Here at SRP, making sustainable choices is at the heart of all the decisions we make for our communities, customers and employees. From providing low-cost, reliable power and maintaining a lasting water supply to giving free shade trees to our customers, we want to make sure the Valley has the resources it needs to thrive for generations to come.
As we navigate toward an even greener future, our 2035 Sustainability Goals serve as our guiding light. These goals are a promise to be intentional in all that we do today to ensure a sustainable, safe and secure tomorrow.
Safety meets sustainable innovation through closed-loop recycling
While sustainability is at the heart of what we do, safety is in our bones. That’s why SRP frequently sends out crews to trim trees growing into or near power lines. When overgrown trees contact power lines, they can cause fires and outages.
After clearing dangerous tree growth, we’re inevitably left with large amounts of tree debris and waste. Instead of dumping it, we take part in something called closed-loop recycling.
Read more about the difference between common forms of recycling known as open-loop recycling versus closed-loop recycling.
Thanks to our partnership with organic gardening company GRO-WELL, we’re able to turn these leftover tree trimmings into mulch. These products can then be used in Valley gardens to enrich landscaping.
What’s the difference between mulch, compost and wood chips?
Mulch is a combination of natural materials that can be placed above soil around plants to help with water retention. Meanwhile, compost is a more broken-down version of the organic materials that can be mixed into the soil to help plants grow, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Compost can consist of anything from food scraps to dead leaves and helps keep this material from otherwise ending up in landfills. Woodchips are simply small pieces of wood that can be used in gardens, playgrounds and more for a wide variety of uses.
GRO-WELL: A sustainable community partnership
One of the main pillars of our 2035 goals is to promote a sustainable supply chain while reducing waste. Our closed-loop recycling efforts are just one way we’re doing that. Gro-Well, a green wood and food waste recycler, uses a special composting process to make organic products from materials that would otherwise end up in a landfill.
Through this partnership, we divert tree trimmings away from the landfill and to their facility for processing. The wood is ground into woodchips, which we encourage our shade tree recipients to use to support water retention for their newly planted trees.
Other parts of the trimmings are combined with additional organic products and turned into potting soil mixes and mulches.
City Partnerships
Many of our local city partners offer compost resources or programs. Check them out here:
Annual SRP Water Conservation Expo
As part of our efforts toward sustainability and water conservation, SRP hosts a Water Conservation Expo each year. Attendees of the expo learn about different ways to save water and even have the opportunity to purchase smart irrigation controllers at a discounted price. For more information about the expo, click here.