Reduce, Reuse, Recycle 

Three familiar R’s -- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle -- provide practical guidelines to all organizations wishing to do their part for the environment.  At Owens & Minor, teammates are encouraged to reduce the resources used every day in serving customers.  Thanks to the ideas and suggestions from our teammates, suppliers and customers, our reuse policies and recycling programs are continuously expanding and are helping us to become more efficient.
   
Balers at Owens & Minor distribution centers enable us to recycle cardboard and plastic that was once thrown into landfills, and at the same time drive down costs.  Our Los Angeles, CA distribution center collects cardboard from participating hospitals and recycles it on their behalf – helping to broaden our reach and reduce landfill contributions for both the hospitals and Owens & Minor, while, at the same time, providing our customers with a valuable service. 

Our home office in Richmond, VA sponsors recycling initiatives for paper, plastic bottles, aluminum cans, cell phones, ink cartridges, computers and batteries.  Sustainability champions at our distribution centers are leading the way in their locations, as our organization strives to continuously reduce our carbon-footprint.  Our Portand, OR distribution center is a model of our commitment, reusing 90% of packing materials, reselling used pallets, and recycling over 53 tons of cardboard and nearly 8 tons of paper annually.