One person’s trash is another person’s animal shelter, feed storage, and other beneficial uses all over the farm! In the spirit of foresight and environmental concern, Alaska Airlines decided to take over 200 shipping containers scheduled for disposal and, rather than simply ship them off or have them dismantled, donate them for public use.

After entering a partnership with Recology CleanScapes, an environmental group with a focus on resource recovery and waste management, Alaska Airlines has been making conscious efforts to reduce the waste stream generated by their business practices. When faced with the issue of how dispose of the difficult-to-recycle containers, Recology provided a simple solution; find new uses for the shipping containers.

Pierce Conservation District worked with the airline to match farmers and animal owners across the County with the containers. These containers were thereby spared from the landfill, and repurposed locally for a variety of used such as feed and animal containers, storage spaces, and compost bins.

“This has been a great partnership to bring new life to the containers in a way we would have never expected.” Shelly Parker, Director of Cargo Operations. This is a great project to show how a little creative thinking can lead to major cost savings, and new opportunities to fill needs for little projects in your home or business.