CustomEarthPromos - Eco Blog US

The Town Meeting in Massachusetts, which was held on the 22nd of October, 2012, saw the allocation of three thousand dollars to the Wareham Recycling Drop-off Center. It is an additional amount that the voters have allocated to the recycling center. Recycling Committee, which is a volunteer-based association, oversees the operations of this center. The volunteer committee asked the Town Meeting members to vote for an additional three thousand dollars that will be added to the current budget of five thousand dollars. Marilyn Russell, the Recycling Center Coordinator said that the cost of managing and running this center is approximately eleven thousand dollars. Recycling Center Gets Funds from Town and Recycling Processes The Recycling Center receives most of its funds from the town. In addition, the center also collects funds through recycling of redeemable cans and bottles, along with collecting fees for any disposal process of various items. The items that are frequently disposed are tires, paints and plastics. Russell also said that this additional amount of three thousand dollars will be covered through the above mentioned avenues. In the year of 2012, the town didn't fund the salary of most of the recycling center's salaries, including Russell's. The reason for this is that the town is receiving less money in state aid. In June, however, the town came to know it would be receiving more state aid than what was originally asked for. By collecting the amount coming in, the additional amount of three thousand dollars for the Recycling Center will be covered, according to what Derek Sullivan said. Derek Sullivan is the Interim Town Administrator. Eco-Friendly Promotional Items and Recycling Center Help Build a Greener Future Usage of eco-friendly promotional items and practicing recycling is surely bound to help build a cleaner environment for the future generations in the country. The recycling efforts of Massachusetts are quite commendable and the recycling centers are doing quite a good job by encouraging the residents as well. Derek Sullivan feels that the town can afford the recycling efforts, whereas Brenda Eckstrom, who is the former Selectman of the town, argued against it.  Eckstrom argued that the town shouldn't provide more funding to the center as it is considered to be self-sufficient. The money raised by the center through deposit fees is enough to fund the recycling processes, said Brenda Eckstrom.

Walt Himelstein is an environmental chemist in Owings Mills who has invented the Pure Glass Bottle, a strong reusable bottle for eco-minded consumers. The reusable bottle is made of glass with a protective plastic coating to prevent breakage. The History of Pure Bottles Walt Himelstein's initiative began at home where he used his basement and garage as workstations. The entrepreneur is confident of attracting many eco sensitive buyers who would to like have their own environmentally friendly bottles instead of buying beverages in one-time-use containers. Himelstein's entrepreneurial success is mostly attributed to his pharmaceutical training. He had worked extensively with chemicals stored in resilient glass bottles in laboratories before he came up with the idea of making reusable bottles. Walt Himelstein introduced the first reusable glass bottle in 2009 and refined it further to present the Pure bottle toward the end of 2010. The reusable bottle was noticed by Marc Heinke, the president of Precidio Design Inc., Ontario. Marc Heinke met Himelstein at the International Home and Housewares Show held in Chicago in March 2012. Heinke, who owns a company that makes home ware products, was more interested in making water bottles. Himelstein was happy to have found an established businessman to help him sell his reusable bottles in the international market. Since then, the two entrepreneurs have struck a joint deal to sell Pure bottles. Reusable Pure Bottles: The Business of Eco-Friendly Promotional Items The first retail outlet was set up at Baltimore. Himelstein used to receive constant feedback from his store representatives on his new product. Gary Godbey, the store manager said that the reusable bottles were an instant hit with the customers. The company progressed rapidly with valuable suggestions from customers and persistent innovation on the bottle structure. Walt Himelstein had invested a capital of $100,000, but now the same amount is his annual turnover. Walt Himelstein insists that the beverages have a better taste in glass bottles than in plastic containers. Pure bottle is available as a 17. 5 or 25 ounce bottle and is distributed in several wellness centers and health stores. The bottles are now sold on Fab.com, a well known online store. The eco friendly promotional items are sold to exclusive retailers who cater to customers  willing to pay a higher price for glass bottles. Reusable bottles have found a large market in Australia, European countries and North America. The Pure bottles have stiff competition from companies selling steel and aluminum bottles. However, pure bottles have the advantage of a transparent contour. Source

