Cleveland Metroparks Clean Marina Program

To save time, minimize costs, and benefit the environment, Cleveland Metroparks relied on PODS to deliver moving and storage logistics for a seasonal recycling program.

Cleveland Metroparks manages 18 nature reserves that span more than 23,000 acres and include more than 300 miles of trails, eight golf courses, eight lakefront parks, and a zoo. The public organization also manages three marinas: Emerald Necklace, East 55th, and Wildwood. Cleveland Metroparks doesn't just work to preserve the land, but also encourages public use of the outdoor spaces, with a focus on environmental sustainability, says Jeannette Lloyd, the marina manager at the Emerald Necklace Marina. And when Cleveland Metroparks launched a recycling initiative called the Clean Marina program, the organization used PODS to manage the moving and storage logistics involved.

The Challenge: Collecting Specialty Recyclables

Boat owners use plastic low-density polyethylene (LDPE) “shrink wrap" to protect their boats over the winter, and dispose the plastic in the spring as part of the de-winterizing process. In 2019, Cleveland Metroparks decided to recycle this plastic.

To do so, Metroparks needed collection stations so boaters could drop off the shrink wrap. The LDPE could not be mixed with regular recycling waste streams, so it had to be collected separately. The organization then had to transport the plastic to the recycler at the end of the April-June collection window.

Lloyd decided on three collection locations, two of which used cardboard containers to store the plastic. But the third location, the Riverfront, presented some unique challenges. First, the collection device needed to be both weatherproof and offer easy access for marina employees. Second, although she is in charge of collecting the recycled material at the Riverfront location, Lloyd doesn't manage it herself, unlike the other two marinas. So she wanted to make life easier for the Riverfront manager by working with a storage company that could both help collect the plastic and drop it off at the recycling center.

The Results: Easy Drop-Off Encourages Recycling

Having one PODS container at a central location encouraged boaters to recycle the shrink wrap, and not contaminate the other recycling waste streams at the marina. The PODS container did not require much work of the boaters, they simply had to remove the nylon banding and drop off the plastic. “Many boaters were very appreciative of this facility, as they wanted to make sure to recycle the LDPE," Lloyd says. The enclosed and compact container meant that transport of recyclables to the recycling station was convenient — Cleveland Metroparks did not have to worry about the logistics of final delivery.

“The recycling collection solution needed to be clean and kept from the weather elements. Having the PODS was convenient as it met all those criteria, plus we didn't have to grab the recycling and transfer it all in the end. The entire container was just dropped off to the actual recycler, that helped."

— Jeannette Lloyd, Marina Manager, Emerald Necklace Marina, Cleveland Metroparks

The Solution: The PODS Commercial-Grade Container

Cleveland Metroparks worked with PODS to schedule delivery of one container to the Riverfront location. The unit was clean and easily accessible, Lloyd says. At the Cuyahoga location, boaters left the shrink wrap at the marina office during the collection period. Marina employees ensured the collected shrink wrap was in good condition and stored the bales in the PODS container. At the end of the two months, PODS picked up the Riverfront container, delivered it to the recycling location 50 miles away, and unloaded the collected plastic. “That saved us the expense of drop off and pickup of those materials," Lloyd says.

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“The customer service from PODS was excellent, and I can't say enough good things about Kevin, my local rep. The cleanliness of PODS, of having a clean container that could be placed on the riverfront and used regularly was also a big plus."

— Jeannette Lloyd, Marina Manager, Emerald Necklace Marina, Cleveland Metroparks