MarBorg Recognized by Green Seal

MarBorg Industries, greater Santa Barbara’s exclusive recycling and trash haulers, has taken such effective steps toward environmental sustainability that it received recognition from Green Seal, something of an equivalent to the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, but for green products and services. At the ceremony June 16 at Marborg’s 728 East Yanonali headquarters, Green Seal’s chair, Gary Peterson, awarded the certification to MarBorg, stating the company was “fulfilling the promise of what we need to do in the environment.”

MarBorg Industries is both the first and the only recycling and waste hauler to use only Green Seal–certified cleaning products, which means the products have been reviewed by Green Seal — the oldest and most prestigious nonprofit certifying green products and services in the U.S. — and were found to reduce both the use of hazardous chemicals and natural resources.

The Borgatello family, founders of MarBorg Industries, gracefully and proudly accepted the award, giving thanks to their staff and colleagues. The ceremony was preceded by a tour of the company headquarters, at which attendees saw the operation at work and got a glimpse of the company’s falcon, Jillian, which scares seagulls away from the trash facility.

The company applies its environmental enthusiasm to nearly all aspects of production. Santa Barbara sustainability consultant Perrin Pellegrin said, “The Borgatello family and MarBorg team integrate resource efficiency into all aspects of MarBorg Industries.” They recently installed a 30 kilowatt photovoltaic system on the roofs of its corporate facilities, which provides 13 percent of the companuy’s daily energy. MarBorg also upgraded more than 60 vehicles with state-verified best available control technology to cut diesel smoke by up to 90 percent. The company also switched its trash trucks from diesel to the much more environmentally friendly compressed natural gas (CNG). To add to this list of achievements, MarBorg’s headquarters were recently LEED Platinum certified and its three office buildings certified by the Green Business Program of Santa Barbara.

These changes have been more than just environmentally friendly; said Kathy Koeper, executive assistant at MarBorg, they are “tremendously cost saving,” driving home the point that being environmentally conscious can equal being successful in business. As Francis Gilliland, program director of the Green Business Program of Santa Barbara, said of the company, “They walk the walk, don’t just talk the talk.”