Reusable bags are known to help the environment as they do not pollute the environment like plastic bags and also can be reused and recycled. After using them for a while, you can also wash them and reuse the clean tote. Quite a few cities and counties in the United States of America have imposed a ban on plastic bags, which has increased the usage of wholesale reusable bags and has reduced the rising levels of pollution. Five Cents to Be Donated for Every Reusable Tote Shoppers Carry in Buffalo Grove Buffalo Grove in the state of Illinois, USA has joined the green movement by encouraging the residents to being their own reusable totes, instead of carrying plastic or paper bags. A food chain called Sunset Foods in Buffalo Grove has agreed to donate five cents to all the local schools in the area, for every custom reusable shopping bag the shoppers provide at the checkout counters. Officials of the city are hence, encouraging the shoppers to carry their own reusable bags while shopping at Sunset Foods. Schools in Buffalo Grove Stand to Benefit from the Wholesale Reusable Bags Every shopper who carries a reusable tote while shopping at Sunset Foods, which is in Long Grove, will be helping the local schools of Buffalo Grove. The program that Sunset Foods has initiated is called the Nickels for Nature program. Under this program, Sunset Foods will donate five cents to the schools, per reusable tote customers bring. All the money will be shared by the schools that come under District 103, District 102 and District 101. Sunset Foods has been offering wholesale reusable bags since twenty years, according to what the CEO and President of the company said. John Cortesi, the CEO of Sunset Foods, also said that  providing customers with reusable totes make the people more eco-minded. It is quite an important practice, which benefits not only the community but the entire planet. Long Grove store's aim is to partner with local high schools According to what Cortesi said, the main aim of opening the store in Long Grove was to create partnerships with the high schools of the area. As of now, Sunset Foods is well established with most of these high schools, through the food chain's participation in various fund raisers and charity events. The main aim of Sunset Foods is to target the students and their families in order to help them become more eco-minded and help by giving back to nature. Source

The City Council of Sault Ste Marie is trying to keep the recycling depot afloat by trying to collect funds. It is called the Community Living Algoma Recycling Depot, which is currently being kept active with an annual contribution  of about twenty thousand dollars from the city. The amount collected as funds will be used to offset the Community Living Algoma's program costs. Community Living Algoma's Recycling Depot in 2008 The recycling depot first began in the year 2008, and it basically works towards collecting unwanted Styrofoam and electronics from the city residents. By doing so, the city officials have managed to divert most of the electronic and Styrofoam waste away from the city's landfills. Apart from being a great way to help recycle waste, the recycling depot of Sault Ste Marie's Community Living Algoma provides employment to quite a few clients. The entire program offers the opportunity to let these clients be employed and also helps to grow their transferable skills. Since the time the recycling depot had begun, it has seen some increase in the contribution to the surroundings and the work load. Using Eco-Friendly Items and the Recycling Depot Are Popular Practices in USA So far, the country has noticed that usage of eco-friendly promotional items and practice of recycling are the popular green measures that most cities and counties are enforcing. The city staff has packed and sent out over hundred transport loads of electronic waste, ever since the facility first began.  By doing so, the city has saved landfills from getting dumped with waste and has given an extra 9422 cubic yards of land space. The materials collected for recycling include over thirty two transport loads of Styrofoam, which the entire facility has collected ever since it first began. It is surely seen as one of the best initiatives taken by the city staff in the United States of America, in order to encourage sustainable living and trying to keep the planet clean. Over 1400 tons of materials have been hauled away by the depot so far. The collection of all the materials has resulted in over 4 percent of the entire waste getting diverted from the landfills. In the year 2011, the Community Recycling Depot had signed an agreement with Ontario Electronics Stewardship and the city in order to divert all the electronic waste off the landfills. Source

