A simple step—providing employees with a desk-side recycling bin along with smaller trash bin—can lead to a 20% increase in office recycling, according to a new study.

The “Recycling at Work” study was commissioned by Keep America Beautiful. The study was aimed at defining best practices for recycling programs that foster improved recycling behaviors in the workplace and result in an increase of quality and quantity of materials collected.

The research focused on the effects of office bin placement on recycling rates and level of contamination as well as other important factors to consider when setting up a workplace recycling program.

"We want to get smarter and better understand how we can be most effective at getting individuals to recycle more and recycle more of the right things," says Brenda Pulley, from Keep America Beautiful. "Much of the focus has been on curbside recycling, as it should be, since that's the low-hanging fruit. But when you look at other opportunities, the workplace setting appears ripe for making inroads."

The EPA has estimated that 45% of municipal solid waste is generated in workplace settings. That estimate may be too high, it still underscores the overall opportunity for improving recycling rates by reducing waste in those settings.

Four conditions were tested in offices in Atlanta, Boston, Houston and San Diego. Each city has single-stream recycling programs.

• “Equal-size” provided employees with two equal sized recycling bins, one for recycling and one for trash. This is one of the more common office set-ups.
• “Recycling only” provided employees only with a desk-side recycling bin, but no trash bin. The set-up was meant to draw attention to recycling while making it more difficult to dispose of trash.
• “Little trash” gave employees a desk-sized recycling bin equipped with a small hanging trash bin. Having both bins makes recycling convenient while increasing the difficult of generating large amounts of trash.
• Lastly, a control group was provided only with recycling information without a change in their office setup.

All conditions received an informational flyer on 10 items commonly found in offices—five recyclable items and five trash items. Recycling bins were also stamped with a logo created for the project featuring three common recyclable items—an aluminum can, a plastic beverage bottle and office paper. Meanwhile, trash bins were stamped with a “landfill” logo.

The results from the research were compared to baseline audits conducted before the new bins were put in place.

The study found that the “little trash” condition had the best results.

The “little trash” approach yielded improved quality of material collected in the recycling bin—an increase of 20 percent in the quality of recyclables—along with a significant increase in knowledge about recycling and proper recycling behavior. With the “Little Trash,” offices significantly increased the proportion of material in the recycling bin that was actually recyclable and decreased the amount of trash collected in the bin. There was also a decrease in the amount of recyclables improperly placed in the trash bin, especially that of office paper. Paper in the trash bin was reduced to nearly zero. Moreover, the respondents of the “Little Trash” approach had a positive experience with the program.

Pulley says. "We know that convenience matters. We know that ongoing, clear, concise communication matters. We know that having a champion matters. What we’re trying to do is figure out how to be most effective in those areas."

The data showed that use of the small bin resulted in "a 20 percent improvement in the quality of the recycling stream," Pulley says.

In terms of next steps, Pulley says KAB plans to promote the results of the study and share examples of the signage that was used in the test workplaces. It will also conduct additional studies.

Based on the frequency of the 10 targeted items in the recycling and trash, the study suggests the following items should serve as higher priorities for an office recycling program:

1. Office paper is the most frequently recycled material, but it was still present in the trash in 50 percent of offices.
2. Plastic beverage bottles and aluminum beverage cans are about equally present in recycling bins and trash bins. Similar to paper, these materials remain a priority.
3. Paper towels were very frequently ending up in the recycling bin, with a steady decrease of presence over the course of the project.
4. Food scraps had enough of a similar pattern to deserve a priority focus, though they were not present in recycling bins as frequently as paper towels.

For more information on desk-side office recycling containers, contact the Fibrex Group.

Waste360

Last week, the President of Fibrex Group, Ruben Leenders, had the pleasure of attending the Play Mart Playground sales forum at their corporate headquarters in Somerset, Kentucky. The Fibrex Group is the Play Mart distributor in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia, and New Jersey. Bringing all of Play Mart’s distributors together in one place to discuss sales strategies, marketing ideas, sharing success stories, discussing playground installations and simply putting faces to names were some of the topics during the two day meeting. The attendees were even given the tour of the factory where the recycled content play equipment is produced and shipped.

