The Original Recyclers: How Sustainability Became a Generational Promise at CITY

Long before sustainability showed up on mission statements and marketing campaigns, the commercial laundry industry was already living it: reusing water, extending the life of textiles, and keeping goods in circulation instead of sending them to a landfill. At CITY Laundering, that heritage is the whole point. For Colin Wetlaufer, President of CITY Laundering, sustainability was never a trend to chase. It was a responsibility handed down, and one he intends to hand off.

“When I talk to my kids about the business, there’s a real sense of responsibility to contribute to the future. This industry was one of the original recyclers, and our efforts to reuse water and extend the life cycle of our products are a continuation of that legacy,” Colin said.

That sense of a promise passing from one generation to the next runs deeper than the corner office. Emily Hauber, CITY’s Director of Communications, helped lead the company through its first Clean Green Certification, and she sees the stakes in personal terms.

“The first year I started at CITY, we had just finished installing a wastewater recycling system, then it was a solar panel product, and the next thing I know, we were doing a full LED light conversion project that reduced our carbon footprint. Knowing that I work for a company that has stood the test of time as a century-old business and is already building for the next century says a lot about the company and what they stand for,” Emily said.

Beyond the Panels You Can See

Every generation at CITY seems to arrive at the same conclusion: the most meaningful sustainability work is often the work no one photographs. Solar panels and bright new lighting get the attention, and CITY has invested in both. But Colin is quick to point out where the company has really moved the needle.

“In my opinion, the biggest initiative we’ve made isn’t what people usually notice first,” Colin said. “It’s not the solar panels or new lights. It’s what we’ve done with recycling and chemical reuse. That’s where we’ve taken the biggest step beyond the industry norm.”

There is a practical reason CITY leans into the systems behind the scenes. When you plan to hand down a business, you build for durability and self-reliance, not for the applause of a single quarter. Water reuse, chemical reclaim, and responsible resource management are levers CITY can pull on its own.

“As a business owner, one of the hardest things is when something outside your control changes how you operate,” Colin said. “So for us, the most rewarding projects are the ones that give us more control over our impact, our efficiency, and our future.”

The Proof Is in the Numbers

A generational promise only means something if it holds up under measurement, and CITY’s does. A Norchem UltraPure filtration system lets CITY recycle roughly 70 percent of the water it uses, while ensuring what returns to the local system is clean and manageable for the community’s treatment facilities.

On the roof, at the time of installation, sat the largest solar array of any privately held company in Iowa. Its 850 panels replace about a third of CITY’s annual electricity use and are projected to offset more than 14 million pounds of carbon dioxide over their lifecycle. A full LED conversion at the headquarters saves more than 45,000 kilowatt-hours a year and cuts carbon emissions by nearly 58,000 pounds annually. Those results earned CITY its TRSA Clean Green Certification and the TRSA Clean Green Innovation Award.

A Reason to Be Proud

For the people who keep those systems running every day, the payoff is not just lower utility bills. It is knowing the work means something beyond the plant walls, a point Luis Portillo, CITY’s Director of Operations, keeps front of mind.

“You show society and the community that you care about the environment,” Luis said. “It’s a big deal for everyone in the company to say that we’re trying to do as much as we can to have a better world when it comes to sustainability.”

The Work Still Ahead

A legacy worth inheriting also means being honest about what is not finished. Certification is a milestone, not a finish line, and Colin believes CITY and the broader industry still have real ground to cover, especially when it comes to recycling the textiles themselves.

“We’re still replacing cotton and polyester blends all the time, and the options for recycling those materials are really limited,” Colin said. “It’s a huge opportunity, not just for CITY but for the whole industry. We need to step up.”

Naming the unsolved problems is part of the handoff. It gives the next generation- Colin’s kids, Luis’s kids, and Emily’s kids, and every new hire on the plant floor- something real to build on.

A Promise in Every Load

The next time a load of uniform, towels, and mats leaves a CITY facility, cleaned with recycled water, dosed with precisely managed chemistry, and routed to save fuel along the way, it carries more than fresh goods. It carries a promise that started generations ago and is meant to outlast the people keeping it today. For CITY Laundering Co., that is what sustainability has always been about: doing right by the future, one load at a time.

Learn more about CITY’s environmental initiatives