By Rita Cook     

Established in June of 2008, the Green Dream Company is an eco services firm that offers a variety of services such as waste stream consulting for large business parks and single stream recycling services for small offices, condos, townhomes and non-profit organizations. The company also offers purge services for file documents and electronic waste.

“Our company’s entire purpose is to partner with a variety of organizations in our community to create waste stream solutions that are cost effective and environmentally friendly,” says owner Torey Mitchell. “We understand that no two businesses are the same so we try to create programs that consider the individual needs of each of our partners. Also, in order to ensure that the new program works efficiently we try to maintain an open line of communication with all of our clients.”

Mitchell says the company is always looking for ways to make their programs work more efficiently to ensure that the client is receiving the full benefit of the program and that they are always conscious of having a positive impact on the environment.

Green Dream Company also provides their clients with a certificate that quantifies the impact that their actions have on the planet every month.

“We quantify things like how many trees, water and gallons of oil were saved by the client’s activity,” Mitchell explains. “We hope to inspire our clients to utilize the program by making it easy for them to understand how easy it is for them to have a positive impact on their environment.”

 (One of the many bins installed by the Green Dream Recycling Company)

Mitchell and his wife Anita came up with the idea for the Green Dream Company as apartment dwellers who were concerned the building they lived in did not provide recycling services.

“My wife was cleaning the kitchen and realized how much waste we not only generate, but also how we simply throw it away,” Mitchell explains. “It occurred to me that we could be more responsible and take our recyclables to a recycling center. Then both of us had a ‘light bulb’ moment. If we could do this for ourselves, why not offer this service to others in our community?”

Mitchell says the vast majority of the material they receive is processed at Balcones Resources in Farmers Branch. The rest of material goes to a variety of processors that accept single stream material. The company accepts any type of paper-based products like paper, newspaper, phone books, cardboard, magazines and chipboard as well as plastics (numbers one to seven), aluminum cans and scrap metal. Green Dream Company does not accept trash, soiled paper, paper towels, broken glass, pizza boxes, tires or televisions.

Currently the company has a featured initiative program called the Shred Plus Program.
“We find that many companies have a secure document destruction program, but they don’t recycle anything else,” Mitchell says. “What our company attempts to do is to match the shredding program that is in place and add bins for things like plastic bottles, aluminum cans, and cardboard. The end goal is to offer the client a more robust recycling program for a cost that is less than or comparable to what they are currently paying to just shred documents.”

Mitchell says the company’s only challenge has been to get everyone in an office or in a condominium community to fully understand how to properly utilize their new recycling program.

“In the beginning of the process there always seems to be a little bit of a learning curve, but with good signage and open communication we are eventually able to teach users how to determine what material can be recycled and what is considered trash,” he concludes. “We also find that there are several organizations in the Dallas area that have a strong desire to establish a culture that is considerate of the environment in many different ways. An office recycling program is one of the easiest things to implement to move any organization towards being more sustainable.”

For more information about the Green Dream Company visit http://thegreendreamcompany.com.

Rita Cook is a freelance writer who has worked as a special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News and other major publications.