What an honor - to be inducted into this elite group and win this outstanding Award here in Colorado a second time. The Titans of Industry book listed a few key things about Green Girl Recycling so we thought it would be fun to share on our blog!
Bridget Johnson sees the numbers and knows Colorado has a long way to go with regard to recycling. She cites a report that ranked Colorado as one of the 20 worst states for recycling and compost diversion at about a 15% diversion overall. But Johnson isn't dissuaded from her mission.
"I see it as a challenge," the owners and CEO of Green Girl Recycling said. "How can we help more people in Boulder, Larimer and Weld counties think and be a little greener each day? I have a plan.. and it's big."
Johnson was named as a titan in 2021 and then spent the year building on her already strong leadership skills. She set a goal to read one leadership and business book per month. "I know in my gut it helped foster not only personal growth, I see it playing out in my companies. I learned that I still need to work on quicker kind-candor when an employee is not meeting my expectations and that my empathy for employees in hard times has helped me retain staff where I have seen other companies having a hard time with retention," she said.
In the last year, Green Girl Recycling upgraded its recycling fleet by adding a new box truck, which helped double the ability to haul electronics. The company partnered with the City of Longmont and ran its fall e-waste and paper-shredding round-up. It upgraded its website to allow Covid-safe scheduling for warehouse drop-offs and helped more than 1,000 homes in two weeks divert more than 148 tons of electronics from the landfills. Green Girl also tripled its eBay sales in 2021.
Most important of all Johnson said, her company hit a financial goal she had set 22 years earlier when she started picking up recycling. She realized that one can make a difference and make money at the same time.
" I remember someone really important to me stating, 'no one ever gets into the recycling space to make money, they do it because it's just the right thing to do.' I think I took that advice a little too close to heart and never really focused 100% on the money goals," Johnson said.
"I thought helping people and making a difference in the environment should be my top priorities. The truth is, by aligning with like-minded business owners and learning it actually is OK to decided to make money in the recycling space, it helps me make a bigger impact and difference faster. This was not only an accomplishment but life lesson I hope to share with other business owners in the future. You can make a difference and money at the same time. You can honestly make a bigger impact overall when finances aren't a limiting factor. Success in the environmental space is not greedy, it's GREEN at its core, and it is beautiful."
Special THANKS to Jamie Zawmon, founder and CEO of The Titan 100 for not only being a huge mentor and coach, but suggesting Green Girl Recycling and Bridget were Titan material to begin with - women lifting up other women, it's amazing!!!