NEW ORLEANS—More than 200 non-biodegradable fiberglass trash cans, once destined for a landfill, have found a new life as bright yellow-green recycling bins at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. In an effort to be more environmentally-friendly, the Convention Center sought to replace their existing trash cans with 210 new recycling bins for paper, plastic, and waste. As the trash cans were about to be put out to pasture, enterprising Convention Center employees stepped in with an innovative idea for repurposing the 25-year-old trash cans. During a brainstorming session, operations staff members suggested that the Convention Center’s existing...

BERKELEY, CALIF.—VASKA, a Berkeley, Calif.-based producer of green, botanically-based laundry care products for the commercial, institutional and consumer markets, announced that Royal Laundry of South San Francisco, the largest privately owned commercial laundry on the West Coast, is washing one million pounds of laundry a week using Vaska’s green laundry solutions in its three state-of-the-art tunnel systems. Royal Laundry washes laundry for more than 100 Northern California hotels. Royal Laundry has been a major commercial laundry service provider in the Bay Area for 47 years. When Royal began to encounter challenges with its previous chemical supplier, Don Luckenbach , Royal’s...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—People are buying more green products—8.4 percent more last year than in 2007. But shoppers are confused and frustrated by false and misleading claims and indecipherable ingredient lists on labels. With this in mind, Green Seal has developed a standard to help consumers identify what is really green and what isn’t when shopping the personal care aisle. After 18 months in development, Green Seal announced that products can now be Green Seal certified under its environmental leadership standard for soaps, cleansers, and shower products. It’s the first-ever standard to comprehensively address the health, environmental, and labeling concerns...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Green Lodging News has just added a new case study to its website. The case study focuses on the Nottawsaga Inn Resort in Alliston, Ont., and how it implemented new dehumidification technology from Dectron Internationale to eliminate the challenging eye and lung irritation nuisance of every indoor pool—chloramines. The year-round convention/resort facility 40 miles north of Toronto includes Canada’s first indoor pool facility to use gas-phase air purification—part of its new dehumidifier purchase—to combat chemical odors that are common among natatoriums. Indoor air quality (IAQ) improved quickly and significantly as a result of eliminating chloramines. “Within 48 hours of...

FRANKLIN, TENN.—Franklin, Tenn.-based Leak Beeper installed their patented, toilet-leak detection devices in Metro Manor Apartments, a 170-unit building in Nashville, Tenn. over a three-week period from mid-October to early November. With nine months of complete usage data available after the installation, the Leak Beeper was able to reduce the building’s water consumption by a monthly average of 37 percent. Specifically, gallons of water used per unit, per day fell from a pre-installation average of 81.9 gallons to a post-installation average of 52 gallons. Pre-installation average total gallons per day used by the building fell from 13,930 gallons to a...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—As part of LEED v3, the latest version of the U.S. Green Building Council’s program for green building design, construction, operations and maintenance, buildings seeking LEED certification will begin submitting operational performance data on a recurring basis as a precondition to certification. “Today there is all too often a disconnect, or performance gap, between the energy modeling done during the design phase and what actually happens during daily operation after the building is constructed,” said Scot Horst, senior vice president of LEED, U.S. Green Building Council. “We’re convinced that ongoing monitoring and reporting of data is the single best...

BURBANK, CALIF.—A new UVC Kit for Air Handlers from Steril-Aire, Inc. may be used in a wide range of HVAC applications to destroy microorganisms including flu viruses, bacteria and mold. The easy-to-install kit delivers Steril-Aire’s proven UVC technology to fan coil units, unit ventilator systems and indoor air handlers with coils up to 84" (213.4 cm) with dual access. It delivers energy savings on retrofit installations, maintains factory design efficiency on new units, and improves indoor air quality and infection control in all systems. Applications include air handlers serving patient rooms, classrooms, hotel/motel rooms, apartments and condominiums, and offices in...

BLOOMINGTON, IND.—The Ashkin Group’s new sustainability workshop, The Operational Approach to Sustainability, was recently accepted into the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Education Provider Program. This program allows facility managers and others to access “high-quality, peer reviewed courses for professionals seeking to enrich their knowledge of green building theories, techniques, practices, and trends,” according to the USGBC. The half-day workshop was developed by Stephen Ashkin, president of the Ashkin Group, and Cynthia Schultz, the organization’s director of Sustainability Practices. According to Ashkin, the goal of the program, which is designed for the professional cleaning industry as well as other industries,...

PETERBOROUGH, ONT.—Enviro-Solutions, a leading manufacturer of green cleaning chemicals and products, is pleased to announce the addition of three new distributors representing the company in the Midwest and New England: Great Lakes Sanitary Supply, Michigan City, Indiana; Inlander Brothers, Chicago; and Lakeside Products, Plattsburg, N.Y. Mike Sawchuk, vice president and general manager of Enviro-Solutions, also reports that Enviro-Solutions has experienced strong and steady growth over the past two years, despite the difficult economy. “It’s an indication that green cleaning is alive and well in most areas of North America,” he says. “I am especially excited about these new distributors. They have...

SHEFFIELD, MASS.—Cypress Bath & Bed, a leading designer and manufacturer of luxurious bathrobes, towels, slippers, and sheets for the hospitality and spa industry, is experiencing a steady and increased adoption of their recently introduced Green Earth towels by California hoteliers. Due in part to the rising energy and water costs associated with laundering standard hotel and spa towels, California hotels have found a way to provide luxury linens, while reducing their operational costs. For these environmentally conscious hoteliers, the definition of product quality involves addressing and mitigating the energy and water costs it takes to launder, while not sacrificing...