Environmental conservation starts in the workshop for Oakland's Metropolitan Furniture Manufacturing Co. The furniture maker, with over a century of work behind it, finds that its green commitment to reusing its waste has a sizeable payoff. Janis Mara of Inside Bay Area reports:
WEARING a full face mask, Antonio Bermudez sprays powder finish on a table leg at the factory of Metro, a 101-year-old Oakland furniture manufacturer. As he works, every puff of powder that doesn't stick to the metal is sucked into a vacuum chamber to be captured and reused.
The $44.4 million, 200-employee company has created one of the country's first energy-saving, environmentally friendly furniture finishing systems. Metro's annual saving from this and other conservation efforts: more than $150,000. What You Can Do:
- LEARN more about what conservation measures you can take in CAW's Living Green
- GET HELP with how to run a cleaner, less wasteful business from StopWaste.org or Living Green's Benefits of Recycling