Welcome to the Eco Blog! EcNow Tech’s window on the environmental world. We like to talk green! Our staff are experts in materials, processing, design and green business. We would like to discuss any technical or business topic related to green products. Present your challenges, we have solutions.
EcNow Tech, in partnership with Mirel Plastics, has developed a new compostable bag for the marketplace. The bags have excellent properties at a very affordable price for a BPI certified, compostable bag. The bags come in sizes from 2 gallon up to 96 gallons and have been proven to compost in industrial compost conditions.
Allied Waste recently conducted a compost study in their Corvallis Industrial compost facility and approved the bags. The bags are one of three bags approved by Allied Waste. Soon to follow will be Cedar Grove and the City of San Francisco.
EcNow Tech is working with the McMinnville Public market to move to 100% plant based compostable products. The leader and team which run the market are passsionate about the environment and doing things the right way. It’s the perfect fit for a company like EcNow Tech and we are very excited to help the Public Market move to sustainable products and to close the loop by composting their waste.
On Saturday May 14th, we visited the market and enjoyed the people and wonderful foods offered at the market. This market is one of the most innovative markets in the Pacific Northwest and is really looking after their local economy and people by offering truly locally grown foods.
EcNow Tech is proud to partner with the McMinnville Public Market and look forward to a long and very rich interaction with the people in McMinnville.
Chris
I was in the store a couple of Saturdays ago when a father came in to purchase some Land Ark wood treatment. He had his cute little six year old daughter by his side. We discussed how the Land Ark products are a very pure and natural product. The father looked at me with a smile and said as he applied the product to a chair in the garage his daughter came out and asked if she could help. He said in the past the the answer would have been no as he wouldn’t want to expose her to harmful chemicals and solvents. The father happily handed his daughter a paint brush and they enjoyed finishing the chair together. Afterwards he said a simple wash of her hands under water removed the oils and her hands smelled great for the rest of the day. He can’t imagine using any other products after the positive experience.
In July of 2010 the EcNow Tech Team reached a major milestone with key partners in the Da Vinci Days organization, local volunteers, OSU Campus Recycling and Allied Waste. The three day Da Vinci Days festival in Corvallis, Oregon converted their food court to compostable products, staffed collection bins with volunteers and enabled a dramatic reduction in landfill waste at the event.
Some excerpts from the Report by Andrea Norris (OSU Campus Recycling)
the entire document can be viewed at: http://recycle.oregonstate.edu/resources/da.Vinci.Days.2010.Waste.Initiative.Report.pdf
We had 31 waste stations for attendees.
• 7 were staffed by volunteers during most of the
event (all but after dark).
• 24 stations were unstaffed, located away from
the food court.
• Vendors were provided with their own trash and
recycling receptacles that were unstaffed.
• Each full, staffed station
had 4 bins: compost,
commingled recycling,
trash, and beer cups.
We diverted (recycled and composted) an entire ton
of material (2,004 lbs) from the landfill!
• We diverted (recycled and composted) 27 cubic yds
from the landfill - equal to 4.5 standard dumpsters!
From 2009 to 2010, the festival cut landfill-bound
trash in half, from 6,820 to 3,375 lbs.
• Taking into account festival attendance, our per capita
trash was reduced by 43% from 2009 to 2010.
In total we diverted 64% of festival waste, by volume.
• Trash, recycling and compost were divided roughly in
thirds, by volume.
Is cork flooring suitable for a kitchen?
Yes! It is the most common application of cork flooring today. Because kitchens are higher traffic areas, you will need to follow cleaning regimens more strictly, and refurbish the finish more frequently.
Is cork flooring suitable for a bathroom?
Yes, but you will need to take extra precautions. Floating floors are not recommended- only the tile should be used. After installation it is important to caulk the perimeter of the room prior to installing molding or baseboard. This will prevent spills from damaging the sub-floor or walls.
Are cork floors affected by changes in moisture and temperature?
Just like other wood floors, cork is subject to expansion and contraction in response to climatic changes. As a rule, cork flooring is more stable than wood flooring. Wood floors expand across the grain, concentrating it in one direction. Cork expands/contracts in all directions and with proper acclimation, installation and maintenance expansion and contraction will be less noticeable with a cork floor.
Is it possible to install a cork floor over radiant heat?
Yes. Cork is a natural insulator and will slightly affect the transmission of heat. The floor may take longer to warm up, but will hold the heat more efficiently. Only a floating floor system should be used, and the surface temperature of the floor should never exceed 85 degrees. It is important to follow installation guidelines.
Will my children/pets damage my cork floors?
Cork floors are coated with a finish that can be scratched by toys and pet claws. Only you can know how actively your floors are used. Because cork is resilient and will move away from pressure, the surface will be less subject to abrasion than a similarly treated hardwood floor. Just like any other flooring material, cork can be punctured by sharp objects.
