FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. \u2014 Miami-Dade County produces more trash than nearly anywhere else in the nation. Each year, residents and businesses generate about 5 million tons of garbage \u2014 double the national average.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a landfill crisis. We\u2019re running out of space for our trash,\u201d said Yadira Diaz, founder and chief impact officer of Gradible.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to kind of grade businesses on their sustainability because, as a young person in Miami, I\u2019m going to festivals and hotels and just seeing that everything\u2019s backwards,\u201d Diaz said.<\/p>\n
Many South Florida hospitality businesses would earn an \u201cF\u201d for sustainability, she said. They don\u2019t compost, still offer single-use plastic items and fail to recycle.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe trash bins are overflowing,\u201d Diaz said. \u201cAnd obviously that\u2019s an issue when it rains \u2014 anything that\u2019s on the ground will flow into the drain and go into the bay. But yeah, you just see it everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
From San Diego to Miami, Diaz refined her idea. Instead of simply grading businesses on sustainability, why not connect them with companies offering green solutions? That\u2019s why she launched Gradible in 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re a one-stop shop,\u201d Diaz said. \u201cWhen we engage with businesses that want to be more sustainable, we have a marketplace \u2014 a portfolio of companies that have solutions for them to implement.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gradible now partners with more than 250 businesses offering sustainable products, services and technologies, including Compost for Life and Glass for Life.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are very critical times,\u201d said Francisco Torres of Compost for Life and Glass for Life. \u201cWe\u2019re facing a lot of problems with our environment and our planet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gradible\u2019s goal is to connect sustainable companies with local businesses that want to make environmentally conscious changes \u2014 such as Downtown Caf\u00e9 and Madda\u2019s Place.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was raised in a different way,\u201d said Madda\u2019s Place owner Maddalena Polite. \u201cIn Switzerland, we have to take the paper off a can and separate the paper from the metal and the plastic \u2014 we have to recycle everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Polite wanted to go greener, so Diaz introduced a business model inspired by one in Seattle: reusable coffee cups instead of disposable ones lined with plastic.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour customers are going to love it,\u201d Diaz said. \u201cIt\u2019s a program where, when I get to the coffee counter, I have the option of either getting a single-use cup or joining a great loyalty program that uses reusables. I\u2019m doing good for the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how it works: Customers order coffee in a reusable cup. On their next visit, they return the same cup for their new order. Businesses encourage participation by offering perks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to give our customers the 10th coffee for free,\u201d Polite said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was a great starting point because it was the easiest, best use we could find to really engage,\u201d said MJ Green, chief of economic development for the Miami Downtown Development Authority.<\/p>\n
The DDA is helping Diaz expand the program to other coffee shops and restaurants. Each participating business can receive a $1,000 rebate for joining.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really want to make this happen,\u201d Green said. \u201cThere are many people who would like to use a reusable coffee cup to impact the environment, even in a small way every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
So far, two other downtown businesses \u2014 The Bagel Club and Naughty Coffee \u2014 have joined. The goal is to scale the program citywide so customers can get and return reusable cups at any participating business.<\/p>\n
An app tracks each cup used and returned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew that was going to be a great start because then they tell their friends, \u2018Hey, I just joined this program. I get a free coffee here and there,\u2019 and that helps \u2014 especially when it\u2019s expensive here,\u201d Diaz said.<\/p>\n
Diaz said in a disposable world facing a growing trash and plastic crisis, rethinking waste just makes sense.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you reduce waste, energy and water, you reduce expenses,\u201d she said. \u201cYou have to pay for trash pickup, but if you\u2019re zero waste, you don\u2019t have that waste management bill anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople don\u2019t want to trash our treasure,\u201d Green said. \u201cWe are here because of the treasure South Florida provides us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The coffee cup program is just one example of Gradible\u2019s work to help businesses meet sustainability goals and tackle the waste crisis head-on.<\/p>\n
Gradible is also partnering with the Elser Hotel and the Mayfair House to implement additional green initiatives \u2014 including composting, recycling and replacing single-use plastic products with biodegradable alternatives.<\/p>\n
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