At 14 Carrot, we make an effort every single day to better the world around us by reducing our carbon footprint. We dedicate time, labor, and money to improve our recycling habits and to better educate the people around us. There is always more an individual or company can do and we'll continue to find efficient ways of recycling or reusing any materials we can, and continue to make earth-friendly choices when it comes to our packaging materials and our day to day business operations.  Some of these things we have in place and are part of our regular routine and other things we are taking steps towards making better.

 

    Currently we are recycling the following:

    - Metal

    - Glass

    - Plastic #1-7 (bottles and jars only)

    - Cardboard 

    - Office paper

    - Brown, non-waxed packaging paper

    - Bubble wrap

    - Packing peanuts

    - Produce scraps

    - Miscellaneous Electronics

    - Magazines and newspapers

 

In addition to those materials that we recycle once they have been used, we also do the following:

- Most of our office paper comes from local schools and has already been printed on one side.

- We use food containers in our deli that are made from recycled materials.

- We use recycled paper products in our bathrooms.

- All produce scraps and waste is given to local farms for composting or for feeding animals

- We provide a recycling bin in the front of the store for customers.

- We use only Earth-friendly cleaners throughout the store (whenever possible)

- We continue to expand our bulk and loose produce departments in order to provide you with more  products that have less of an impact on the environment (less packaging and less energy used in the production.)

 

In order to improve, we need help with the following:

- Convincing Lexington County to allow small businesses to drop off recyclables at their drop off points.  (Currently it is not allowed and you can be fined for doing it.  It is counter-productive for the environment to drive 30+ miles round-trip to drop off relatively small amounts of recyclables.)

- Finding a way to recycle plastic shopping bags.

- Finding someone to take kitchen scraps on a daily basis.

 

We are always grateful for our customers' support and always appreciate feedback or suggestions.  If anyone would like to help us in our quest or has a solution to any of our obstacles, please let us know!