MORGANVILLE, N.J.—RoomService Amenities (RSA) introduces Green from NATÜRA. This toiletry collection features bottles made primarily from Plastarch Material (PSM), a corn-based biodegradable material and other environmentally sensitive packaging. After years of research in an attempt to find an alternative to plastic amenity bottles, RSA has partnered with advanced manufacturers to develop a process that successfully converts corn starch into a material that integrates the rigidity, toughness and elasticity of traditional plastic. Using PSM significantly reduces environmental impact and promotes a sustainable future.
Plastarch Material (PSM), a biodegradable resin made from corn starch, is designed to supplement or replace conventional petroleum-based plastics. The Earth-friendly manufacturing process emits a nontoxic smoke, which forms into a harmless white residue that can then be used as fertilizer. This modification process creates PSM crystals, which are repeatedly kneaded to increase the material’s rigidity. During this process, moisture is removed and the end product is PSM granules, which can be molded into various shapes for a variety of uses.
This new amenity program, Green from NATÜRA, utilizes bottles made primarily from PSM. The coordinating accessories are also made primarily from PSM and packaged in natural recycled paper cartons printed with soy-based inks. The vegetable-based soaps are cruelty free, and contain no animal fat or byproducts. All of the company’s ingredients have been thoroughly tested and are not environmentally harmful in their expected usage and drainage to sewers and treatment plants.
Careful Attention to Impact
“We have taken extra precaution in examining every fine detail of Green from NATÜRA to ensure it is as Earth-friendly as possible,” says Dennis Summer, executive vice president of RoomService Amenities.
To further emphasize its dedication to minimizing a hotel’s environmental impact, RSA has designed an ergonomically shaped waste-reducing vegetable soap that eliminates the unused center of traditional soap bars.
In June 2008, Xanterra Parks & Resorts, the country’s largest national and state park concessioner, started providing Green from NATÜRA to their guests in the national and state park lodges the company operates. Xanterra Parks & Resorts include Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Crater Lake, Yellowstone, Zion and Death Valley National Parks. In Yellowstone National Park alone, where Xanterra operates nine lodges with more than 2,000 rooms, the program will eliminate more than 280,000 plastic bottles from the waste stream. After careful consideration, Xanterra made the decision to implement the program due to their initiative to reduce global waste and create a cleaner environment.
PSM complies with the international environmental-friendly requirements of ISO14851 (related to biodegradability and compostability), North America ASTM D6400 (Standard specification for Compostable Plastics), US FDA regulation 176.170 and EU EN 71-3:1994/A1:2000. It also meets the degradability criteria of GB 18006.1-1999 issued by the State Administration for Quality Supervision and Inspection and Quarantine.
Go to RSA.
Is this soap available for private purchase? (I used it at Potawatomi Inn, Pokagon State Park, in Indiana, and am interested in purchasing more for personal use. Perhaps it also produced under another name..
Thank you.
I suggest contacting RoomService Amenities directly. Their website: http://www.rsaroomservice.com/