We have all seen those little arrows on plastic products with different numbers on them. Look at the bottom of any soft drink bottle or printed on plastic bags, these arrowed triangular codes are everywhere. But what do these recycling symbols actually mean?

In 1988, the American Society of Plastics Industry created these codes to represent the type of resin used in plastics. The presence of the symbol implies that the plastic item is recyclable, but it is actually intended to identify the plastic resin from which the item was made. Recyclability is ultimately determined by local collections and reprocessing facilities.

1: PET or PETE: Polyethylene Terephthalate
PET is commonly used for soft drink & water bottles, cooking oil bottles, peanut butter containers. It is the most widely recycled plastic.

2: HDPE: High-Density Polyethylene
Identifies milk, cider & water jugs, detergent, fabric softener & bleach bottles. HDPE is slightly waxy and semi-rigid. It does not crack. It floats in water.
Read more…

As a green organization, what are you doing to reduce your energy consumption?

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, in the commercial sector, energy consumption is broken down the largest percentage of energy usage:

• 25% lighting
• 13% heating
• 11% cooling
• 6% refrigeration
• 6% water heating
• 6% ventilation
• 6% electronics

I recently read where HP is looking to turn cow manure into energy at some of the data centers. Surely, if companies can convert manure into energy, your company can cut its annual energy usage by 5-10%. Perhaps the hot air from some of your colleagues can be harnessed into wind power for your office?

Be creative and keep looking for ways to become more green-friendly. After all, you cannot promote yourself as a green company or do green marketing without pushing the envelope and finding ways to reduce your carbon footprint.

Here’s to a greener tomorrow, today.
——————————————-
Robert Piller, experienced in green marketing campaigns and environmentally-friendly promotional products. His web site includes a comprehensive eco-friendly advertising specialty search, featuring over 250,000 eco promotional items in all price ranges, for any business or organization interested in going green. The site’s handy search tool helps you easily find recyclable, biodegradable, organic or recycled imprinted promotional items in your price range and time frame. View the Go Green website at EcoMarketingSolutions.com and comment on his blog postings at GreenSpotBlog.com.

Gardening has fast become one of the biggest forms of recreation for Americans, especially since First Lady Michelle Obama has been speaking out and encouraging more people to plant more gardens. As the economy has cooled over the past few years, interest in gardening has soared.

According to 2009 Edibles Gardening Trends Research Report, conducted by the Garden Writers Association Foundation, in November more than 41 million U.S. households grew a vegetable garden in 2009; over 19.5 million grew an herb garden and 16.5 million households grew fruits.

Help your customers get back to the basics with imprinted gardening gifts with your brand and logo. You can have your imprint on a variety of custom garden kits, including imprinted seed packets and imprinted GroKits, metal buckets and even a garden that grows from within its own pouch. These Gardens in a Pouch can even be mailed without any additional packaging material (talk about zero waste). Read more…

According to a report by the Texas Campaign for the Environment, my home state of Texas ranks last in recycling computer parts among states that require manufacturers to take back their electronics.

E-waste is a fast growing problem, as many cellphones and computers contain such hazardous materials as lead and mercury, which often find their way into the water streams and contaminate land. Many of the items considered to be e-waste can be recycled, refurbished or reused by e-waste recyclers.

According to the report, Read more…

I was at an environmental trade show today and was surprised at the number of “non-green” giveaways that were being handed out at the booths. Plastic light up yoyos, imprinted plastic pens and key chains, synthetic tote bags and plastic sports bottles with logos, etc. This gives promotional products the poor stereotype of “trinkets and trash”, instead of them being used as effective trade show or marketing items, which is how they can and should be viewed.

In fact, I have spent the past decade weaning my clients from promotional products that usually end up in a landfill to items that are biodegradable or made from recycled material. You can view about 5,000 green products at my website, www.EcoMarketingSolutions.com in order to get an idea of the types of green-friendly branded and logo items for trade shows that are available.

There are eco-friendly alternatives to nearly every promotional items, including pens, frisbees, yo-yos and water bottles that are produced with an additive that enables them to break down in a landfill. There are tote bags available that are made of natural cotton, Read more…