VALLEY CENTER, CALIF.—The Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians announced the completion of a 1 Megawatt solar plant that provides enough power to run approximately 90 percent of the Harrah’s Rincon Casino & Resort’s heating ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC). The plant reduces grid consumption, curtailing enough energy to power about 2,200 homes. The 3,936-panel solar field, which was manufactured and installed by Suntech, will produce enough energy to offset almost a quarter of the casino’s total power consumption. Bo Mazzetti, chairman of the Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians, said he is grateful for the leadership that the Harrah’s Rincon team...

BROOMFIELD, COLO.—RockResorts and Vail Resorts Hospitality are tapping into a new program, “Water on the Rocks,” to eliminate nearly all plastic water bottles in guest operations. RockResorts properties from Vail to St. Lucia and Vail Resorts Hospitality properties in all four Colorado mountain resorts—Vail, Keystone, Breckenridge, and Beaver Creek—are expecting to save an estimated 640,000 plastic water bottles from the waste stream thanks to the “Water on the Rocks” program. It eliminates plastic water bottles from guestrooms and offers hotel guests reusable water bottles with refilling stations. Started at The Pines Lodge, A RockResort luxury property located in Beaver Creek,...

BOSTON—The Comfort Inn & Suites Logan International Airport, a Saunders Group Hotel, is nearing completion of a multi-million dollar eco-driven renovation. Today more than 90 green practices are in place including in-room recycling bins, a food waste composting program that engages guests, a laundry ozone system that eliminates most hot water usage, spa-quality shampoo and soap dispensing systems that eliminate 270 thousand small bottles from entering the waste stream, a pool ionizing system which makes the water sparkling clean without unhealthy chlorine, and a small fleet of CNG (compressed natural gas) shuttles. To promote excellent indoor air quality, the...

PORTLAND, ORE.—GleenGlass LLC, a manufacturer of recycled glass surfaces, recently completed recycled glass bathroom vanities and reception counters for The Oxford Hotel in Bend, Ore. Inspired by the cosmopolitan mountain town of Bend, The Oxford Hotel was designed and built to incorporate local, environmentally friendly products that reflect the ambience of the Cascade Mountains and Central Oregon region. GleenGlass was selected to create handcrafted recycled glass vanities that would capture the look and feel of a high desert river. “The goal of The Oxford Hotel’s vanity design was to provide a surface that was clear and would have enough...

NEW YORK—FoodBizSupply.com has become the first nationwide, online source for the GreenBox pizza box, environmentally friendly pizza to-go packaging available to pizzerias, restaurants, cafeterias, and foodservice companies. Designed by e.c.o. Inc. the patented GreenBox has received extensive traditional and social media coverage, including a positive review on Twitter from actor Ashton Kutcher and a YouTube video with more than 800,000 viewings. The GreenBox is made in America from 100 percent recycled post-consumer content. The box top perforates into four rectangular “plates,” eliminating the need for paper plates or the energy/water usage from cleaning regular plates after the meal. The...

WYLIE, TEXAS—Carlisle Coatings & Waterproofing Inc. (CCW), a leading manufacturer of waterproofing materials, announces its new and improved CCW-500 hot-applied waterproofing membrane. The new patent-pending formulation utilizes a post-industrial renewable resource that results in a membrane with superior flexibility and crack-bridging ability when compared to membranes produced using older technologies. The CCW-500 membrane is a single-component, 100 percent solids, rubberized asphalt compound which, when set after application, forms a durable yet flexible monolithic waterproofing membrane conforming to stringent building specifications. “Our goal was to improve performance and try to reduce our dependency on petroleum-based materials,” CCW general manager Jason Covington said....

DALLAS—Prota Culture, a waste management solutions company, announces the launch of BioPod Plus, a highly advanced compost bin that utilizes native grubs to speed up the bioconversion process. The BioPod Plus provides a unique composting experience that recovers valuable proteins and lipids for domesticated animals and wildlife. Unlike traditional composting that slowly breaks down food and yard waste to create soil for yards, grub composting is a rapid process that produces nutritious feed for chickens, fish and songbirds. “With the unveiling of BioPod Plus, composting food waste will be taken to the next level, as improvements for ease of use...

NATIONAL REPORT—Whether for disposing of trash or for holding items purchased in a hotel or resort gift shop, bags—unless they are used over and over again—have historically been a detriment to the environment. There are not a lot of things that are created just to be thrown away but most bags fall into this category. Plastic bags account for 10,000 tons of landfill space in the United States. It takes a thousand years for a plastic bag to naturally degrade. Less than 1 percent of plastic bags are recycled each year. Plastic bags are blamed for the annual death...

CHICAGO—In honor of Earth Day 2010, PoopBags, Inc., which sells 100 percent biodegradable dog waste bags, is giving away an electric bicycle and complimentary reusable bags to help people reduce their carbon footprints and live a greener lifestyle. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, for every 500 miles an electric bike is used in place of a car, an average 25 gallons of fuel is saved, thereby eliminating more than 25 pounds of carbon monoxide. Hence, an electric bike is a great alternative to a car for its cost efficiency and Earth-friendliness. Paul Cannella, owner of PoopBags, is...

ORLANDO, FLA.—The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently welcomed the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center into the Florida Green Lodging Program. The 1,406-room resort is one of the largest in the state to participate, and the first in Osceola County’s popular Kissimmee resort corridor. In addition, the resort announced the upcoming rollout of a new guest communications program, called “We’re Eco-Logical,” designed to share the spirit of the resort’s eco-friendly initiatives with guests and meeting planners, while encouraging them to take an active role in the programs. “Together with the citizens of Osceola County, we have created...