Mother of 5 Makes Recycling a Priority

December 06, 2017

Jenny Schmidt is a busy mom–five kids busy! Each day brings a new set of challenges, from managing schedules to helping with homework and attending her kids’ sports and activities. But in between all of life’s moments, Jenny has found time to add one more thing: every day she stresses the importance of being eco-friendly. “We recycle,” she says. “It’s a daily part of our routine. I think it’s important to show my kids how.”

It’s that attitude that has made the difference for Jenny’s family and has carried over to her work as Canteen Appleton’s District General Manager. Jenny is part of a significant recycling effort within Canteen that coincides with one of the company’s largest business initiative in years: SmartService.

SmartService is transformational in the way the warehouses operate. Historically, a truck would be filled top-to-bottom with cardboard boxes full of product needed to service machines. With SmartService, all product is “picked” from a line by our dedicated staff and placed into reusable plastic bins. This process streamlines recycling efforts and ensures that cardboard never leaves the warehouse.

The numbers in Appleton are outstanding:

  • In the first month of SmartService, Canteen Appleton recycled 4.77 tons of cardboard, 1.21 tons more than the same time period the previous year
  • Since SmartService rolled out, Canteen Appleton has recycled approximately 18 more tons of cardboard than it did in the same period the previous year.

That’s a 145 percent increase from year to year!

“I knew it would be big, but I had no idea how big,” says Jenny. “I never dreamed it would be this much.” For Jenny and the rest of the Canteen team in Appleton the results are personal. “It makes me feel good. We’re better neighbors to the businesses around us. It’s given Canteen a positive image,” she says.

SmartService is in its beginning stages, but Canteen Sustainability Champion Leigh-Anne Wooten is expecting similar results from the company’s other branches.

“We’re thrilled by the sustainability impact we’ve seen as a result of SmartService. When we got these numbers, I was floored to see that we had increased recycling by almost 150 percent in five months at only one branch. I can’t wait to see the impact SmartService will have across the country.”

Click here to read the full 2017 Corporate Social Responsibility report.