September 11, 2010, Corvallis, Oregon. Corvallis Farmers’ Market, Corvallis Sustainability Coalition Waste Prevention Action Team, Allied Waste of Corvallis, and the Earth Smart Store of Corvallis are partnering in a five-week Mixed Organics Cart Pilot Program at the Saturday site of the Corvallis Farmers ’ Market. The goal of the project is to promote composting of organic material that would otherwise be sent to the landfill. The Mixed Organics Cart made its first appearance at the Sept. 11 market and was hosted by the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition Waste Prevention Action Team. On Sept. 18 and 25 and Oct. 2 and 9, the cart will be located in the food court area of the market and staffed by community volunteers.
This is the first time that there has been a Mixed Organics Cart available for patrons of the Farmers’ Market to use. The idea sprouted when Rebecca Landis, farmers’ market director, visited the Earth Smart Store to learn more about locally manufactured and compostable food service products, such as plates and utensils. “Now that Allied Waste Commercial/Event Mixed Organics Carts accept meat and dairy, as well as approved compostable food service products that the Earth Smart Store offers, it is a great time to test it out in the community,” said Holli Ogle, Earth Smart Store co-owner.
The Farmers’ Market Mixed Organics Cart pilot partners hope to compost a significant amount of waste and set the stage for more waste reduction at next season’s markets. Many of the same community leaders who helped the 2010 da Vinci Days Festival Composting Program divert a ton of trash from the landfill are helping to drive this pilot and continue to look for ways to make Corvallis more sustainable.
Learn how to be more sustainable at your home or workplace and get involved by contacting one of the pilot sponsors. For more information about local manufacturing of compostable products, e-mail Sales@EcNowTech.com or stop by the Earth Smart Store at 160 NW Jackson Avenue. Information about the commercial and residential Mixed Organics Cart offerings from Allied Waste Services of Corvallis is available at www.corvallis.disposal.com. To volunteer with the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition Waste Prevention Action Team, email info@sustainablecorvallis.org. The Corvallis Farmers’ Market can be found on 1st and Jackson, Saturdays through November 20, 9 am to 1 pm and at http://locallygrown.org.
1. Keep vermin that attract snakes out of your pile.
2. Keep meat scraps out of your pile.
3. Keep oils out of your pile.
4. Keep the odor down.
5. Keep the right mixture of nitrogen rich and carbon rich materials. (Keeps the odor down.)
6. Use an above ground composter. (When the pile is off the ground the snakes will not be attracted to the heat of the decomposing material.)
7. Make it physically impossible for snakes or vermin to enter your pile.
8. If you have a dog, let him roam. The presence and smell of a larger animal keep snakes away.
9. If you don’t have a dog, consider getting one and letting him roam. J
10. Not interested in a dog but like flowers? The strong smell of Marigolds and Lemon Grass are rumored to have snake repellant properties!
We just made our first video in a series to educate our customers about bioplastics. Check out the video and let us know what you think.
From an article: Green more than a buzzword for San Diego’s restaurant industry
Read more: http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2010-01-19/environment/green-more-than-a-buzzword-for-san-diegos-restaurant-industry#ixzz0reCX4bBH
Today’s purse strings may be tighter, but folks still dine out regularly. The key is where they’re dining. According to the National Restaurant Association, 62 percent of consumers are more likely to spend their dollars in a restaurant they know is green. Lucky for eco-conscious diners, “green” is no longer a buzzword for many of San Diego’s restaurateurs; it’s simply the way they do business.
“That going green is too expensive is an old notion. It’s a relic from 10 or 20 years ago, from a time when things weren’t as available; when expertise wasn’t there; when systems weren’t there,” he says. “When people say it’s too expensive in any conversation, I challenge them, and our team challenges them respectively. In terms of this issue, standing still is actually the most expensive thing.”
Today I had a customer and friend contact me to have some custom Land Ark stain color matched for a project he was working on. After mixing all natural pigments (no toxic metals or chemicals) in with the base wood treamant oil (made from sunflower oil, tung oil and citrus solvents) I delivered the stain to the project.
The customer removed the lid and couldn’t believe how great the smell was (citrus) instead of the nasty petrochemical soup most stains are made from nowadays. I told him about my projects and how nice it is to not have a headache after working with the stain. He tried it out on some test boards and beamed with the match and the fact that he was going to have a good time finishing his wood.
Today I sat in the afternoon sun, enjoying a beverage in my adirondack chair which still smelled like the citrus solvent. Once per year I have to re-apply some of the natural wood oil and the chair can sit out in the wet Oregon environment with no problems. I have a bunch of home projects lined up and can’t wait to use more of the natural stain. I will never touch another petrochemical stain as the results are better with natural oil/stain and you don’t have to worry about polluting your home with harmful solvents.
Chris
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