Heights Theater, "the Twin Cities' longest continuously operated show house," is located along Central Avenue in Columbia Heights.
While you don't typically think of much recycling associated with a movie theater, Tom Letness, owner of the Heights Theater, wanted to see if he could do his part and collect the recyclables that were used during movies shown at the theater. Waste Wise was able to help Tom find waste receptacles that both met the aesthetic of the historic theater and allowed patrons to properly sort their trash from recycling, and helped him to apply for a grant through Anoka County to cover the costs.
“It’s working very well,” Tom said. "Before, I would get questions about if we had recycling, and now people are happy to see the bins out as an option." To help provide even more information to patrons, Tom created a PSA about recycling that is shown before movies. "Recycling has gone much better and been more successful than I expected," Tom admitted.
Despite decreased capacity, since adding a recycling program, the Heights Theater is now diverting an estimated 14,456 pounds of recycling each year away from the landfill.