Eco Blog

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

This week EcNow Tech started up our first production run of locally produced tasting spoons for a local restaurant. This component was chosen as a good manufacturing start-up component and is needed to replace a product which is a great example of extreme waste.

Check out the path of the existing petroleum based tasting spoon: Oil pumped from the ground and shipped a long distance to be refined. Refined oil shipped and converted to polymer pellets. The pellets are shipped overseas to be converted to tasting spoons and shipped back across the ocean to a distribution center. From the distribution center the product is shipped via truck to regional centers and finally delivered to the restaurant. The customer at the restaurant requests a sample of ice cream or gelato and literally uses the product for 5-10 seconds before placing it in a waste receptable where it is transferred to a landfill to sit for thousands of years.

The new plant based tasting spoon starts its life as a plant grown in the mid-west and is also polymerized in the mid-west and shipped to EcNow Tech in Corvallis Oregon as pellets. The material is formed into tasting spoons where it is delivered 1 mile via car (bicycle someday) to the restaurant. After a 5 second life the spoon is placed in a compostable bag and delivered to the compost facility where it will break down to humus in 30-60 days.

The EcNow Tech team is dedicated to the elimination of petroleum based products and delivering truly green solutions for our community and region. Stay tuned for our next innovative products and processes!

Chris

A few weeks ago a local high school senior stopped into the Earth Smart Store and wanted to discuss how we could work together to improve the rate of composting in the community and reduce waste. We agreed that a study was in order to gather data to begin the process which someday will lead to large scale collection and composting of plant based products.

Today three students and I met with our local waste company to discuss the study. Understandably the local waste company believes that home collection of compostable products can not occur in the near future because of the challenge for most consumers to differentiate between petroleum and plant based products. Many of the products look identical and there hasn’t been sufficient education to enable a wide scale implementation of home composting of plant based products.

The students recommended painting a compost bin to make it stand out as different and place compostable products on the receptable to show what can be placed in the bin. They will start at the local high school, working with their peers and educate them on the products which are plant based and can be collected. The goal is send information home to families then expand the collection program to other area schools and to area neighborhoods.

It was agreed that this would be an excellent program to pass on from class to class at the local high shool as the first study will undoubtedly lead to other important steps on the road to wide scale use and collection of compostable, plant based products. I applaud the students who said, “We’ll get this started then pass it on to the next group of kids who want to improve our community.” I’m honored to be a part of the effort and working alongside such talented and great kids!

Chris

Oregon Manufacturing Goes Green and Stays Local

EcNow Tech announces the start of local manufacturing of environmentally friendly compostable products in Corvallis, Oregon. Plant based polymers sourced in the U.S. are formed by EcNow Tech into useful products (food service and other) and provided to area restaurants and businesses. Local manufacturing is a key component to EcNow Tech’s vision for creating environmentally friendly closed loop systems for consumable products and improving local economies.
EcNow Tech believes local manufacturing is more conducive to sustainable and healthy communities. Trends in the United States have been to outsource US based manufacturing jobs to lower cost labor regions of the world. This has led to loss of vital skills, jobs and income needed to sustain healthy communities and economies.
A local Corvallis company, EcNow Tech has a vision for changing the outsourcing trend and improving their community’s carbon footprint. EcNow Tech believes local manufacturing makes good business sense and is better for the environment and the community.
When a product is manufactured, transported, consumed and composted locally it creates less waste and has a smaller carbon footprint. In sharp contrast, large distribution networks operate out of large hubs, use lots of energy and have significantly larger carbon footprints. Petroleum based plastic products have an inefficient life cycle as shown in the graphic below. The life cycle consists of sourcing crude oil, refining the oil, polymerizing the refined oil and creating pellets, manufacturing plastic products then disposing of them in the landfill where they sit for thousands of years. EcNow Tech’s goal is to break the cycle and create a locally sourced, closed loop, life cycle.

