ODESSA, FLA.—Hasek Communications, the Odessa, Fla.-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Intelligent Blends as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. Intelligent Blends is a co packer, manufacturer and solutions provider for the rapidly growing single-serve beverage market. The company’s products—coffee, iced and hot tea, hot chocolate, and ciders—are packed and sealed in recyclable pods. The recyclable pods are comprised of an advanced proprietary blend of #5 Recyclable Polypropylene along with other eco-friendly materials, producing a capsule with a moisture/oxygen barrier that is up to 10 times less permeable than typical Polystyrene cups. Intelligent Blends has packed millions...

LAS VEGAS—Caesars Foundation, a private foundation funded by resorts owned or operated by the Caesars Entertainment company group, in collaboration with Clean the World, the largest global recycler of hotel amenities, announced the successful distribution of soap to 1,000 families across Guatemala in December 2015. The soap was hand-delivered to families by three Caesars employee contest winners, who were chosen to participate in the trip after being recognized for their leadership in community service.The contest winners returned from the week-long trip on December 5, during which time they distributed soap to families at community centers and home visits in...

BOULDER, COLO.—Eco-Products has earned an innovation award for its new compostable plates that solve a predicament for party-goers: how to hold food and drink while shaking hands and greeting other guests.Eco-Products’ Gala Cocktail Plates feature a patented finger grip that allows guests to hold their food and drink in one hand while simultaneously being able to eat and greet with the other. Made from sugarcane, the plates are 100 percent renewable and certified as compostable by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI).The plates earned Eco-Products the Innovation in Convenience Award from the Foodservice Packaging Institute and QSR magazine. Simple & Effective “The...

KEY WEST, FLA.—Waste Management and Casa Marina, A Waldorf Astoria Resort, teamed up to make the Seventh Annual Southeast Florida Regional Climate Leadership Summit a successful, first-ever Zero Waste Event in Florida.At the Summit held in Key West which concluded December 3, Waste Management and hotel personnel worked together to recycle 90.3 percent (1,713 pounds) of all waste generated by the more than 400 attendees at the summit. The remaining 9.7 percent of waste was processed at a waste-to-energy facility and produced renewable energy in the form of electricity.Traditional recyclables (431 pounds)—including cardboard, paper, and plastic items and aluminum...

NEW YORK—CleanBrands LLC, a maker of mattress, box spring, and pillow encasements, announced that it has created the industry’s first Bed Bug Math ROI Calculator, which helps uncover the total hidden costs of infestations. The interactive calculator, showing a return on investment of up to 15x the original cost of professional grade encasements like CleanRest PRO Mattress Encasements, was recently released at HX: The Hotel Experience, held November 8 to 10 in New York.Designed by an accountant for managers looking to increase profit margins, the new calculator app is currently in beta testing and will be available for commercial...

TORONTO—Totally Green Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Cam Carver as Chief Executive Officer effective November 2, 2015. Carver was most recently the Co-founder and CEO of Temporal Power Ltd. As CEO, Cam Carver succeeds Shawn Dym, who will continue to serve as an active member of Totally Green’s Board of Directors.“The Board is excited and proud to welcome Cam Carver as CEO,” said Shawn Dym. “We’ve brought on a proven leader at a time when Totally Green is in a strong position in the marketplace. He brings more than 15 years of experience as a...

AUSTIN, TEXAS—The expansion of the Hyatt Regency Austin’s already progressive green initiatives and forward-leaning sustainability practices have led to increased amounts of waste diversion, new conservation measures throughout the hotel and designation of GreenLeader status by the popular travel site, TripAdvisor.For years, Hyatt Regency Austin has been a green leader in the Austin hospitality industry, from its daily hotel operations, to its restaurant, Southwest Bistro, Marker 10 bar and coffee shop. The hotel was the very first in Austin to have its own compost pulper, and has regularly donated barely used shampoos and soaps to charity since 2011, a...

BOSTON—The Product Stewardship Institute (PSI) has released two new “how-to guides” for recycling scrap carpet and used mattresses to help state and local government officials address the multi-million dollar challenge of managing these bulky products safely, responsibly, and cost-effectively.More than 50,000 mattresses are discarded each day in the United States, the equivalent of close to 20 million annually. While as much as 90 percent of mattress components—steel, cotton, and foam—are recyclable, only a tiny percentage—less than 5 percent—of mattresses are salvaged annually; the rest present operational problems for landfills and waste-to-energy plants. Scrap carpet also poses a looming threat,...

MONTREAL—Arborite, a manufacturer of high pressure laminate, and Wilsonart, a leading manufacturer of decorative engineered surfaces for more than 50 years, announced their combined sponsorship at the platinum level of the Save a Sample! program. Save a Sample! provides a second life for unused brochures, samples, fabrics, and finish cards by delivering them to design schools and students for use in their projects and design work. Arborite and Wilsonart’s combined platinum level sponsorship aids Save a Sample! in its mission to continue to help budding designers as well as the environment.“Arborite and Wilsonart, as companies on the cutting edge...

IRVINE, CALIF.—The Meritage Collection announces a partnership with Clean the World to help fight the spread of preventable diseases. The lifestyle hotel brand now sends discarded soap and bottled amenities to Clean the World recycling centers where they are sanitized and then distributed globally to children and families in need.  Clean the World’s simple mission is to recycle soap from the hospitality industry and save lives through the distribution of these donated amenities. The social enterprise currently partners with more than 4,000 hotels and resorts to place life-saving hygiene products in the hands of those who need them most. Steve...