DENVER—Ice-O-Matic, a leading global manufacturer of ice machines, storage bins, and dispensers announced the appointment of Keith Kelly as President, effective February 1, 2015. In his new role, Kelly will be responsible for the day-to-day management of Ice-O-Matic and will report directly to Rich Gleitsmann, Chief Operating Officer of Ali Group North America.Kelly has an extensive background in the commercial foodservice equipment industry, including four years leading InterMetro’s international business and over 10 years at Ice-O-Matic as Vice President of Sales & Marketing. He most recently served as Executive Vice President at Ice-O-Matic.Kelly earned both a Bachelor of Arts...

MCLEAN, VA.—Hilton Worldwide announced Meet with Purpose, a concept designed to make it easier for meeting professionals to reduce waste and incorporate health and wellness into meetings and events. Meet with Purpose provides meeting professionals with sustainable choices to incorporate into events that not only enhance the experiences of attendees, but also align with many customers’ corporate responsibility goals. Inspired by Hilton’s corporate responsibility strategy, Travel with Purpose, Hilton gathered feedback from customers and sales Team Members to identify the most pressing sustainability issues for meetings and events. To meet these needs, Hilton created Meet with Purpose, supported by...

JOHNSTON, S.C.—Riegel div. Mount Vernon Mills, Inc. is turning plastic bottles into durable table linen. RieNu by Riegel is a 100 percent recycled polyester linen produced from Eco-Sure, a 100 percent post-consumer recycled PET as confirmed by Scientific Certification Systems. Simply put, one 20 x 20 napkin made from RieNu recycled polyester fabric eliminates three 16 oz. plastic bottles from our landfills. RieNu by Riegel aims to look and feel as touchable as Premier, a 100 percent spun polyester product. Quality tested and proven to perform equally as well, RieNu by Riegel is proven to maintain Premier’s high quality standards...

NEW YORK—The de Blasio Administration announced that as of July 1, 2015, food service establishments, stores and manufacturers may not possess, sell, or offer for use single service Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) foam articles or polystyrene loose fill packaging, such as “packing peanuts” in New York City.After consultation with corporations, including Dart Container Corp., nonprofits, vendors and other stakeholders, the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) has determined that Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Foam cannot be recycled, which led to the ban. DSNY also determined that there currently is no market for post-consumer EPS collected in a curbside metal, glass, and plastic recycling...

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.—Champion Industries, manufacturer of a full line of commercial warewashing systems, announced its newest innovation, the Phoenix Dehydrator, for commercial food waste.The Phoenix Dehydrator can process all organics including: produce, fruits, cut flowers, meats, fat trimmings, fish, paper napkins, coffee grounds, spoiled milks, deli products and some soft plastics, reducing organic waste by as much as 95 percent. The dried remnants are produced as a sterile biomass soil amendment that is easily collected and diverted. Champion’s proprietary technology features accelerated dehydration for shorter processing time and can process up to two batches of food waste a day.The Phoenix...

NEW YORK—The International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York is an all-encompassing event for thousands of restaurant, foodservice and hospitality industry professionals from throughout New York and the tri-state region. In 2015, Urban Expositions, owners of the event, along with the event’s sponsor, the New York State Restaurant Association, are excited to offer several ways for vendors and restaurateurs to participate in this trade show and conference scheduled for Sunday, March 8 to Tuesday, March 10 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City.“We invite restaurant owners, operators, caterers, and chefs to join over 16,000...

CHICAGO—Environmental sustainability, sustainable seafood and food-waste reduction are among the top trends at restaurants in 2015, according to the National Restaurant Association’s annual What’s Hot culinary forecast. The NRA, as it does every year, surveyed approximately 1,300 professional chefs—all members of the American Culinary Federation—to determine the industry’s hottest trends, and in 2015 sustainability is going to be center of the plate, the respondents said.“We’ve been seeing strong trends toward sustainability in the food space for several years now and that’s going to continue to grow,” said Annika Stensson, the NRA’s Senior Manager of Research Communications. “Chefs and restaurateurs...

POMPANO BEACH, FLA.—Bust Out Products’ new drink coasters Magic Mug Rugs are making a huge impact when it comes to driving down contaminated paper product waste and driving up profits for the beverage and hospitality industries.Magic Mug Rugs is the invention of Mike Meier, a third generation restaurant and bar owner. His 40-year quest to eliminate contaminated bar napkins and pulp-board coasters in his own establishments drove him to create and patent the first totally reusable custom drink coaster. “My colorful Magic Mug Rugs are custom printed, super absorbent, dishwasher safe and completely reusable,” Meier said. “Paper waste accounts...

NATIONAL REPORT—Most chafing dish fuel gels found today are made from corn-based ethanol, methanol and other additives to help the product burn hotter. Methanol is added to make it too toxic for consumption. Fuel gel using methanol and other additives is considered hazardous waste and should be treated as such, several industry experts told Green Lodging News for this article. Methanol gel, according to Don Haldenby, CEO of Ecoflame International Inc., is poisonous and contains dioxin and emits nitrous oxide, arsenic, carbon monoxide and excessive carbon dioxide when burned. It is dangerous to touch and dangerous to the environment...

TAMPA, FLA.—Hasek Communications, the Tampa, Fla.-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Agaia, Inc. as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. According to Agaia, Evolve is the first all-natural, green cleaning technology proven in both lab testing and customer use to match or exceed the performance of petroleum-based Jan-San cleaners and laundry detergents. Five products have received the coveted Green Seal certifications: All Surface Cleaner, Glass & Window, All Duty Industrial 203, Hard Water & Scale Remover, Laundry for Industrial and Institutional Use. Call (800) 992-4242, e-mail learnmore@agaiainc.com or visit www.agaiainc.com.