April 30, 2010

Lowering our dependence on petroleum based products makes good business sense and improves our community by reducing our carbon footprint and eliminating waste. Less than two years ago a barrel of crude oil approached $150 per barrel. As the world economy and standard of living continues to improve the price of oil will continue to rise. Oil is not a renewable resource and the basic principles of supply and demand will make petroleum based products very expensive in the future. Plant based products which are based on renewable resources are less likely to fluctuate over time.
When global warming and the environment are considered it is clearly better to manufacture, use a product and compost it locally versus expending energy and outputting carbon into the atmosphere when products are shipped long distances. Consumers and business owners have the power to make a sustainable choice and choose an alternative which supports their local community and reduces their carbon footprint.
EcNow Tech was started in 2008 and has a mission to eliminate our dependence on petroleum based products. The company’s goal is to steadily increase its ratio of locally manufactured products to those purchased overseas. To learn more about EcNow Tech visit our website at www.econwtech.com or stop by the Earth Smart Store located at 160 NW Jackson Ave, Corvalllis, Oregon.
Contact: chris.vitello@ecnowtech.com

Clear Tip of the Week

http://campaign.constantcontact.com/render?v=001907B4yRClb82fN8M5HbLRtdXFQnH2SIrNryR9er37gMXu-WTiZpdxdYl-jAil_Wpw8hc0iyJtkpgPAhPPju7ubfo5NYgavfT8llTXxSHwDsx-KFEsjiUADn6M6YyIZwNu0YxQSZOE-0%3D

from A Clear Place

Getting rid of stuff that no longer serves a purpose is only one part of having a clear place. Another, equally important part, is being mindful about your purchases. I love finding fun and useful items that are eco friendly and multi-purpose. And last weekend, I discovered a place that is clearly a wonderful resource for just those kinds of things!

The Earth Smart Store is dedicated to green home products, compostable foodservice items and sustainable building products. Located in Corvalis, OR, the storefront provides retail items to take home and serves as a showroom for green building needs and wholesale restaurant products. Paul Nash, VP Engineering, gave me an impromptu tour of the warehouse and explained the company’s mission and purpose. Paul and his partner and their wives run the business with an eye on the community. “We are very much about being in touch with the locals. We listen to their needs and design accordingly.” EcNow Tech is the design side of the business providing, for example, compostable clam shell “take out” boxes to all the area restaurants. “It’s not about being the biggest,” states Paul. “We believe that the future of business is in keeping a small footprint. Serving the community and knowing your customers first hand. Once the template is operational, then you can take it to any town and apply the same standard of service and quality to that local community.” If you are fortunate to live within drive time to Corvalis, stop in and check out the great energy and green products. If not, visit their website to view the vast array of items. They happily ship anywhere!

Show below are just a few of the cool things I found at the store. Thanks for sharing, Paul, and thanks to all of you at Earth Smart for your efforts in making our earth home a clearer place for everyone!

The Dish Dumpling
Don’t you just love that name? This is a 100% biodegradable scrubber for pots and pans. The inner sponge is wrapped with tough agave twine so it holds up forever. 3.4″ square. Retails for $3.99.
Another scouring pad, the Loofah Scrubby is the same size as the dumpling but this time the sponge is wrapped with loofah. It, too, is biodegradable and dye free.

The Mabu Multi Cloth is made from 100% wood fibre and is naturally bacteria resistant. It’s super soft and absorbent and machine washable. Paul says his customers love how it feels SO much they even use it to remove make-up.
The 12″ square cloth retails for $2.25.

You might remember reading a recent Clear Tip where I talked about the importance of knowing the source of your candles and essential oils. I noted that even soy candles only have to have 1% of soy in them to wear that label (which means 99% can still be parafin). Earth Smart carries the real deal called Naked Soy. Handmade here in Portland. A great gift idea, I got a large square pillar in a beautiful lime green glass holder made in Spain by Ecoglass. Retail price for both candle and holder is $12.00.

I spied these large sacks of clay in the warehouse - believe it or not their contents can transform your space with heavenly wall colors. Take a look at the options below - imagine having these lush textures and serene tones wrapped around you. Paul explained what a perfect choice clay is for the shower walls. The clay absorbs the moisture and then naturally dries out again. Brilliant!

