CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes PestWest LLC as a Green Product & Service Directory Partner. PestWest is currently offering its Vapor Vacuum Lamp Compacter for the disposal of fluorescent lighting. The Compacter contains used lamps in a secure container, while at the same time removing the hazardous mercury via a specially designed filter system. PestWest also offers professional insect light trap systems and other flying insect management products. For more information, call (941) 358-1983, e-mail info@pestwest.com, or go to www.pestwest.com.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.—My Emissions Exchange announced the start of a new global market for individual households and businesses to reduce their personal carbon emissions and be eligible to earn money for their efforts. On MyEex, members first measure their personal carbon footprint and learn ways to reduce emissions. Once reductions are made, as verified by the user’s utility bill, the reductions are certified by MyEex. MyEex then sells the credits on the voluntary market, and the member earns money from the sale of their carbon credits. Membership in MyEex.com is free. My Emission Exchange’s approach to carbon...

NORTH WALPOLE, N.H.—Len-Tex Corp. announced that its entire line of contract wallcoverings has been certified to meet the indoor air quality (IAQ) standards of California’s Section 01350 for low VOC emissions. This specification developed by the state of California measures key environmental performance in building materials, primarily interior finish products. All Len-Tex wallcoverings meet the standards outlined in the section’s IAQ testing protocol, which stipulates that independent laboratories test materials for chemical emissions. In addition, Len-Tex wallcoverings have also been certified to meet the stringent criteria of the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS section 01350) in...

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...

SAN DIEGO—HD Supply Facilities Maintenance, a supplier of maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) products to the multifamily housing, hospitality, and healthcare industries, has released its new Commercial Product Line Catalog, a 224-page document with more than 3,000 products for use in mid- and high-rise buildings. “Commercial product expansion is one of our key initiatives for 2009,” said Robin Soehl, vice president, marketing and business development, HD Supply Facilities Maintenance. “During these challenging economic times, our customers are looking to reduce the number of suppliers they do business with to streamline their purchasing process. The stocking of these products enhances our...

MILWAUKEE—Timber Holdings International, the original Iron Woods brand of naturally durable hardwood products, announced a partnership with MEISTER of Germany to be the U.S. distributor of the first Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified laminate flooring line for the United States. The new flooring is suited for both commercial and residential buildings, and complies with LEED requirements set forth by the U.S. Green Building Council for green buildings. The laminate line includes both cork backed (9.3 mm) sound-absorbing, and non-cork backed (8mm) products in 4" and 5 1/2" widths. This floor is produced using the newly-developed direct printing technology, so there...

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...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Two new lamps from GE Consumer & Industrial—a 7-watt GE Energy Smart LED PAR20 lamp and a 10-watt GE Energy Smart LED PAR30 lamp—enable restaurants, retailers and other commercial customers to make significant strides toward general lighting with white light-emitting diodes (LEDs). These products, available as spots or floods, feature advanced optical control to concentrate the white LED light on the targeted area and effectively diminish wasted extraneous light. “One noticeable technology achievement is the superior beam,” says Gus Lanese, manager of growth initiatives, GE Consumer & Industrial. “It’s a better directed light. Some retailer customers have already purchased...

LAKE ELMO, MINN.—PTAC MAGIC, which specializes in the installation and recycling of Packaged Terminal Air-Conditioning (PTAC) units for hotels and resort properties, announced that it is now offering free pickup of working PTACs to hoteliers across the United States. According to David Triemert, president of the Lake Elmo, Minn.-based company, the majority of PTAC air conditioners that are replaced with new units during hotel renovation projects may still have a useful life. Triemert says he receives a number of phone calls each day, about half from motel operators, who are interested in inexpensive, used PTACs. Triemert tries to source local...

SUNNYVALE, CALIF.—UL Environment Inc. announced it has validated environmental claims for Serious Materials’ new drywall product, EcoRock. This represents the first validation of claims by UL Environment since its launch in January 2009, and the first product in the 115-year history of Underwriters Laboratories (UL) to receive an Environmental Claims Validation. UL Environment is a wholly-owned subsidiary of UL, a world leader in product safety testing services. UL Environment validated Serious Materials’ environmental claims for EcoRock by performing assessments and laboratory tests. An audit was conducted for recycled content, environmental chamber tests were performed to determine volatile organic compound (VOC)...