SIOUX LOOKOUT, ONTARIO—Most sea shipping containers that end up in the United States or Canada from points west never get shipped back. Trade imbalances can have burdensome repercussions on the environment. Many shipping containers are recycled for their steel but occasionally the containers are creatively reused—even in construction. Case in point is the recently opened Days Inn-Sioux Lookout in Sioux Lookout, Ontario. The 60-room Days Inn, a Realstar Hospitality franchised hotel that is managed by Liberty Hospitality, is comprised of 120 sea shipping containers on two levels. The modular units were prefabricated off-site in Calgary, Alberta by Ladacor Ltd.The...

NEW YORK—The de Blasio Administration announced that as of July 1, 2015, food service establishments, stores and manufacturers may not possess, sell, or offer for use single service Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) foam articles or polystyrene loose fill packaging, such as “packing peanuts” in New York City.After consultation with corporations, including Dart Container Corp., nonprofits, vendors and other stakeholders, the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) has determined that Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Foam cannot be recycled, which led to the ban. DSNY also determined that there currently is no market for post-consumer EPS collected in a curbside metal, glass, and plastic recycling...

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.—Champion Industries, manufacturer of a full line of commercial warewashing systems, announced its newest innovation, the Phoenix Dehydrator, for commercial food waste.The Phoenix Dehydrator can process all organics including: produce, fruits, cut flowers, meats, fat trimmings, fish, paper napkins, coffee grounds, spoiled milks, deli products and some soft plastics, reducing organic waste by as much as 95 percent. The dried remnants are produced as a sterile biomass soil amendment that is easily collected and diverted. Champion’s proprietary technology features accelerated dehydration for shorter processing time and can process up to two batches of food waste a day.The Phoenix...

DALTON, GA.—Displayed in new architectural folders, Tandus Centiva introduces two new styles, Substrate and NuGrain, expanding the company’s luxury vinyl tile products in the marketplace.Substrate is an intuitive new material for the floor plane developed by Suzanne Tick and Terry Mowers with the Japanese concept of finding singular beauty in the transient nature of pared down objects. As a luxury vinyl tile, Substrate brings the look of textile scrim to the floor in an enduring format with the look of irregular fluidity and modest imperfection. With a 32 mil wear layer and deep embossing technique, Substrate has a similar...

POMPANO BEACH, FLA.—Bust Out Products’ new drink coasters Magic Mug Rugs are making a huge impact when it comes to driving down contaminated paper product waste and driving up profits for the beverage and hospitality industries.Magic Mug Rugs is the invention of Mike Meier, a third generation restaurant and bar owner. His 40-year quest to eliminate contaminated bar napkins and pulp-board coasters in his own establishments drove him to create and patent the first totally reusable custom drink coaster. “My colorful Magic Mug Rugs are custom printed, super absorbent, dishwasher safe and completely reusable,” Meier said. “Paper waste accounts...

NATIONAL REPORT—Most chafing dish fuel gels found today are made from corn-based ethanol, methanol and other additives to help the product burn hotter. Methanol is added to make it too toxic for consumption. Fuel gel using methanol and other additives is considered hazardous waste and should be treated as such, several industry experts told Green Lodging News for this article. Methanol gel, according to Don Haldenby, CEO of Ecoflame International Inc., is poisonous and contains dioxin and emits nitrous oxide, arsenic, carbon monoxide and excessive carbon dioxide when burned. It is dangerous to touch and dangerous to the environment...

NATIONAL REPORT—Printer cartridges may not fall at the top of your list of green purchasing priorities but if you approach cartridge purchasing wisely you can help reduce the flow of spent cartridges to the landfill and impact the amount of energy, water and materials spent on cartridge production. The key, according to industry experts, is purchasing remanufactured (a.k.a. reengineered) printer cartridges.“In the United States there is no specific information on where printer cartridges end up,” says Mike Ducey, Vice President, Print Division of Guy Brown, a reseller of remanufactured toner and ink cartridges. “My estimate is that half of...

DENVER—The piece-of-pie shaped Brown Palace Hotel, a fixture in the heart of Denver since 1892, has been undergoing a green transformation the last couple of years that has caught the eye of many. The 241-room property won the Good Earthkeeping Award in 2013 from the Colorado Hotel and Lodging Assn. and the Good Earthkeeping Award in 2014 from the American Hotel and Lodging Assn. While dabbling in sustainability for a number of years—bee hives have been on the hotel roof as part of the hotel’s Bee Royalty Initiative since 2009—it was in October 2012 when good things really started...

LAGRANGE, GA.—Interface has drawn on the natural beauty found in salvaged matter and materials for the design of its new Reclaim carpet tiles. The 25cm x 1m skinny plank series echoes the look of worn, weathered wood, lending interiors a feeling that’s both warm and inviting yet completely modern. Constructed of 100 percent recycled content fiber that combines reclaimed carpet fiber with salvaged fishing nets, Reclaim remains true to its name and at the same time is in lockstep with the company’s Mission Zero promise to eliminate any negative impact is has on the environment by the year 2020....

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Restaurant Association (NRA) named LeanPath Inc., creators of automated food waste monitoring systems, as a preferred supplier of its Conserve sustainability program. LeanPath provides systems which enable foodservice professionals to dramatically reduce food waste, lower food costs and operate more sustainable facilities.  “As part of our Conserve Program, NRA provides tips and tools for restaurant operators looking to minimize food waste to run a more sustainable operation,” said Jeff Clark, Conserve Program Director. “Preventing food waste has a triple-line bottom impact: environmental, social and financial. As a program collaborator, LeanPath will help us connect operators with...