First Star Recycling Earns the Keep Nebraska Beautiful Sustainability Seal

First Star is proud to announce that we have been awarded the Sustainability Seal by Keep Nebraska Beautiful (KNB), a recognition given to businesses that embed sustainable practices into their daily operations and demonstrate a public commitment to environmental stewardship.

The KNB Sustainability Seal goes beyond a simple certification—it's an acknowledgment of meaningful action in areas such as waste reduction, energy efficiency, and team involvement in sustainability initiatives. The program highlights organizations that are helping build a cleaner, greener Nebraska and inspiring others to follow their lead.

For First Star, this distinction reflects our ongoing commitment to reducing not only our environmental footprint, but the footprint of the entire community we serve as the region’s largest material recovery facility. While many businesses work toward sustainability as a goal, First Star’s core business is sustainability. From material recovery and waste diversion to innovative end-use solutions, sustainability is embedded into how we operate, how we invest, and how we innovate.

A key example of that innovation is our division Solutions Plastic Lumber, developed by First Star Recycling to transform hard-to-recycle plastics into durable, long-lasting plastic lumber products. This breakthrough not only diverts material from landfills but also creates practical, high-performance alternatives to traditional building materials—closing the loop between recovery and reuse.

Patrick Leahy, President & CEO of First Star, shared his thoughts on the achievement:

“Sustainability isn’t a side initiative for First Star—it’s the foundation of our business. From recovering materials to innovating products like Solutions Plastic Lumber, our goal has always been to create real, scalable solutions that keep valuable resources in use. Receiving the Keep Nebraska Beautiful Sustainability Seal affirms the direction we’re headed and motivates us to keep pushing forward.”

Earning this Seal places First Star among a growing group of Nebraska businesses committed to continuous improvement and leadership on environmental issues.