Most people think a solid waste district exists to run the landfill. Mary Cropenbaker's job is the opposite: keep as much material out of it as possible. As the Assistant Solid Waste Manager at Hamilton County ReSource, she works with businesses, schools, and communities across the Cincinnati region to divert waste, and she does it without a single mandate to force anyone's hand. Her answer to that challenge is 513 Green, a free sustainability certification any business can earn.

513 Green started from a frustration. Mary could help a business start recycling, but she had no way to keep it moving toward bigger goals, until a free program she saw at a conference gave her the model. This episode presses on the mechanics: how a certification built around employee behavior works for everyone from the Cincinnati Zoo to a small Pilates studio, and how a checklist of 45 achievable steps turns good intentions into action. It also draws out the honest parts, including why the hardest thing to measure is the impact itself, and why she built the whole program to be copied by any community willing to try.

Episode in a glance

02:42 The Waste District That Wants to Put Itself Out of a Job
05:12 Why Starting a Recycling Program Is Harder Than You Think
07:39 How 513 Green Went From Idea to Free Certification
11:27 What It Actually Takes to Get Certified
14:36 From the Cincinnati Zoo to a Pilates Studio
21:43 A Certification Built to Be Copied

About Mary Cropenbaker

Mary Cropenbaker is the Assistant Solid Waste Manager at Hamilton County ReSource, the solid waste district serving the Cincinnati, Ohio region, where she helps businesses, schools, and communities implement waste reduction strategies on the path to zero waste. She holds a master's in environmental science from Miami University's Institute for Environment and Sustainability and an MBA with a certificate in sustainable business, and her background spans psychology research, a sustainability practicum at the Cincinnati Zoo, and a role at the US EPA. She piloted the 513 Green Certification Program, a free sustainability certification that has certified 67 organizations across the region.

Connect with Mary Cropenbaker and her work

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/marycropenbaker

Hamilton County ReSource → hamiltoncountyresource.org

513 Green Certification → 513green.com

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