Play Mart Inc. designs their playground equipment to develop healthy, motivated, adventurous kids. Their nature play early childhood equipment products - Nature of Early Play - reconnect young children with the natural world. Play Mart engineers materials and product designs based on their impact on the world in which children grow. They aren't just "going green". They have been recycling, reusing, and reducing for over 30 years. PMI’s corporate offices do much more than just recycle office supplies – their main product is fully recycled! Constantly striving to streamline processes and redesign products to cut out waste and increase durability. This impacts you, us and our children far into the future. Rather than bottom-line driven, Play Mart is kid-driven. The Fibrex Group has been a Play Mart distributor for over 12 years.

For more information click Play Mart. Or in the states of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia or New Jersey, visit www.fibrexgroup.com.

Many businesses make an attempt at some type of recycling in their offices. But, no matter what you are doing at the office, more of an effort can be made. And it is simple. Even though Earth Month is drawing to a close, here are a few ideas on how you can do more Reducing, Reusing and Recycling at work.

Firstly, placing more recycling containers around the office will always help. Don’t just have one by the copy machine. Be sure there are recycling bins at each desk or at each cluster of desks. Perhaps add a dual stream recycling system in the employee break room so that everything can be recycled including glass, paper, aluminum and waste.

Recycling is important, but first and foremost: Use less whenever possible. And don't think you can't make a difference by recycling... recycling just one aluminum can saves the amount of energy required to run a TV for three hours! Here are a few suggestions that will help reduce our use of precious natural resources.

Many computers, monitors, cell phones and other electronics include toxic materials that should not sit in landfills, and you'd be surprised how many retailers and other companies will take your old gadgets for recycling. The Environmental Protection Agency (link: http://www.epa.gov/) will help you find local electronics recyclers.

Say no to junk mail - 100 million trees' worth are sent out each year. Visit www.dmachoice.org/MPS/ to opt out of the Direct Marketing Association's member mailings.

Packing peanuts and other loose fill will sit in a landfill for centuries, but there are lots of places you can bring them for recycling. Call the Peanut Hotline at 1-800-828-2214.

If every household in the US replaced 1 roll of 1000 sheet bathroom tissues with 100% recyclable rolls, we could save 373,000 trees, 1.48 million cubic feet of landfill space, and 155 million gallons of water.

For more information on recycling bins for your office, contact the Fibrex Group.

greenlivingapartments.com

On April 22, 1970, millions of people took to the streets for '60s-style demonstrations and marches, calling attention to the perilous pollution of America's land, air and water. Ten thousand flocked to the Washington Monument for a folk music concert featuring Pete Seeger and U.S. Sen. Edmund Muskie.

Today, Earth Day isn't just a national event; it's a global phenomenon. And it's not just one day; it's a whole week – or month in some cases!

"It is now the largest secular event in the world," Kathleen Rogers, president of the Earth Day Network, told NBC News. "We have over 1 billion participants from 192 countries."

Tens of thousands came to Washington's National Mall on Saturday to hear Gwen Stefani, Mary J. Blige and other pop stars, as well as the United Nations' secretary-general and the World Bank's president, at a music-packed kickoff for 2015's Earth Day observances.

"Is Earth Day still relevant? I think so," Rogers said.

The call to action that started with Earth Day has had a huge impact as well:

• Air: The EPA says aggregate emissions of six major air pollutants have dropped more than 60 percent since 1980.
• Water: Only about a third of American water was safe for swimming or fishing before the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972. Today, that proportion has risen to about two-thirds.
• Land: Tens of billions of dollars have been spent since 1980 under the EPA Superfund program to clean up hazardous waste sites (although the cost has become increasingly controversial in recent years).
• Species: The bald eagle has become a poster child for the environmental protections added by 1972's restrictions on DDT pesticide use and 1973's Endangered Species Act.

And yet, even Rogers acknowledges that the challenges facing the environmental movement are at least as daunting as the pollution woes that led to that first Earth Day 45 years ago.

"Back then, we could see it," she said. "Although there's still lots you can see — you can see landfills from space — what we have now is a much more insidious and harder-to-see problem called climate change."

Earth Day 2015 is on the bandwagon as well: In addition to the performers and the politicians, the stars at this weekend's National Mall concert included the Toyota Mirai, a hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicle.

