DMC Regional Waste Commission's 2014 Small Business Award

Attending this year’s Greater Burlington Partnership’s Small Business Appreciation Breakfast, we had a nice time being in the company of other small businesses and their respective teams. It was fun opportunity to catch up with folks, take a moment to recognize the successes & accomplishments in our business community, and well, let’s face it, grab a quick bite to eat before diving into another busy day!

During the breakfast, Darven Kendall (Education Coordinator) & Hal Morton (Executive Director) at the DMC Regional Waste Commission took to the podium to present the 2014 Small Business Waste Reduction & Recycling Award.  We were excited because this year we decided to put our name into the hat for consideration.

At our shop, we have done a lot to help build and sustain our healthy, local communities, be it helping people discover the simple enjoyment of a fun bicycle ride to being socially & environmentally responsible with wastes produced during our day-to-day operations.  That said, here were some examples that we shared with the Waste Commission!

• Many of our goods are shipped in cardboard boxes & we recycle these weekly. We also give boxes away to people needing to ship, move, &/or store personal items as well as donate them for art & craft projects as requested.
• We have multiple recycling bins positioned throughout the store for the collection of paper, can, & plastic wastes. Every couple of weeks, our guys will drop these items off at the recycling center for further processing.
• We also scrap as much metal and other materials as possible, reducing unnecessary landfill wastes.
• We gather all used & discarded bicycle inner tubes and ship these to Alchemy Goods, Inc. headquartered in Seattle, WA to be repurposed into bags, wallets, belts, etc. that we are then able to turn around and sell!
• A few years ago, we purchased an ultrasonic cleaner that allows us to use water, light detergent, heat, and sonic vibrations to clean the grim & gunk off a bicycle’s drivetrain without the use of the traditional solvent drums that consisted of hazardous petroleum, mineral-based spirits.
• During our store remodel this past winter, we created new workbenches for our mechanics as well as new warehouse shelving by repurposing old, unused treadmill decks & reclaimed lumber.
• We also have motion sensor lights in our bathrooms & simply open our doors whenever the weather permits to help reduce our energy costs.

Whether we received recognition for our efforts or not, we knew we were making good strides at our store. But when the DMC Regional Waste Commission named Bickel’s as one of this year’s recipients of the Small Business Waste Reduction & Recycling Award, it’s was such a good feeling to be acknowledged for these efforts!

As we have always said, we couldn’t do what we do without your support. Thank you!