Shawnee County is launching a recycling initiative in the middle of January next year. Residents will now have to make some changes to their solid waste segregation practices. Customers are spared the troubles of recycling the solid waste; recyclables will be sorted at the material recovery facility at Waste Management Inc. The Recycling Program in Shawnee County A primer will be sent out to all the residents with information on the recyclable and non-recyclable materials.  Lists will also be put up on the bins to indicate what can be recycled. So the responsibility to keep out non-recycles from the bins, weighs heavily on the residents. Addition of non recyclables would contaminate the entire truck load of waste, making it unsuitable for recycling. Residents are also instructed to leave a space of minimum of 3 feet on all sides of the bin for easy clearance. If the residents do not take care to dispatch the recyclables into the bin, the county will have to manually sort out the trash, which would increase the recycling service expenses. It is hoped that a maximum number of residents participate in the recycling program in an effort to minimize the expenses of solid waste services. The program also aims to drive people to adopt healthier lifestyles that involve the usage of environment sensitive products like wholesale reusable bags. Recycling Materials and using Wholesale Reusable Bags in Shawnee County Materials that can be recycled include: plastic bottles, glass bottles, buckets, cereal boxes, aluminum cans, newspapers, phone books, brown paper, corrugated cardboard and tin cans. Remove plastic bottle lids before you throw them. Hazardous wastes such as fluorescent light bulbs, batteries, used oil, paint, pesticides and herbicides should be dispatched a the Household Hazardous Waste facility. Don't throw newspaper bags, food stained aluminum foils, Styrofoam, light bulbs and food waste into the recycle waste bins. Read the educational packet that is delivered along with your recycling bin. The booklet includes answers to commonly asked questions on the recycling program, information about the products that can and cannot be recycled, and about the household hazardous waste program. Use wholesale reusable bags to reduce plastic waste. Exercise care while dumping material into recycling bins; do not throw non-recyclable material that can contaminate the entire trash and cause the trash load to be rejected. Place your trash at a distance of 3 feet from the recycling bin. The trucks require at least so much distance in order to lift and empty the contents of the bin into the truck. Source

Ever since the Solana Beach city council imposed the plastics reduction ordinance in August, the stash of plastic bags and covers has reduced by a considerable amount. Carrying wholesale reusable bags seems to be the new practice in the city, even though the transition from plastics to reusable totes hasn't been an easy one for the residents. The bag ban was adopted on the 9th of May as the City Council wanted to lower emissions, conserve resources and reduce the marine pollution and litter. It went into effect on the 9th of August for only the larger retailers in the city, such as the convenience and grocery stores. According to recent reports from the City Council of Solana Beach, the ban will be extended to include the other retailers as well, starting November 9th. Solana Beach Ban Will Help Eliminate 6 Million Plastic Carry-Out Totes Every Year According to the council members of the city, over 6 million plastic carry-out bags can be eliminated on a yearly basis, once all the retailers are included as a result of this measure. The retailers are however allowed to provide organic paper bags to the shoppers, and are allowed to charge a fee of about ten cents or less per bag. It looks like the extension of the ordinance isn't going to cause many problems as the residents are already getting used to carrying wholesale reusable bags for shopping purposes. Apart from Offering Wholesale Reusable Bags, Solana Beach Retailers Sack the Fee After listening to the City Council's decision, some of the retailers in Solana Beach have decided to not impose a fee on paper bags, as they fear losing their customer base. Solana Beach's city council members feel that this decision is up to the retailer, as long as they recycle. The manager of the city feels that there is a misconception that Solana beach profits from the fee imposed on bags. All the money collected from selling paper bags will go directly to the retailer. It will be used to promote reusable bags instead. By using the money gotten from selling the bags, retailers can establish an incentive program and promote reusable totes. Restaurants aren't included in this program, according to what the council members had to say. So far, the city has received both negative and positive feedback with regard to the bag ban. The feedback, however, has been increasingly positive as the residents slowly become used to the ordinance. Source