"It's no longer just about movement-building, it's about technology," said Rogers, the president of the Earth Day Network. "It's not about reflection, it's about doing things."

**First published April 19th 2015, Alan Boyle is the science editor for NBC News Digital.

Reduce trips and collect more without any of the heavy lifting involved with manually emptying bags or bins. Automate and optimize your recycling and waste collection in public spaces with the Revolve Recycler by the Fibrex Group. Revolve is an innovative housing for wheeled collection carts that fits a wide variety of cart designs. Each model holds two 35, 65 or 95 gallon wheeled carts and can be fitted with Enevo smart bin sensor technology. Enevo is the leading wireless waste container fill-level sensor that can save you 50% on waste collection and disposal costs.

Waste collection has usually been performed using static routes and schedules where containers are manually emptied every day or every week regardless if they are full or not. The Enevo ONe smart bin sensor makes that method a thing of the past by using wireless monitors to collect data from waste containers inside the bin.  Enevo equipped smart bins reduce costs, emissions, road/vehicle wear, noise pollution and staff hours and provides you up to 50% in direct cost savings in waste logistics.

Revolve is made out of rust resistant galvannealed steel and has no exposed fasteners. All units come with an architectural grade powder coated finish both inside and out. Revolve recycling/waste/compost containers can be made in the color of your choice and fitted with your custom logos. On the front are two large spring hinged drop-in openings fitted with an interior chute to guide the recyclables into the carts. Two universally keyed front doors lock for security and open all the way for easy emptying. Custom easy to read, pre-applied vinyl or magnetic decals on the front of the unit indicate the desired waste/recycling stream to your users.

The Revolve smart design can be shipped un-assembled to reduce freight. It’s easily assembled with standard tools. Fully assembled shipping and installation is available as well. The Revolve Depot contains 30% minimum recycled content and is made entirely in the USA. Custom designer colors, advertising panels and signage are available upon request.

Click here to fill out the form on our website, and we’ll get back to you with further information and pricing. Or contact our sales department directly at 1-800-346-4458 x102. We look forward to assisting you!

With different rules and recycling services for each city, it can be difficult to have a firm grasp on what exactly is recyclable and what’s not. Even the most environmentally conscious folks stop short when it comes to disposing of certain food containers. It sounds right to be safe rather than sorry by just throwing that item we’re not sure about in the recycling. However, it turns out that this method of thinking is causing more harm than good.

According to The Coloradoan, putting non-recyclable items into the recycling bin is what drives loads of recyclable items to landfills. Why? How is this possible?

Well, for one, many items that we think are recyclable are actually contaminated. Take a greasy pizza box, for instance. These cardboard boxes are recyclable on their own, but if they are covered with grease or some other food substance (which they usually are), they no longer can be recycled.

And if these greasy pizza boxes are thrown into recycling, they unfortunately contaminate the items around them, making them non-recyclable as well. So when recyclers try to create new materials out of these recycled items, the brand new items are contaminated and not usable. Therefore, markets and other vendors will not purchase these items from recyclers, which makes the whole process useless and bad for the environment.

This, unfortunately, is bound to happen. Recycling and environmental education is pretty sparse in a lot of communities. And although this may not be affecting us financially at the moment, it could end up costing everyone money in the long run.

For example, recycling services in Fort Collins, Colorado, have to take the waste they find mixed with the recyclable materials and send them to the county landfill. The landfill charges for the amount of trash sent their way, and prices can also depend on what type of waste it is.

This means that the more recycling services find waste in their materials, the more they will have to pay the landfill. If prices continue to go up, the recycling services may find incentive to begin charging residents for recycling who would otherwise get their recyclables picked up for free.

What can you do about this?

The best way to go about avoiding recycling dilemmas is to try to avoid disposable products altogether. For example, instead of purchasing food with a disposable container, make use of your own washable container. A lot of disposable items can be cut out of your life if you practice habits like this. On the other hand, if you have a recyclable item that’s covered with grease or other food remnants, you can always separate or cut out the part that’s contaminated.

We have a long way to go with recycling education and knowing right from wrong when it comes to our recycling bins. But if we take steps to learn the rules of our neighborhood recycling services and choose reusable items over disposable, we can be on our way to making a difference.