The clay goes on with a trowel and the finish can be silky smooth or rough like stucco depending on the look you want to create for your room. Doesn’t this just call out to the artist in you?

Speaking of art, the folks at Earth Smart collaborate with a local craftsman who fashions everything from frames to furniture out of recycled barn wood. The products are amazing and VERY affordable. Unique, sturdy, beautiful and earth friendly … doesn’t get any better than that. And if you don’t see what you are looking for, you can order a custom made piece.

Last, but not least, I have to mention the beautiful green flooring options - like the cork shown on the right. I was standing on this and thought it was wood. The rich hues and depth of color make it a perfect choice for enhancing your home or business. How does it hold up? The store has had it in their heavy traffic area for over three years - and it still looks brand new.

Learn more about these and so many other green products and building options at
The Earth Smart Store - or you can email Paul directly with your questions at PaulNash@EcNowTech.com. Here’s to mindful choices and clear living!

Did you miss last week’s Clear Tip?

Click below to read about another wonderful office transformation!

The doctor will see you now … in a clear place.

EcNow Tech was honored to be a part of the sustainability town hall on March 10, 2010. All the food service products were donated by EcNow Tech and commposted ensuring that the event was a zero waste event. By coincidence I ran into a reporter as I placed my bicycle in a bike rack at the event. The transcript appears below and can be viewed at.
http://www.klcc.org/Feature.asp?FeatureID=1641

Town Hall Encourages Recycling, Composting
3/12/10
By Laura McCandlish

The Corvallis Sustainability Coalition gathered hundreds of residents Thursday for a town hall meeting. They were encouraged to travel by green means to the “zero waste” event.

Chris Vitello: “I rode my bike through the pouring rain, about 2.5 miles, and I was amazed when I pulled up, there was no place to park because there were so many bikes here.”

I met Chris Vitello of the coalition’s waste reduction team by the bike racks.

Though many biked and walked to the meeting, more drove. Few took the bus. Greeters collected transportation stats at the door.

Door greeter: “Hi, are you just arriving? We’d like to find out how you got here. Did you bicycle, walk?

Attendee 1: “Oh, I drove tonight.”

Greeter: “By yourself? Ok so one in a car… Ok, so you also used your car?”

Attendee2: “Uh-huh.”

Greeter: “Specifically for the purposes of getting here?”

Attendee2: “And I did 3 other errands at the same time. But I’m coming from Albany.”

Greeter: “Ok, so a car trip was involved?”

Attendee2: “yeah, just by myself. Worst. Sorry.”

Laura McCandlish: “How do the results look?”

Vernon Huffman: “Well, it’s kind of disturbing just how many people are getting here alone in their car.”

McCandlish: “Do you think the weather has anything to do with it?”

Huffman: “I’m sure it does. I think even more our addiction to motor vehicles. A lot of people really think they need a car.”

That’s Vernon Huffman, a bicycling advocate and one of the greeters.

Inside the forum, held in a ballroom at Oregon State University, I met up with Chris Vitello again. His team pushed for food scrap recycling. Corvallis was the first city in Oregon to offer the curbside service.

Vitello: “The sustainability coalition was instrumental. When the contracts were coming up, they made sure the city included that as part of the requirements. So it’s a huge improvement, converting all that waste that is now golden compost.”

Residents huddled around dozens of tables to discuss their sustainability goals. Vitello was a discussion leader. His green home business is one of the coalition’s over 160 member organizations.

Vitello: “We should include the word composting in here. So the goal is to recycle and compost up to at least 75 percent by 2020. It’s currently 50, so 75 percent might be a low bar.”

Last year, the coalition urged residents and businesses to sign up for free energy audits. They’re asking for input on a new challenge for this year. A car-free day, a campaign to support restaurants serving local foods or low-carbon dieting are options on the table.

All this through the work of volunteers. Corvallis Mayor Charlie Tomlinson commended their efforts in a closing address.

Tomlinson: “We can do it from the top down and develop public policy to try to encourage people to do things. But I have come to believe that the energy and enthusiasm that you have for this effort is much more important than the public policy we can put in place.”