The Pizza Division facility of Nestle USA, which is in Little Chute, Wisconsin, is not only famous for its brilliant frozen pizzas but also currently known for its outstanding results with respect to water efficiency. It is one of the best pizza brands in the United States of America and is well known for its operational savings as well. The plant in Little Chute has so far reduced the usage of water by at least 7.4 million gallons annually, by increasing the efficiency and performance of the cooling towers it owns. Cooling towers in the facility were improved using the advanced water-treatment technology that GE, USA had to offer Nestle. Since there are quite a lot of improvements seen, the Nestle facility has earned the Return on Environment Award from GE in the United States of America. The award is given to companies that are recognized for their significant improvements with respect to operational and environmental goals, while also balancing their industrial demands. While most companies are promoting eco-friendly promotional items, Nestle USA is doing its best to practice sustainable business measures. Cooling Water for Pizza Division Industrial Purposes Requires Tight Specifications While cooling water for industrial purposes, there are certain specifications that need to be followed, but the city water of Little Chute is quite challenging due to its alkalinity and hardness. The standard chemical treatment technologies used weren't unable to treat the issues adequately as high concentrations started producing sealing in the towers. Sealer is a residue formed due to inefficient cooling processes of water. Once sealing began, the cooling efficiency eventually reduced and additional maintenance was needed. Also, the older control system made the cooling operations quite difficult and wasn't integrated with the plant's data systems. GE offered its latest GenGard water treatment technology, along with stress tolerant polymer and control for the condensers in the plant. The company announced that all the products offer precise control for water cooling and also help enable more water treatment cycles. As a result, the cooling water at the city facility can be reused as much as possible than what was being done before. By doing so, the company is saving over 7.4 million gallons of water and also is reducing the money on sewer discharges. Eco-Friendly Promotional Items Used in Pizza Division for Cleaning In order to help maintain a balance in the entire ecosystem, the Environmental Protection Agency of the country is encouraging the usage of eco-friendly promotional items for the clearing of water bodies, so that less harm is caused during the process. Source

North Carolina's Environmental Management Commission recently received a complaint from four environmental groups against Duke Energy. In this complaint, the conservation groups requested the Commission to require a clean-up of groundwater pollution near unlined coal ash ponds at fourteen power plants. The plants where contamination was found are owned by Duke Energy. Studies reveal high amounts of contaminants Only days after environmental groups raised a complaint against Duke Energy, Duke University released a study where high levels of dangerous toxins like arsenic and selenium were found in the lakes of North Carolina. Water from rivers that are located downstream from the ash ponds also contained these toxins. An excessive amount of selenium ingestion can cause neurological problems in human beings and physical deformities in birds. Several other harmful toxins like boron, thallium, chromium, etc. were also found from these water bodies. Over 300 water samples were taken from across the state for this study. The pollution found in some of these study samples exceeded the contamination levels set by the Environmental Protection Agency for safe drinking water and aquatic life. The level of arsenic in the groundwater found near Sutton Plant on the Cape Fear River was 27times higher than the state standard. This is located just half a mile from drinking water, yet no action has been taken to clean up the contaminants. Despite distribution of eco-friendly promotional items, NC pollution has risen Several environmentalists from North Carolina took extreme measures to reduce pollution within their state. The outer banks of North Carolina have also imposed a ban on plastic bags. Production and distribution of eco-friendly promotional items and reusable bags became popular amongst the citizens. Despite these attempts to maintain a pollution-free state, the contamination caused by power plants has upset the citizens of North Carolina. D.J. Gerken, the attorney who filed the complaint on behalf of the environmental groups, expressed his disappointment at the utility companies. The utility companies, although perfectly aware of the contamination, refused to take action and clean up the ash ponds. He said that it was an act of irresponsibility towards North Carolina families. So far, no regulation has been created by the Federal Government against contamination by coal ash. The efforts of the Environmental Protection Agency to impose stricter regulation have been blocked because of opposition from these politically powerful utilities suppliers. The environmentalist groups are patiently waiting for the commission to reach a decision on the violation of the state rules. It has 30 days to make this decision. Source

