Saving the planet takes Olive Us!
Although we are always striving to better our planet, Earth day celebrations
gives the entire global community a moment to focus our attention on the
environment. We take pride in creating high quality, unique oils & olives
here in Arizona, as well as leaving a better planet to our future generations.
In the spirit of self promotion, we have compiled a list of things the Olive
Mill is doing to keep our planet green.
1) Solar power – In April of 2011, Perry Rea followed through on
his commitment to the environment by outfitting the Olive Mill with roof
mounted solar panels. By moving away from fossil fuels, the Olive Mill has been
able to offset its carbon foot print to the tune of over 5 tons of CO2, and
that is in the last month alone! In terms of trees, this translates to the equivalent
of 130 trees spared a month!
To see an up close and personal look at our solar panels, check out the video
here.
2) We use no herbicides, pesticides- One of the benefits of
raising olive trees in the heat of Arizona, is that there are no natural predators.
Because of this, we have no need for pesticides and herbicides, so you are
truly getting the healthiest Olive Oil around.
3) Recycle- Long before it was mandatory; The Queen Creek Olive Mill
was recycling. If you have ever eaten at our cafe (del Piero), then you have
seen our disposal station. Let me rephrase that. If you have ever eaten at del
Piero, AND bussed your dishes, you have seen our disposal station. For those of you that haven’t, you
can sneak a peek here. We encourage
our guests to separate the food, liquids and trash so that we can do a better
job of reusing these materials, and keeping them out of landfills.
4) Composting- Hand in hand with our recycling is our effort to
compost as much vegetable mater as possible.
The kitchen scraps, as well as the clippings from our garden, grove and
landscaping, all make their way back into our environment.
5) Reuse- Maybe this one should have gone with composting, but I
felt it needed to be singled out, because it is cool. If you have taken our Olive
Oil 101 tour, you may already know this tidbit. Once our olives have been smashed
up, and the oil has been removed, we are left with a nutrient rich paste. This paste is then used to fertilize our
grove for the next harvest. Cool huh!
6) Drip irrigation- According to the EPA, drip irrigation saves approximately
20%-50% more water versus traditional sprinkler and in ground watering systems.
Applying that savings to our 100+ acre property makes a substantial positive
impact on our environment.
7) Led lights- We have all heard that LED lights are the most
energy efficient lights money can buy, but how do we translate this? Well, we
have around 1000 light bulbs that have been converted from incandescent, to LED
lights. From an electricity standpoint, we are saving close to EIGHTY percent on
our lighting usage, and cost! And that is only the economic impact. The having
lights that may not need to be changed for another 10-15 years is a warm and
fuzzy environmental impact.
8 ) Reusable utensils- Another way are combating landfill waste is
by using real silverware and plates. Although it does take some water to wash,
it doesn’t take petroleum that is used in all plastic based materials.
9) Biodegradable cups and napkins- The cups that we serve our
non-alcoholic beverages in are biodegradable, and return to the soil in about
90 days. The napkins degrade in around a
week.
10) Our product bags are made of 100 recycled materials- Our
snazzy Olive Mill product bags are also made of biodegradable, compostable
material, so you don’t have to worry about your great grandchildren finding
them in a future landfill.
And as a bonus point…
11) We grow our own herbs. By keeping our vegetables local, we are
able to cut down on the pollution associated with transportation and bring high
quality, local and delicious food directly to you.