Original by April Stearns www.1800recycling.com

An action a day can helps keep waste and greenhouse gas emissions at bay.

April 22 is Earth Day, when we purposefully think about our impact on the earth and how we can lessen it, but there’s no reason to limit this thinking to one day. The whole month of April is Earth Month, so let’s try to become a little more environmentally responsible for 30 days straight. By the end of it, maybe your family will have formed some new green habits, or realized some ongoing things we can do to minimize our carbon footprints.

For inspiration, here is a list of 30 things that we can do to observe Earth Month, one for each day of the month. You can use this list or make up your own.

1. Go around the house and unplug every possible appliance or electric item that doesn’t need to be plugged in, to minimize the impact of energy vampires.
2. Use natural egg dyes instead of artificial ones to decorate your Easter eggs. Make your own from leftover produce and other kitchen items.
3. When you wash your hands in a public restroom, shake them dry instead of using a paper towel.
4. Create a Pinterest board of meatless recipes. Next time you’re planning your week’s menu, pick a few meatless meals to try out.
5. Let it mellow at home. Don’t flush the toilet unless you need to — even modern, low-flow toilets use around 1.6 gallons each flush. If you normally flush the toilets 5 times, flushing it only once will save more than 6 gallons of water.
6. See if you can eat only unprocessed foods for the day: whole grains, fruits and vegetables, meats. Not only are they better for you, but they require fewer resources and less energy to produce.
7. Use the Greendex calculator to see how you rank in being environmentally responsible compared to others.
8. Empty out your car’s trunk. Every 50 pounds of stuff you drive around with in your car can reduce fuel economy by 1 percent.
9. Buy a WaterSense-labeled showerhead. Your household can save as much as 2,900 gallons of water a year… not to mention the energy needed to heat all that water.
10. Run your errands on foot or bike. Ditch the car and walk to the post office, school, or supermarket today.
11. Replace at least one of your cleaning products with a homemade cleaner.
12. Install GreenPrint on your computers at home and at work. It’ll prevent you from printing unnecessary pages.
13. Go to bed an hour early. Chances are, you could use the extra shut-eye, and you’ll be saving energy by turning off the lights, TV, computer, and other electronics.
14. Make dinner in the pressure cooker. It’s a super energy-efficient way to cook.
15. Swap out your petroleum-based lip balm for one made of a renewable resource like beeswax or shea butter. Or make your own.
16. Research Community Supported Agriculture shares for the summer. You’ll be supporting local farmers and getting some great produce.
17. Share errands with a friend by carpooling to the store.
18. Sign yourself up for Catalog Choice to stop unwanted junk mail and catalogs.
19. Pull your refrigerator away from the wall and clean the coils. It’ll help it work more efficiently.
20. Work from home for a day to save on gas and avoid contributing emissions from your car commute.
21. Try to go a day without throwing anything away, by using only reusable items.
22. Sign some petitions. Take a look at some of the environmentally focused petitions currently being circulated and sign the ones that resonate with you to make your voice heard.
23. Read an environmentally focused book.
24. Spend some time earning Recyclebank points (then shop for rewards when you’ve accumulated a bunch!).
25. Buy a house plant. Many of them can clean the air.
26. Switch one of your favorite packaged foods to an organic version.
27. Link your Amazon.com account to contribute to the Environmental Defense Fund via the Amazon Smile program.
28. Gather up your old magazines and find someplace to donate them. Or find other ideas for reusing them.
29. Change at least one incandescent light bulb to a more energy efficient LED bulb.
30. Research renewable energy companies in your area and switch your service.

And as always, recycle, recycle, recycle! Collect your recyclables at home, school, work or play in a recycled plastic receptacle from Fibrex Group. They have a large variety of personal and public friendly recycling containers for all of your needs. Work. Play. Recycle.

Original by Jessica Harlan - www.recyclebank.com

Paper, cardboard, cans and bottles — Oklahoma State wants it all.

OSU continues to make recycling a priority, as the university recycled more than 490 tons of cardboard, paper, plastic bottles and aluminum cans last year alone.

The OSU Recycles program made that achievement possible.

OSU Recycles is responsible for handling the recyclable materials generated on the main campus.