Following its acquisition of Adco Cleaning Products LLC, Equinox Chemicals has recently announced a partnership with Albany State University. In this partnership, the two organizations will be working together for the promotion of an Eco-friendly detergent manufactured by Adco. This laundry product, called “Adco Eco”, is currently not in the market. The Global Soap Project for Eco-Friendly Detergent The CEO of Equinox, Mark Grimaldi, is an avid supporter of environmentally-safe products and their distribution. He said that his company plans on revolutionizing laundry products and creating new market channels both nationally and internationally. He expressed his pride in getting the chance to work with a reputable institution like ASU. Their mutual support of the Global Soap Project further strengthens their unity. The Global Soap Project helps poverty-stricken countries by distributing soap and laundry products. The products distributed are recycled soap from hotels. Over 1000 hotels participate in this project and at least 23 countries are under its aid. ASU declared that its partnership with Equinox will help increase the involvement of Albany State in growing businesses and environmental issues. It also plans on creating more jobs for Albany and the rest of the world. Partnership Aims to Influence Distribution of Eco-Friendly Detergent Equinox is an organization that aims at revitalizing the laundry and cleaning chemical industry. They have made their mark nationally by producing chemicals that are safe for the environment. The new partnership between two environmentally-conscious organizations will promote the production and distribution of eco friendly promotional items. By producing biodegradable, eco-friendly dry-cleaning chemicals and solvents, Equinox plans on making an impact in the global laundry products market. With its main aim being the adoption of environmentally-safe chemicals in cleaning products, the Adco division of Equinox has created this innovative new detergent – Adco Eco. Equinox's partnership with ASU will help bring Adco Eco to the market. The product is scheduled for a test launch in the upcoming ASU homecoming weekend. The faculty advisor of Albany State University expressed the local Enactus chapter's excitement in joining this project. She said that the partnership will be profitable for the entire ASU community. Adco Eco will be marketed using the University's own resources. Before starting with retailers, an attempt will be made to try and get the product into a system under the University of Georgia. The President of Albany State University announced that this venture will benefit both organizations. Source

People in the United States of America are looking for ways to cut down on the amount of plastic and electronic waste they generate while investing in gadgets such as cell phones and mobile accessories. Most residents are going in for e-recycling and are investing in eco-friendly promotional items for gadgets. Cell phones come with a lot of stylish and colorful accessories such as phone covers and cases, which are used by many to protect their phones. Some of these cases are flimsy and some are completely unique, but they all are also the cause for increasing levels of pollution in the country. In order to help protect the environment, mobile phone cases, especially for the iPhone, are being made from earth-friendly materials. Even though the cases and other accessories are wrapped around the exterior of the phone, most eco-minded customers prefer eco-friendly materials used instead of plastic and metal. Popular Musical Instrument Designers Come up with Green iPhone Cases Cell phones are a  must-have in today's world especially the iPhone. A company that designs musical instruments in the USA called Twig Case Co. came up with eco-friendly iPhone cases that fit the bill in every respect. Twig Case Co. creates beautiful and incredible artistic earth friendly phone accessories from richlite, which is a paper composite. iPhone Cases Part of Eco-Friendly Promotional Items List in the US The phone cases are enhanced with elaborate laser carvings, and look quite beautiful and unique. According to the company's website, the paper composite used is produced from Eucalyptus trees, which are harvested from the responsibly managed forests of Brazil. All these activities are FSC Certified. Once the trees are turned into pulp and converted into paper, richlite is dyed and then baked along with an earth-friendly resin. Once this process is complete, you get a consistent dense plant product, which doesn't split and is more like bamboo or wood. The solid paper phone cases will not require any varnish, lacquer, mineral oil or any other type of finish. Jon Lucca and John Woodland are the designers of these cases in the United States of America and they say that the natural oil present in the palms of humans is enough to season the wood case over time. The phone cases can be considered to be fine pieces of art and are surprisingly inexpensive. Custom designs for these sustainable phone cases are available and the starting price is about $49. Source