ODESSA, FLA.—Green Lodging News has added Donastar Enterprises LLC as a Founding Sponsor. Donastar is a North American leader of hot and cold beverage service and installations. Donastar is working with Enozo (see video). The Enozo is a way for any business to stop using plastic bottles and aerosol cans. The EnozoPRO is a portable spray bottle that replaces six cleaning products and kills 99.9 percent of all viruses and bacteria including the virus that causes COVID-19.* One need only fill it up with tap water and then recharge it. Call for more information at (833) 366-2782 or e-mail enozo@donastar.com. *DISCLAIMER:...

GRAN CANARI ISLAND—Travel Without Plastic, the organisation helping cut single-use plastics in tourism, teamed up with health and safety experts Intertek Cristal to launch a free online training module to show tourism businesses how they can reduce plastic and keep their guests COVID-safe. The “Greener Guest” (greenerguest.com) initiative was born out of the explosion of single-use plastics caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, evident in the discarded masks and plastic gloves appearing on pavements and beaches worldwide. As the Founder of Travel Without Plastic, Jo Hendrickx says, these items are both a danger to wildlife and human health, and often completely...

MIAMI—In the midst of a news cycle dominated by COVID-related and political stories, J&J Green Paper, a Miami start-up, may have quietly struck environmental gold this summer with its green paper technology that is poised to solve one of the world’s largest environmental problems: single use plastics. It is well-known that single-use plastics, such as plastic bottles, straws and food containers, are a blight on the environment, but it is often hard to fully comprehend the threat that these harmful materials pose. According to data published by EarthDay.org, a full 32 percent of the 78 million tons of plastic packaging...

BURLINGTON, MASS.—Keurig Dr Pepper announced that it has successfully achieved one of its longstanding sustainability commitments—all of the K-Cup pods the company produces are now recyclable. The extensive effort involved converting more than 100 manufacturing lines to produce the pods now made from polypropylene #5 plastic. In addition, new packaging for the recyclable K-Cup pods features a green recyclable flag as well as the industry-respected How2Recycle label that clearly communicates recycling instructions to consumers. Keurig Dr Pepper produces approximately 80 percent of the coffee pods sold at retail for use in Keurig brewers and, earlier this year, began shipping to retailers...

STONE MOUNTAIN, GA.—Consumers can now use straws in good conscience thanks to a new drinking straw, phade, created by WinCup, Inc. phade is a breakthrough marine biodegradable drinking straw made with PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate), a substrate derived from canola oil. The straw is also compostable in home and industrial environments, and phade maintains the feel and user experience of a traditional plastic straw. Consumers are invited to “Meet Your Last Straw” and try phade straws for free beginning on National Drinking Straw Day, January 3, 2021. Anyone who “likes” phade on Instagram or “friends” phade on Facebook will receive a free...

LAS VEGAS—Las Vegas Sands Corp. has once again been recognized on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI), and for the first time has been named to DJSI World, representing the top 10 percent of the largest 2,500 companies in the S&P Global Broad Market Index based on long-term economic and environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. Sands also earned repeat placement on DJSI North America, placing the company in the top 20 percent of North American sustainability performers. Sands is the only U.S.-based hospitality and gaming company to be included on DJSI World, as well as DJSI North America. In...

BROOMFIELD, COLO.—With this week’s launch of Vail Resorts’ 2019/20 season EpicPromise Progress Report, the company announced major advancement toward its Commitment to Zero goal to reach a zero net operating footprint by 2030. Through its operations, Vail Resorts is prioritizing efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Detailed in the third-annual report, this year’s milestones include: Achieving the company’s 50 percent waste diversion subgoal, nearly a year ahead of schedule, by reducing landfill waste and increasing composting and recycling. Setting a course to be 100 percent powered by renewable electricity by 2030, in large part due to two...

PEWAUKEE, WIS.—A chance meeting of two women at a local networking event launched both a friendship and a partnership to create much-needed awareness about human trafficking, in Wisconsin and nationwide. Ann Riphenburg’s business, reCollect2 Company, is co-sponsoring a new podcast of the Redeem & Restore Center, a Pewaukee-based organization dedicated to shining a light on the dark issue of human trafficking. The podcast, Life Empowered, features stories of redemption, encouragement and inspiration. Chaplain Krista Hull of the Redeem & Restore Center interviews people who have emerged from adversity, significant life trials and even human trafficking. The podcast follows a premise that...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced 10 inspiring individuals, companies, organizations and projects have been named 2020 Leadership Award recipients. The honorees are at the forefront of green building and working to advance healthy, resilient, and equitable buildings and communities. USGBC honored this year’s recipients last month during the closing event at the Greenbuild Virtual conference. Among the Outstanding Companies, Organizations & Projects were the Chumash Casino Resort and TCF Center. Chumash Casino Resort is the sixth largest Native American gaming operation in California. Managing its waste is a critical function for the resort, Tribal Ownership and the community....

TRENTON, N.J.—Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) has proven crucial in stemming the tide of COVID-19 but this surge in production has led to littered PPE covering streets and literally flooding marine habitats. To address this separate unintended public health crisis as well as the threat PPE poses to the environment as plastic pollution, TerraCycle Regulated Waste’s line of EasyPak Containers, an easy-to-use recycling solution for single-use gloves and masks, is poised to help business owners make an impact in time for the holiday rush. Designed as a recycling system for businesses in need of a turn-key solution for hazardous waste disposal, the PPE EasyPak...