Climbing a Hill that Becomes a Mountain

How many of you have begun an ambitious endeavor that turned out to be far more difficult than you thought it would be? How many times have you said, “If only I had known, I might never have started this”?

Maybe it was a weekend painting project that turned into a yearlong remodeling Project, or a grandchild’s train set gift that turned into a lifelong hobby.

The young, propelled by idealism and ungrounded by failure, are especially apt to venture into unknown territories that are vaster and more difficult than they anticipated.

When Chandler Slavin joined her family’s business after graduating from college, freshly inspired by her degree in ethics and social justice, she was incensed to find out that the packaging products her company manufactures were not being recycled. “We didn’t understand … if our plastic is made from recycled bottles, why can’t it be recycled with bottles? It seemed so simple,” she said.

But nothing ever really is simple, is it?

Chandler set out on a quest to discover why the thermoformed packaging Dordan Manufacturing makes was not being recycled, unaware of how long her journey would become or how steep would be her climb.

Progress Is Made

Even if you go the distance, you may not get there as fast as you want, but hopefully, you’ll make progress.

While standing in the customs line at the Toronto airport en route to the Greenbuild expo on Oct. 4, I overheard two men talking about wind farms and the potential for them in their home state of windy Kansas. “But then, somehow you’ve got to store the energy,” one man said. I couldn’t help but interject. “Large-format lithium-ion batteries,” I said. “Wind and solar energy can be stored.” I happened to know that because I edited this issue’s Sage Supplier article, “Batteries make storing wind, energy possible.” That has not always been the case.

“So, we’re making progress,” he said. Indeed.

Green progress is being made all over. In its 10th year, the Greenbuild International Conference & Expo expects more than 25,000 attendees, up from the 4,189 attendees at its first show. Today there are 24, 515 LEED®-certified projects spanning 1.577 billion square feet of space.

As for the quest to get thermoforms recycled, that journey is not yet concluded. Happily, industry heavyweights are working together to break down the obstacles. Progress is being made.

And if you’re too idealistic to fail, you’re sure to reach the pinnacle of success eventually.