RIPON, WIS.—Who says efficiency isn’t fun? Probably somebody who’s never turned their old dryer into a soda cooler. UniMac, a leader in manufacturing energy- and water-efficient commercial laundry equipment, believes thinking “green” can be loads of fun and has launched its “Tumbler Re-use Project” to prove it. Located at www.unimac.com/promotions/tumbler/, the site takes an amusing turn in offering laundry managers and general managers of hotels and other properties ways to “re-purpose” their old, inefficient drying tumblers. From a soda cooler to a backyard fire pit, the Tumbler Re-Use Project will explore a variety of creative ideas to keep that old...

BOYLSTON, MASS.—Restaurants can now run their operations on waste vegetable oil, thanks to the development of Vegawatt from Owl Power Company. This new product enables restaurants to reduce their need for electricity and natural gas supplied from utility companies by using their waste vegetable oil to create electricity and hot water. Owl Power is a developer of clean energy systems and the Massachusetts-based company has been hard at work for the last four years creating, testing, and now unveiling the Vegawatt, a cogeneration system that uses waste vegetable oil as fuel to generate on-site electricity and hot water. “It’s with great...

HIGHLAND PARK, ILL.—Solo Cup Company announced the introduction of Bare by Solo compostable plates made with sugarcane. The ivory-colored plates feature an on-trend, square design that offers a stylish alternative to traditional round single-use dinnerware. The new plates also offer consumers an environmentally preferable way to serve meals every day or on special occasions using renewable materials that can also reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills. “Being ‘greener’ doesn’t have to equal boring or difficult,” said Kim Healy, vice president of consumer marketing at Solo. “Bare by Solo products offer fresh designs that reflect our consumers’ environmentally...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Ecoflame International Inc. as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. Ecoflame markets a sugar cane-based ethanol, nontoxic heating gel for use in the hospitality, restaurant and catering industries. Ecoflame Gel burns clean and is safe. As most other chafing fuel heating products are derivatives of petroleum and natural gas, they produce poisonous emissions of carbon monoxide, are carcinogenic, include dioxin, and are finite resources. Ecoflame Gel is a renewable resource with no poisonous emissions and is packaged in refillable and recyclable steel cans. For more information, call...

NATIONAL REPORT—For the breakfast area, employee break rooms, meetings, weddings, and instances when “to go” type utensils are needed, biodegradable, compostable spoons, forks and knives should be an option. Many vendors now sell these types of utensils. They are an environmentally favorable alternative to petroleum-based plastics because they are made from renewable resources such as corn, rice, sugarcane, and potatoes. Billions of plastic utensils are sent to landfills every year—destined to remain unchanged for hundreds or even a thousand years. Utensils made from plant-based products, however, can biodegrade in less than 100 days under the right conditions—in a commercial...

PHOENIX—With a focused eye towards being more environmentally conscious, the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel has planted a 120-square-foot seasonal garden on the fourth-floor deck of the 31-floor hotel. In addition, the hotel is working with a vendor to determine possible CFL or LED technology for custom lighting fixtures that currently only work with traditional incandescent bulbs. These two initiatives are amongst many eco-friendly practices of the new hotel, others of which include a comprehensive banquet recycling program, installment of a water filtration system to purify water and reduce waste, and an internal green team that regularly meets to proactively...

RIPON, WIS.—UniMac’s highly efficient drying tumblers and UW washer-extractors with UniLinc control were recently installed in the on-premises laundry at Cavallo Point-The Lodge at Golden Gate, Sausalito, Calif. Cavallo Point employed a broad reaching green strategy in all elements of its major rehabilitation project that turned a historic military fort into a unique upscale resort property. In the laundry, management utilized a water reuse system to reduce its impact on the environment. With the water reuse system and the advanced programmability of UniMac washer-extractors, the laundry is able to decrease water use overall and reuse 70 percent of its wash...

SAN FRANCISCO—Kimpton Restaurants, a collection of 45 chef-driven restaurants in the United States and Canada, and a recognized environmental pioneer, announces three new sustainable initiatives. As the latest addition to Kimpton’s EarthCare program, guests can enjoy in-house purified still and sparkling water, increased eco-friendly wine selections, and sustainable seafood dishes at restaurants in 21 cities. Thirty percent of wine lists will feature eco-friendly selections by January 2010, including organic, biodynamic and sustainable wines from small and large producers. Only sustainable seafood selections will be offered at restaurants, in accordance with Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program (currently in place). In-house...

STOWE, VT.—One of Stowe’s oldest inns has gotten fresh and gone green by joining the Vermont Fresh Network. By partnering with local farmers and food producers to add native ingredients to its restaurants, they’re helping strengthen and preserve the state’s agriculture base. Going local is also part of their long-term sustainability plan. “The name ‘Vermont Fresh’ says it all—the freshest, highest quality ingredients, all grown or produced right here in Vermont,” said innkeeper Patti Clark. “Customers have long recognized the Vermont brand means quality. Here at the Green Mountain Inn, diners now have food choices with meaning, value and a...

NATIONAL REPORT—Last summer, when oil prices were at record highs, thieves were actually stealing yellow grease—used vegetable oil—from storage bins outside of restaurants. Since that time, oil prices have fallen of course but used fryer oil has remained a valuable commodity. Some is still picked up and ultimately used in fertilizers, as animal feed, or in cosmetics, but waste vegetable oil is beginning to be used as a biofuel in cogeneration systems to generate electricity and useable heat. For quite some time it has been converted into biodiesel to power automobiles or even trains. Hoteliers and restaurateurs around the...