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April 21, 2023

All the Right Reasons – A look behind the scenes at our recycling program

People often relate stewardship to money, especially when it comes to financial institutions. After all, a bank exists to give its customers a safe, convenient way to manage their resources. Lake City Bank defines stewardship more broadly: it means taking care of people—employees, customers, communities, and shareholders—in ways that help position them for success. It means paying attention to the details, even in areas as unremarkable as what gets thrown away.

“It’s all about efficiency,” says Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer Kristin Pruitt. “This is really top of mind for us as we develop our business practices,” she explains. “First and foremost, we want to avoid the creation of waste. When we reduce waste, we gain efficiency. And when we do create waste, we want to dispose of it in the most environmentally friendly way while continuing to maintain information security.”

Operating Paperless Plus
For years, Lake City Bank has worked to operate as close to paperless as possible. For example, customers are encouraged to opt out of paper statements and access account records online. Likewise, internal meeting materials are provided through secure online portals. This saves money on printing costs, reduces waste, and allows faster communication.

Even so, there’s still some paper waste. To dispose of it in an environmentally friendly way and still protect sensitive information, Lake City Bank employs a third-party records management company. Locked bins are stationed around offices, and employees place documents that contain customer information in the bins. When the record company employees empty the bins, all contents are shredded and baled, then delivered to a paper recycler. Lake City Bank recycles about 160,000 pounds, or 80 tons, of paper yearly through this program.

For reference, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that each ton of recycled paper:

    • Saves enough energy to power the average American home for six months.
    • Saves 7,000 gallons of water.
    • Saves 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space.
    • Reduces greenhouse gas emissions by one metric ton of carbon equivalent (MTCE).

Reuse, Recycle Responsibly
In addition to paper, Lake City Bank also recycles electronics equipment that has been removed from service. Managed by the bank’s IT Help Desk, computers, tablets and other electronic items are retired when they reach the end of their life cycle. Bank IT staff then securely wipe all the data from the device.

Laptops that meet certain criteria are delivered to Ivy Tech in Warsaw for the school’s Loan-to-Own program. They are then reloaded and offered to students. Lake City Bank Vice President and Technology Services Manager Chris Merrill calls it a win-win: “We don’t have to discard perfectly good equipment, and Ivy Tech students don’t have to buy a laptop if funds are limited.”

Items not headed to Ivy Tech go to a third-party asset management company that specializes in electronics. The company reconditions what it can and sells it and shares the revenue with the bank. Equipment that can’t be overhauled is taken apart so the materials can be recycled and any harmful materials can be handled properly.


Lake City Bank discarded 4,731 pounds (1,141 pieces) of electronic equipment in 2021, which saved more than 45.8 tons of carbon.
In 2022 through March, the total was 3,684 pounds. From 2017 to 2021, 41% of the bank’s equipment handled by Lake City Bank’s asset management partner was reused, while 59% was recycled. The program has been so successful that the income from resale has completely covered asset management fees.

Everyday Waste Reduction
Besides high-volume items like paper and electronics, Lake City Bank applies its waste reduction approach everywhere it can. For example, light bulbs, cans, cardboard, batteries, appliances and scrap metal are collected from the bank’s Warsaw locations and delivered to local recycling and waste management services. There, they become part of specialized recycling processes and avoid the landfill. Vice President and Director of Property Management Rich Hoover estimates that each week, his team collects more than five large bags of plastics and cans and a vanload of cardboard just from the downtown Warsaw offices.

“Everyone helps where they can,” says Hoover. “Employees just know what to do.”

Pruitt adds, “We don’t look at any of this as a burden. It’s something that just makes sense to do.”

It’s easy to see why. Electronic documentation helps work flow more smoothly so employees can be more productive. Printing less saves money, affecting both customers and shareholders, and the electronics recycling program pays for itself. And keeping as much as possible out of the landfill helps everyone.

To sum it up, Vice President Information Security Officer Paul Dausman says, “We do it the right way for the right reasons. I love the impact it has.”

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