USPS Goes Green

Inside the U.S. Postal Service local headquarters on Jefferson Road in Henrietta, a lot is happening to go green.

"The postal service is working on a lot of different levels to encourage our consumers our mailers and of course ourselves to use our resources wisely," says Karen Mazurkiewicz a spokesperson for the Post Office.

Envelops are made from recycled materials and are easily recycled. Then there's the stamps..."We know that as people put them on a letter, sometimes people notice stamps and we hope that they will not only move the letter, but move somebody to do the right things," Mazurkiewicz adds.

They became available back in April and each one has a different tip on how to help the environment..

Mazurkiewicz explains, "the stamps highlight things like walking, recycling, compost, turning off lights, turning down thermostats, those types of things."

There's a lot going on behind the scenes too. Junk mail that is sent back to the post office finds a new life along with packaging and cardboard. "Its collected from the workroom floor, dumped on the conveyor belt. It is containerized and recycled," says Manager of Maintenance Operations David Miraglia.

Just to give you an idea how much paper and cardboard could be going to waste last year they sent 1,700 tons to the recycler.

"That goes on on all three shifts every day including weekend," says Miraglia.

They've made some changes to the building too. More energy efficient lights were put in and outside, "we use alternative fuel in our vehicles, about 44,000 including about 100 in the Rochester area."

For more information on the Post Office's efforts, click here