CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes FoodBizSupply.com as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. FoodBizSupply.com is a source for more than 400 sustainable tableware, paper products, catering supply products, to-go packaging, bags, green cleanup supplies, and much more. All products are biodegradable/compostable or recyclable. The website includes a Frequently Asked Questions area with information on PLA (polylactide) corn plastic and sugarcane bagasse, as well as links to information on composting and zero waste. For more information, e-mail rosetta@greenchoicevendors.com, call (888) 740-8831, or go to www.foodbizsupply.com.

SAINT CHARLES, MO.—Pineapple Hospitality, a distributor of green hotel products and marketing programs for the hospitality industry, has partnered with CynerGreen to provide a “bottle free” solution for hotels and meeting planners looking to reduce their environmental impact and carbon footprint. CynerGreen offers a complete line of hydration products and services including: adult and children’s reusable, stainless steel water bottles, HealthyTap natural portable water filters, reusable shopping bags, high volume hydration stations, and certification programs tailored to the hospitality and meetings industry. The company’s Bottle Free solutions pave the way for hotels, cities, communities, organizations, events and schools to eliminate...

MIAMI—Sustainability practices that minimize the impact of restaurant operations on the environment appear to be gaining momentum as the foodservice industry finds ways to measure the return on its investment in green systems and technologies, according to the results of a new benchmark survey from RSR Research. The study, “The Better-Run Restaurant: Environmental Sustainability in Restaurant Retail 2010,” finds restaurant organizations of all sizes hungry for greater efficiency in their operations, particularly those solutions which cut energy costs, reduce wasteful packaging, and can be leveraged to “tell a green story” to diners. While the industry is still struggling to...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Kenyon International as a Green Product & Service Directory Partner. Kenyon International manufactures Kenyon Custom “suite green” compact ceramic cook tops with one or two burners and in 120-, 208- and 240-volt models. The cook tops include “HOT” and “ON” indicator lights. Kenyon Custom’s Lite-Touch Q Outdoors waterproof one-burner cook top and All Seasons Electric Grill for outdoor kitchens are available in 120-volt models. Kenyon International offers a three-year product replacement warranty. For more information, e-mail sowens@kenyonappliances.com, call (860) 664-4906, or go to www.kenyonappliances.com.

TROY, OHIO—Hobart’s new patent-pending Energy Star qualified AM Select Ventless warewasher not only cleans and sanitizes dishware and heavily soiled pots and pans, but it also can save more than $5,000 in energy recovery, reduced HVAC use and the elimination of a vent hood and fan installation. Using only .74 gallons of water per rack, the new AM Select is the first ventless door-type warewasher featuring energy recovery. Operators can save up to $792 per year in energy recovery (based on 200 cycles/day, 360 days per year at an energy cost of $0.011—or 1.1 cent—per cycle). Additionally, the elimination of...

NATIONAL REPORT—With advancements in controls technology and equipment design, washer-extractors (washers) are becoming increasingly more sophisticated and flexible. This is good news for hoteliers looking to save money in a recovering economy. In the race to gain new business, vendors are manufacturing higher G-force machines that spin off more water faster, allowing linens to dry in less time. In some cases, advancements have allowed rinse cycles and dryers to be eliminated entirely. While innovation has allowed vendors to squeeze just about as much water as they can out of the washing process, other advances, especially in software programming, are...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Green Lodging News has just added a new case study to its website. The case study focuses on the LEED-certified Hilton Garden Inn Gatlinburg’s new laundry operations that include two Continental Girbau 55-pound capacity soft-mount washer-extractors, each with an ozone system, and three Continental Girbau 75-pound capacity high-efficiency drying tumblers. Jeff Large of Laundry Systems of Tennessee worked closely with the Hilton Garden Inn to design the on-premise laundry. Over the next five years, the new equipment is expected to save more than $60,000. “The laundry will pay for itself in 48 months,” Large says. “Right now, everyone wants...

BETHESDA, MD.—Now that’s a lot of cooking oil. According to Brad Nelson, corporate chef and vice president of culinary for Marriott International, the company’s hotels in North America generate about 5.5 million pounds of used cooking oil each year. Add in the properties outside North America and that number just about doubles. With so much spent cooking oil to deal with, what’s a company the size of Marriott to do? This past summer the company started a test program at just a few properties in the Washington, D.C. area that resulted in the cooking oil being converted to biodiesel....

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIF.—ClearWater Tech, LLC, a leading manufacturer of ozone generation systems for water and air purification, announced it has received the UL and ULC (equivalent to the Canadian Standards Assn. certification program) safety certification mark for its EcoTex Advanced Laundry Oxidation Systems. Underwriters Laboratories (UL) is an independent product safety certification organization that tests products and writes standards for safety. It has done so for more than a century. Underwriters Laboratories of Canada (ULC) is an independent, not-for-profit product safety testing and certification organization accredited by the Standards Council of Canada, under the National Standards System. ClearWater Tech completed...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Restaurant Association’s annual survey of more than 1,800 professional chefs—members of the American Culinary Federation (ACF)—reveals that local sourcing of ingredients, sustainability and nutrition will be the hottest trends on restaurant menus in 2010. Locally grown produce, locally sourced meats and seafood, sustainability, mini-desserts and locally produced wine and beer top the list of nearly 215 culinary items in the “What’s Hot in 2010” survey. Rounding out the top 10 trends are nutritious kids’ meals, half-portions, farm-branded ingredients, gluten-free/food-allergy conscious meals and sustainable seafood. “No one has a better view of restaurant menu trends than the...