NATIONAL REPORT—Much has been written about the many millions of partially used bars of soap and amenity bottles disposed of each year. Thanks to Clean the World and other nonprofits, a sizable amount of that waste is now being repurposed. But what about k cups, those little single-serve beverage (mostly coffee) pods used in Keurig Green Mountain brewers? According to research by data firm NPD Group, 40 percent of Canadian homes have a single-serving coffee brewer. In the United States that number is closer to 30 percent. An estimated 20+ billion k cups will be consumed in 2015. Many...

VICTORIA, B.C.—AP Plastics Inc. is rolling out its newest single-cup capsule displays for hotel rooms. The 4 and 6 hole (SCF4 & SCF6) K-Cup holders will be part of their proprietary Guest Room Single Cup Display System, and will be available to ship this month.The new “ship flat” displays are manufactured in North America with 100 percent reprocessed and recyclable plastic. Their unique “click open” design reduces both packaging and freight costs.“With the hotel industry commitment to green sourcing, finding appropriate sustainable single cup amenities has been problematic,” says Darren Warner, Marketing Director, AP Plastics Inc. “The new SCF...

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK—A new employee residence in Old Faithful Village in Yellowstone National Park has received a Platinum rating by the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) program. The residence was built by concessioner Yellowstone National Park Lodges, operated by Xanterra Parks & Resorts.The project is the first Platinum-rated certification achieved by a concession operator inside a national park. Platinum is the highest LEED certification level and accounts for only about seven percent of all LEED-certified projects.In order to achieve LEED certification, the project needed to meet stringent sustainability requirements in areas such...

According to a recent National Sleep Foundation survey, 91 percent of all people identified the pillow as being most important to a good night’s sleep (second only to the mattress at 93 percent). Yet very few hotels actively manage their pillow inventory. Currently, most properties leave it up to the subjective opinion of their housekeeping staff to pull pillows out of service when they no longer meet the hotel’s standards. This works for pillows that are obviously stained, or are flat, or lumpy. However, this practice does not allow a housekeeper to know what might be on the inside of...

VANCOUVER, B.C.—G-Kup, a Vancouver based start-up focused on sustainable packaging, announces the closing of its initial seed round comprised of several well-known U.S. and Canadian investors including The Charles Edison Fund (The Edison Fund invested as part of their new mandate of supporting innovation and entrepreneurship), Arlene Dickinson (CEO of Venture Communications and District Ventures, and formerly Dragons’ Den), and Lance Tracey (Co-Founder of Peer 1 and Sutton Group Realty).The initial funding will fuel G-Kup’s commercialization of its 100 percent compostable single serve coffee pod.The G-Kup, which has a rigid design similar to licensed Keurig brands, will work in...

DENVER—Showcasing more than a decade of leadership while taking on the challenge of climate change, global hospitality company Xanterra Parks & Resorts has released its 2014 Corporate Social Responsibility Report, defining and measuring its innovative sustainability improvements. The report also announces ambitious stretch targets for the next decade.The report presents details of improvements measured against goals announced in 2004. The company tracks its environmental performance across all aspects of its operations using an ISO 14001 audited program launched in 2002.Xanterra entities include lodges, restaurants, tours and activities in national and state parks, as well as resorts, a cruise line,...

GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.—Porous Pave, Inc. has introduced eight custom colors for Porous Pave. An eco-friendly green building product made in the United States, Porous Pave is a highly porous, flexible and durable pour-in-place surfacing material. Porous Pave XL consists of 50 percent recycled rubber chips and 50 percent stone aggregate with a urethane binder. Porous Pave XLS is 100 percent recycled rubber chips with a more elastic urethane binder. The custom colors are gray-black, tan-black, brown-black, cypress-black, red-black, brown-tan, green-brown, and blue-grey.“In the decade since we first introduced Porous Pave, landscape architects and contractors have experimented with mixing two...

TAMPA, FLA.—Hasek Communications, the Tampa, Fla.-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Kulvase as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. Kulvase utilizes a patented technology, which cools the water in the vase, thereby minimizing the deterioration of flowers and making them last two to three times longer. Roses frequently are so healthy that they start to grow new leaves and generally last about three times as long—typically about three weeks. Some robust varieties can last six weeks or longer. Kulvase technology diminishes the need to have to change the water, cut the flowers and rearrange the flowers. All...

MEMPHIS, TENN.—International Paper single-use food packaging products now include paper lids. The company announced the launch of new fiber-based lids, a first of its kind to be manufactured in North America, to fit many of the high-quality paper food containers produced by the Foodservice division. The one-piece container covers are specially designed with sustainability, ease of use, and branding possibilities in mind.“More and more customers are looking to take their environmental commitment one step further—they are looking for a total fiber package,” said Tracy Pearson, Vice President and General Manager, Foodservice. “The paper lid is a milestone for the...

NEW YORK—The de Blasio administration earlier this month announced a proposal to require large-scale commercial food establishments to separate organic waste. Food scraps and other organic material makes up one-third of all commercial waste, and diverting this material from landfills—to be used as a soil amendment through composting or as feedstock for clean, renewable energy through anaerobic digestion—will be a critical opportunity for New York City. The City laid out an ambitious plan to send zero waste to landfills and reduce waste disposal by 90 percent relative to 2005 levels, by 2030 in “One New York: The Plan for...