Outlets going green

by Ryan Burgess

This article appeared on Capital News 9 on May 30, 2008

LEE, MA - The Prime Outlets in Lee is a shopping center that just registered a new idea -- Go from just making green, to going green.

"Our goal is to take [plastic], small items of paper and whatever else we can process and make alternative fuel out of it," said Prime Outlets Lee general manager Frank Sabellico.

The Outlet ships that material to a plant off site to convert it into a bio-diesel fuel. It’s part of a going-green program it started, which also recycles 250 tons of cardboard each year and almost all the garbage from the food court.

"The outlets is located in the Berkshires which is known for being green and we needed to make sure that we preserved the environment that we're doing business in and to make sure we leave a legacy for our children," said Prime Outlets Lee marketing director Carolyn Edwards.

One of the most interesting recycling programs they've come up with has nothing to do with saving boxes or even saving trees. It's about reusing the cooking oil from the food court.

"We have a 9,000 gallon containment unit of grease that gets pumped out every quarter. That's 36,000 gallons of grease a year that we convert to bio-diesel," said Prime Outlets Lee operations manager Chris Bernacki.

The Center for Ecological Technology, which coached the outlets through the process, says recycling garbage and lowering your carbon footprint can also lower your expenses.

"Waste can be a huge problem, especially because [with] waste, you're paying to get rid of it. So when you can turn that into something that has value to a marketplace, you can reduce your costs," said Center for Ecological Technology executive director Laura Dubester.

Sounds like a recycling idea that's right on the money.