During a tour of his company’s Westlake headquarters Saturday, EZ Brite Brands President Ed Aghajanian explains to visiting Bioneers how his company reuses almost everything, from bubblewrap to cardboard boxes. (West Life photo by Larry Bennet)

Westlake company throws out trash dumpster
By Kevin Kelley
Westlake
Published Nov. 11, 2009

The folks at EZ Brite Brands want you to know that you can clean your kitchen appliances without using harsh chemicals. And that companies can still function without creating loads of garbage.

EZ Brite, which manufactures and distributes a complete line of Earth-friendly kitchen-cleaning products, hosted a tour Saturday for the environmental group Bioneers, which was holding a regional conference this past week in Cleveland. EZ Brite President Ed Aghajanian told of the company’s policies and procedures that result in nearly “zero-waste” production.

A member of E4S/Entrepreneurs for Sustainability, EZ Brite Brands has received several awards for its environmental initiatives. The company’s slogan, located just under its logo, is “Planet friendly, it matters!”

“We recycle from the front door to the back door here,” Aghajanian told the Bioneers, which is made up of sustainability advocates from the business world, government agencies and nonprofit groups.

For example, the company reuses cardboard boxes and bubblewrap that’s thrown out by its neighboring companies on Sharon Road. This saves money, Aghajanian explained, as the company doesn’t have to purchase new shipping materials. Boxes that the company can’t use are donated to the Cleveland Food Bank.

If delivery pallets are broken, EZ Brite fixes them instead of throwing them out, he said. The company also returns empty boxes to its suppliers when they return with the next shipment.

The company can trace its origins to a product called Penny Brite Copper Cleaner, which hit the market in 1947. It was invented by Edgar Kennerson, whose wife was having trouble cleaning her copper tea kettle. Kennerson phoned an engineer friend asking for help in developing a formula to clean and shine copper and other metals. They created a formula that became Penny Brite.

Aghajanian, a Westlake resident, purchased the assets and formula of the company in 1991. Today, the company makes 40 products, which are sold online or locally at Discount Drug Mart, Heinnen’s and Marc’s.

EZ Brite products are environmentally friendly and made of ingredients such as sea salt, volcanic pumice, citric acid, tree oil soap and coconut oil soap.

The products themselves are environmentally friendly, made of ingredients such as sea salt, volcanic pumice, citric acid, tree oil soap and coconut oil soap. No phosphates or bleaches are included. Its surface scrubs are designed not to retain odors so customers will be able to use them for a long time, said Jill Tasse Ricker, the company’s director of marketing.

Aghajanian said he decided to get rid of the trash dumpster the first month he ran the company. Not only did the decision help the environment, the manufacturing process greatly improved, he said.

“Our quality went through the roof,” he said, adding that the “no trash” philosophy forced the company to correct errors in manufacturing. “It forces us to make good product.”

In addition to practicing environmentally friendly manufacturing processes, EZ Brite employees recycle their own beverage containers, office paper, trade magazines and other trash. Used computer equipment is donated and put to use.

Aghajanian estimates that the company, which employs 11 people, saves roughly $12,000 annually by reusing materials.

“You save money in reusing things that you then don’t have to buy,” he said.

Aghajanian acknowledged that his company’s policies require some investment in man hours.

“It takes a lot of effort and coordination to do it, but it’s not rocket science,” Aghajanian said of his company’s efforts.

He said companies that want to copy EZ Brite should look at the trash they are producing and decide if any of it can be used. He also advises companies to start with simple things.

“A lot of it is common sense,” he said.

“It’s a matter of putting a mandate on it,” he added.

Beau Daane, business recycling specialist at the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District and a Bioneers leader, said EZ Brite proves that zero-waste production can be achieved.

“Ed is such a great example of making common-sense decisions on how to save money, help the planet and grow your business,” Daane told West Life. He said he scheduled a Bioneers tour of EZ Brite to show participatns that there’s a better way to manufacture.

On the Web:

• EZ Brite Brands
• Bioneers