OSU has been recycling paper and cardboard since 2009, and its recycled cans and bottles since 2010. The university began officially marketing the program in 2013.

The marketing coordinator for Residential Life said there is one key distinction to keep in mind when recycling. Two separate entities handle recyclables on campus, meaning not all containers accept the same materials.

The OSU Recycles program processes material produced at non-residential areas on campus, including the bins around campus that call for separated materials.

The second program, Res Life Recycles, is run by a separate entity, which processes recyclables from students living in residential housing.

It’s important for students, faculty and staff to know the distinction because of the difference in how the material is sorted.

When disposing of recyclables on non-residential areas of campus, it’s essential that people take care to throw their materials in the corresponding recycling containers. But for students in residential areas, they’re free to dispose of all their recyclables in a single container.

Many tons of recyclable materials pass through these OSU recycling programs every year. In fact, 218 tons of cardboard alone passes through OSU Recycles annually.

Once the recyclables are packaged, OSU sells the cardboard and paper to the highest bidder, and they ship the cans and bottles to a facility in Oklahoma City.

The revenue made from those sales is used to continue funding the OSU Recycles program.

For more information on a recycling program and the right recycling containers for college campuses, contact the Fibrex Group.

ocolly.com

An energy-efficient home does more than slash one homeowner’s heating and cooling bills. It can also contribute to job creation, better health and safety, and cleaner air.

Three recent studies highlight the importance of energy efficiency in housing, and point to how little of it exists, especially in affordable price ranges. While the studies examined the use of energy efficiency in affordable housing, their findings could apply to mainstream home building as well.

The price tag

Habitat for Humanity’s ‘2015 Shelter Report’ offers some ideas for boosting the use of energy efficiency in home building, and many of them involve financing and government regulations.

The 44-page report says low-income families could benefit the most from living in homes with lower energy bills, but notes that those households are the least likely to be able to afford the upgrades their homes or apartments need to make them more efficient.

Low-income Americans, the report says, spend between 17% and 50% of their incomes on energy, while everyone else spends an average of 4%. That’s because many poorer renters and owners live in older homes with too little insulation, old appliances, and outdated HVAC systems.

Even tenants who could afford to upgrade their drafty, single-pane windows to double-pane models or replace a decades-old air conditioner with a more efficient new device might not find the investment worth it in homes they don’t own. And their landlords have little incentive to improve the property’s efficiency because the tenants are paying the energy bills.

The study pointed to the need for a national energy-awareness campaign that would target distressed communities. Its authors also support government financing for energy efficiency and advocate for programs that target multifamily and public housing “for big returns from investments in energy efficiency.”

The Recycling Solution

Recycling is always a key task in maintaining a sustainable household. Check out the Fibrex Group  for our line of household and office recycling bins. All of our recyclers contain the maximum possible recycled content, are ergonomically designed and will fit in with your home’s décor beautifully. Just a small solution that leads to big results. Give us a call at 1.800.346.4458 to get pricing on all of our #green products.

Portions by Sharon O'Malley - Construction Dive

Mars Foods North America announced that its 10 manufacturing facilities across the U.S. are all certified landfill-free. The company created its waste goals in 2007 and set out to become zero waste by 2015. Mars also intends to eliminate the use of fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions from its direct operations by 2040.

The company highlighted three areas vital in achieving its goal: establish an efficient operating process, implement recycling programs for multiple waste streams, and create partnerships with haulers and agricultural re-use programs at a local level.

Mars has aimed to achieve LEED Gold certification for all its new major buildings since 2011, and so far 10 buildings have succeeded. Mars is also aiming for a future partnership with regional distribution centers and warehouses to continue improving their waste reduction policies.

Mars Foods has just purchased the Fibrex Group’s Mobius DS3 & DS4  recycle bins for use in their facilities. The Mobius Designer Series combines recycling and high-end design at an affordable price. The innovative Mobius recycling station comes standard with one, two, three or four compartments featuring molded drop-in openings for collecting bottles & cans, paper products and trash. Each compartment holds up to 25 gallons and is fitted with a rigid plastic liner. These new indoor recycling stations are available in an unlimited combination of colors and finishes, and are perfect for even the most discriminate of locations.

*Some info provided by Waste Dive, Nicole Wrona