MADBURY, N.H.—Vertal US Inc., a Madbury, N.H. based company that specializes in the design and manufacturing of urban, on-site, in-vessel composters, is now offering its CITYPOD composters. CITYPOD composters’ offer a complete odor control guarantee and numerous technical patent pending innovations that make on-site composting user and operationally friendly. Consumer expectations for socially accepted on-site,in-vessel composting projects are related to total control of odor emissions, ease of operation and profitability.With its new on-site food waste processing technology, Vertal US provides compliance in line with the many new state regulations banning food waste and other organic materials from landfills.John Clifford,...

NATIONAL REPORT—A series of six webinars with topics ranging from water efficiency to green cleaning to window film will launch on March 26 and wrap up on May 21. In total, there will be 18 different presentations throughout the six webinars that are sponsored by the U.S. EPA. The free webinars are being organized by Dan Ruben of Boston Green Tourism and Peter Cooke of the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences. Those who attend all six sessions will be acknowledged with a Certificate of Completion.The following is the schedule for the webinars:Session 1: March 26, 1 p.m to  2:15...

LYNDEN, WASH.—Pacific Northwest-based furniture artist Greg Klassen is set to premiere his River Collection at the upcoming Architectural Digest Home Design Show. River is a customizable collection of modern handcrafted tables that take their name from their inlaid “rivers” of hand-cut blue glass. Made to order and available directly from the artist, River is intended for residential and hospitality environments.Klassen makes each River Table from salvaged trees that would otherwise be discarded, retaining their live edges and inherent grain patterns. His curated inventory of wood slabs include western maple, walnut, elm and cedar. Tables can be ordered in a...

TAMPA, FLA.—Hasek Communications, the Tampa, Fla.-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Pavilion Furniture as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. Pavilion Furniture’s new Ecowood line is made from recycled materials. The slats are a high-density polyethylene, UV-inhibited and resistant to weather types. The frames are powder-coated aluminum. Pavilion Furniture is manufactured in Miami. The Ecowood line features a broad selection of styles and designs including dining sets, chaises, benches, bar stools and table. For more information, visit the Pavilion website at www.pavilion-furniture.com or contact Perry Solomon at perry@pavilionfurniture.com. You may also call (305) 823-3480.

BAY LAKE, FLA.—Harvest Power unveiled the Central Florida Energy Garden, an organics management and renewable energy facility that is the first of its kind in the United States, converting organic waste into renewable biogas and natural fertilizers. The anaerobic digester combines a unique set of proven technologies and will divert hundreds of thousands of tons of waste from Central Florida landfills.Located within the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID), the Energy Garden uses anaerobic digestion—a biological process that relies on trillions of naturally occurring bacteria—to produce renewable biogas. When operating at full capacity, the facility will process more than 120,000...

ITHACA, N.Y.—The Statler Hotel at Cornell University received the 2014 Good Earthkeeping Award, the greenest award bestowed by the New York State Hospitality and Tourism Association. The award recognizes the Statler, which has developed a culture of integrating superior environmental management practices. The honor was given March 3 in Albany, N.Y., at the association’s 2014 Stars of the Industry Gala and Awards Banquet.“This is a very prestigious award, and all of our staff and our student-employees are very proud to have earned it,” says Rick Adie, the general manager of the Statler. “Our initiatives align with the university goals...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Restaurant Assn. is calling on restaurant operators to participate in an online survey regarding how much unused food is donated, composted, or sent to landfills and other waste disposal facilities. The information gathered will be used to help develop new ways to reduce food waste in the industry. “Food sent to a landfill represents lost opportunities to improve management efficiencies, to reduce operating costs, to feed the hungry, to recover valuable resources, and to realize other benefits,” said Laura Abshire, the NRA’s Director of Sustainability Policy and Government Affairs. “To help reverse this pattern, the National Restaurant...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—An emerging online waste removal sourcing agent and management system is tackling the concerns of home and business owners who want to reduce waste and implement a green waste program for their infrastructures. Grid Waste, started by D.C. entrepreneur Walker Lunn (founder of Envirelation, a D.C. composting service provider serving businesses throughout the D.C. metropolitan area), is connecting waste generators nationwide, with green waste haulers. Co-mingled recycling, single-stream recycling, paper and cardboard recycling and even organic recycling/composting are made available via the website’s interface. Understanding today’s society and its increased awareness of the ecosystem, Grid Waste hopes to...

CROSSVILLE, TENN.—Crossville, Inc. has launched SpeakEasy, a porcelain tile collection offering the look of authentic, old barn wood interpreted in a range of contemporary, large format plank sizes. With its modern take on time-worn wood’s appearance and texture, this line is designed for ease in selling, design and specification as an alternative to traditional hardwoods.According to Crossville’s V.P. of Marketing Lindsey Waldrep, the name of the product reflects Crossville’s intention to present a product that reinvents the wood look and is very simple to work with across commercial and residential markets.“SpeakEasy is all about ease of selection...a great option...

BRANDENBURG, KY.—If you are staying at the Southern Grace Bed & Breakfast in Brandenburg, Ky., and can’t finish your tasty breakfast, don’t even think about throwing your food scraps in the trash. The approximately 70 chickens—free range chickens—will be more than happy to eat what you cannot. According to Theresa Padgett, owner of the 15-acre B&B with her husband David, all food scraps are either fed to the chickens or composted. The plate-to-chicken approach to waste management is just one of the ways the B&B owners work to lighten their property’s impact on the planet. In the garden that...