfortable asking their floor manager or someone who sits in the desk next to them, where does this go? Right? I'm new here. Or I've been around for 20 years and I still don't know how to do this. You know, help me out here. So there should always be that kind of open line of communication, to help businesses perform better and to help their shareholders have, An even, you know, brighter vision for the future because environmental, social and governance is one of the top five, investor, you know, yeah. Points. if you want money from investors, you're gonna have to demonstrate your environmental sustainability and so, yeah.
Cory Connors:Green money, right? Green money. Money is green. Absolutely. Green is green.
Stacy Savage:That's right. It's not red or blue,
Cory Connors:it's green. I support that a hundred percent because we have to be able to show the world that we're doing good things. We have to be able to. Like you said, grow our business, sustainably. at Aurora we have what we call change champions. Oh, cool. And we have a committee of, I think it's like 40 or 50 people that, you know, it's a big company, but they're. We are the people that, that people can, employees can come to, to say, what do I do with this? Or, We've got an issue with this. Or how can we make this a better project? And it's becoming very effective and I encourage other companies to do the same. would you say that it's a good idea to start with your hauler, your waist hauler? No. No. Okay. Yeah. Tell me, and here's
Stacy Savage:why. There's a process which we teach in the Zero Waste Business Academy. You have to, I don't wanna give away
Cory Connors:all your secrets.
Stacy Savage:Well, you have to know what's in your waste in the first place. Right? Okay. You have to know what's salvageable and what truly is, what truly belongs in the landfill. Okay. And then you have to train in order to get that habit changed so that you can have consistency throughout your entire organization. And that there is accountability. So, For, employees who may not be following suit, right? there are, you know, safety measures and there are accountability measures for, people who don't follow the safety rules. And that's an insurance thing, right? If somebody Yeah. Is in, you know, injured on your property, you're going to have to, they're gonna file a claim and yada, yada. So same thing with those. Materials, it needs to be responsibly handled, and this is a responsibility that we all have as individuals, but if we're not trained properly, Then it's the onus, you know, is really on the management team, to make sure that everybody is on the same page. and that there are clear examples stated at each bin system. The signage has to be there, the color coordination has to be there. visual examples have to be there so that people can follow along quickly. I find when people go up to the bin and they don't know what goes where, and they get embarrassed, Yep. They have somewhere to be. So it all goes into the landfill trash. Yeah. Or it gets cross-contaminated and they put it all on the recycling bin and they're just like, yeah, even worse. Right? I just need this out of my hands. So when in doubt, toss it out for sure. but I like that cross-contamination is the biggest piece that recyclers and, you know, composting haulers have a major problem with, is people just not making the correct decisions at the bin. And if it's not indicated, in a very clear and very, large way. Yeah. it can be difficult to decide, what goes where, so, Right. And so I would say you gotta find out what's in your waste stream. So I would suggest doing a waste audit, even if it is three bags from each floor and you've just gra gathered a random sampling, you know? You gotta pick through it and figure out what goes where and what should have gone where. And you gotta weigh it and catalog it and track it. and then you gotta figure out, Well, if our, recycling was, you know, 57%, but we have, twice as many landfill dumpsters, we should be right sizing all of our dumpsters and the types and sizes of dumpsters for our particular business needs on this property, period. And haulers, some of the haulers will do this for you. Some of them are like, you know what, come to us with numbers. and we'll get you set up so I can teach you how to right size your dumpster space and how many you're gonna need and how many, frequency of pickup that you'll need every single week so that you are not getting overcharged and that they're not making money off of hauling air for you. Right?
Cory Connors:Wow, that's a very insightful thought. I appreciate that because it costs money and it's frankly, A drain on the environment every time that truck comes by. So if you can figure out efficiency wise, What if they only come every other week? Or what if they come twice a week instead for recycling? yeah. Really good points. But
Stacy Savage:it's a major cost reduction on both sides. your waste bill is being lowered and then you're taking the cost savings from the waste bill and putting it toward increasing your recycling and your food waste, composting, if you have those kinds of services in your area. Right. so it's, even if you break even. It is still a win because you can advertise your green marketing, you can really put it out there that we're doing A, B, and C to attract X, Y, and Z candidate. So, or shareholder or investor, right, so that you can grow your business. And this is one thing that. Many companies overlook as a really key indicator of business health. Yeah. Is what are you doing? How are you managing your waste? If your budget line item is at the bottom for waste, you got it reversed. It should be at the very top because it's a key efficiency. you know, it, it is, one thing that you can, that you have, control over. Is how much is going into the dumpster. You also have control over how much you're purchasing and bringing into the business as well. Yeah. That's another thing that we can take a look at in the Zero Waste Business Academy is what are you purchasing and where from, and how much, and why aren't you pulling your money with the other floors and the building of your business and the collectively buying to get a discounted rate. There's. There's so much that can be done regarding purchasing before we even talk about the landfill and the recycling
Cory Connors:process. Oh my gosh, that's so important. We, I remember a story where a customer was going to Costco to buy their toilet paper, and it was because it was $3 cheaper than our toilet paper, you know? So I said, well, if it's just priced, that's the best we can do. And then, one of the managers that actually went to Costco, this is before they had delivery, went to Costco to pick up the toilet paper. Was gone at this urgent time and they found out that he was gone to Costco buying toilet paper to save $3. and the manager said, what are you doing? Stop, but order that ding packaging, or toilet paper from your, from another supplier that can deliver it like Aurora. And stop paying, you know, trying to save $3 and spend two hours of your time. it was, you know, these kinds of efficiencies are massive for companies, so. I agree.
Stacy Savage:Yeah, you have to be really smart where you're pinching your pennies. if it's co, if it's contract renegotiation for $20,000 in savings for a quarter, Yeah, I would prefer you to be doing that than at Costco buying$3 cheaper toilet paper for
Cory Connors:yourself. I agree. there's a lot to say about that. Nothing, nothing against Costco. They're amazing. Oh, no. Not at all.
Stacy Savage:I was, remember for years.
Cory Connors:But, you're right. it's an important way to look at business and look at the big picture of what What we're actually doing. Well, what's the best way for people to get in touch with you?
Stacy Savage:Yeah, so I am at 5 1 2 6 9 3 7 6 7 7. you can also reach us@zerowaste.org. That's the number zero oh W a s t e.org. And we're on all the socials, well, maybe not all of them, but pretty key ones for businesses. we're on Twitter and LinkedIn. Insta, TikTok, like we discussed Facebook.
Cory Connors:All under Texas Trash talker?
Stacy Savage:No, all of them under zero waste strategies. Okay. Zero waste strategies. the TikTok is my personal fun time, but I'm always willing to take people's questions and go live if, if people want that. So, yeah, it's a lot. That's kind of fun. Land over in
Cory Connors:TikTok. It really is. And I think, a lot of people don't understand that it's an exciting and it's a fun community full of people that really do wanna make a positive difference in the world. Yeah. Well said. Well, thank you so much, Stacy, for being on. This has been a lot of fun and I'd like to thank, Aurora Packaging Solutions for sponsoring. And I'd like to thank you for listening. Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss the next episode, and stay tuned for more. Thank you so much.
