recycled
Wednesday Green Roundup
Here are some of the stories running around the green web this week.
Recycled wood flooring and recycled glass surfaces on Jetson Green-
Glass2 is produced with 99% recycled glass with no resin and can be worked on by stone and glass fabricators.
Staybull Flooring salvages waste wood from lumber mills around the world in more than 20 wood species. The discarded strips are binded using solvent-free and VOC-free adhesives, then milled and finished with a VOC-free ceramic finish for a strong detailed mosaic looking flooring. Pricing can start at $4.50 sqft and can do double duty by also reducing labor costs and construction waste.
Ecogeek reports on the groundbreaking of the nations largest wind farm in California-
Just outside Los Angeles, a 3-GW wind farm project is on track to be operational by next year. Able to power 600,000 Southern California homes, the Alta Vista Wind Energy Center located in the foothills of the Mojave Desert just north of Los Angeles will have the first phase up and running by next year with full completion in about 10 years.
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Magazine Recycled Paper Content
If you love magazines and catalogs, and haven’t transitioned over to a Kindle or e-reader, then you may be interested to hear about how paper manufacturers and magazines are staying eco-friendly. Or not. While some contain 10-15% recycled content and FSC certified paper, most still use 100% virgin paper.
One company stands out in this arena, and is the only paper company in the country capable of doing 85-100% recycled content Mechanical Coated Paper (aka the glossy paper in magazines and catalogs) domestically. Everything else is from overseas, its carbon footprint adding unneeded impact. Not only that, Futuremark has stepped up in other arenas including:
- Providing post recycling remnants to an agricultural supply company that sells 30,000 tons of it a year to farmers rather then dumping them into a landfill.
- Partnering with the City of Chicago and its schools to collect paper and textbooks, paying schools, faith and civic groups, etc, for what they collect.
Many of us have spoken up by signing up for junk mail reducing lists, but for those who still enjoy the occasional catalog or subscribe to print magazines, publishers need to know that this is a concern of their readers.
Environmentally Friendly Golf Goods
A while back, we had a piece introducing the Mirimichi, the first American golf course to be declared a certified Audubon International Classic Sanctuary. An eco-friendly golf course, backed up by the good name of a popular celebrity. There are of course other golf courses that hold the distinction of being considered as eco-friendly in one way or another across the United States and internationally, and an eco-friendly golf course would strike anybody as a great idea, but what about all those people who want to play but don’t intend to fly to Tennessee or the few select locations that boast their connection to the environment? It can’t be expected that every game be played at a location that meets some picky qualifications, and it needn’t be so.
Biodegradable golf balls and tees made from recycled material give people the ability to at least make an individual effort towards the same ends. With tees that biodegrade within a year or so, and aren’t made of wood, an individual effort can be made to the preservation of trees. And balls that quickly biodegrade in water, instead of leading to the deaths of sea-animals that mistake them for something a little more edible, go a long way to the preservation of marine wildlife. What follows than are a few resources for the avid golfer to upgrade his/her collection: › Continue reading
Recycled Airline Seat Cover Bags – Tierra Idea
We have profiled several companies making bags from recycled materials here. You have bags from recycled juice boxes, recycled firehoses, and recycled bags, but here is a new twist I didn’t see coming- bags made from recycled (or repurposed) airline seat covers.
Its crazy to think of all the things that eventually get thrown away, and believe me, airline seat covers were not on my radar. So far, Delta has donated 5,873 pounds of fabric from an estimated 20,000 aircraft seat covers to Tierra Ideas for their varied bag creations. Incorporating recycled bicycle and tractor innertubes and an auto seat belt as the shoulder strap, these bags are truly › Continue reading
Get The Stamp of Green Approval
I used to be a rice bag! Well, not me…
With the weather improving (I’ll take 65 degrees any day!) and it finally feeling like Spring, girls are dusting off their sundresses and flip flops to match. If you are looking for that perfect pair of flip flops, make sure you try on the unique I Used To Be A Ricebag collection from BC Footwear. They are made with love and stamped with approval, featuring an imprint that says “I Used To Be A Ricebag” surrounding a recycle symbol. It’s another type of reusable bag that will definitely gain you a lot of compliments.
The eco-friendly shoe, just like the title says, is handmade from used rice, detergent and various other storage bags. Previously intended to end up in a landfill somewhere, these bags can now show off their unique colors and patterns walking down the street. They feature a cushioned insole and rubber sole and fit true to size. BC makes two types of these chic sandals, the Danke Ricebag and the Earthquake Ricebag. › Continue reading
Green Silence
Exercise is great for the body, but with the right adjustments, we can off-set the waste we produce in powering our TVs and Mp3 players that help satiate our need for a distraction from the fact that we’re working out, as well as the tools we use for the work out itself (i.e. treadmills). That’s how we normally think of waste anyways. Another form of overlooked waste is something much closer and far more vital to most aerobic workouts, namely, what we’re wearing.
Courtesy Maloney & Fox
A company that’s been heralded as a champion for the cause of athletic footwear with a less noticeable carbon footprint is none other than the local Brooks Sports, inc. Amongst their line up of shoes is one that would catch the eye of any avid environmentalist, the Green Silence. Like similar companies going eco with their shoes such as the New Balance eco shoe and biodegradable Simple brand shoes, these shoes are tapping the athletic market. The shoes, consisting of over 75% post-consumer recycled material, also boast a biodegradable insole and collar foams. For a more detailed listing of features, go here.
Stylish Sustainable Furniture in Tel Aviv – Ubico Design Studio
With so much trash and waste in the world, it’s great to see individuals like Ori Ben-Zvi turning into something beautiful and useful.
With stylish and thought provoking designs, Ubico Design Studio has been converting reclaimed materials into works of functional art since February of 2008.
Materials are collected from dumpsters, renovations works and the streets of Tel Aviv, Israel with the intention of urban gathering and reclaiming.
Offering sustainable furniture and accessories from recycled materials with environmentally conscious finishes, Our focus is on generating high quality design with good craftsmanship made solely of recycled and reclaimed materials.
Greening of Seattles Paramount Theater
Seattle is a pretty green city, both in vegetation and environmental awareness (although the lack of public transportation situation is mind boggling), so it is only fitting that one of the most recognizable entertainment icons is getting a green revamp. The Paramount Theater near the heart of downtown Seattle is in the process of a green upgrade, starting with the signature marque sign.
The newly replicated sign will be approximately 90% more energy efficient. Currently The Paramount vertical sign has 1,932 incandescent bulbs using 11 watts per bulb, driven by several large mechanical chasers. The replacement consists of .75 watt LED bulbs with electrical chasers gaining the largest energy efficiency increase. Magnetic transformers will be replaced with Ventex High Power Factor (HPF) electronic transformers to power the neon portions of the sign. These units will save up to 66% of the energy currently being consumed by the neon lights.
