Christian Bucks, a second-grader in York, Pa., knew that some kids on the playground didn’t have many friends, so he decided to create a brightly colored “Buddy Bench” where kids can sit when they feel lonely or sad.

Christian first spotted the idea for a buddy bench in a brochure for a school in Germany. He thought it was a good idea and immediately talked to his principal about getting one for their school. The principal, who described Christian as a child who loves making friends and making sure others have friends, was immediately on board.

“We show we care about others when we ask others to play,” Christian said. “I also hope that new friendships will be made because of the buddy bench.”

While he may not know this, Christian’s ‘Buddy Bench’ is actually a bench made from recycled plastic lumber. Fibrex Group’s Envirodesign Deluxe bench is a budget-friendly, sustainable option for your school or park playground. Our site furnishings require no maintenance and will not rot, crack or split. Fibrex Group’s Envirodesign recycled plastic lumber benches & picnic tables are a ‘buddy’ to your wallet and the environment.

Work. Play. Recycle.

Thanks to CalRecycle, we would like to pass on some sustainable tips for cutting the amount of trash generated this holiday season and simple steps to recycle your holiday waste & conserve our natural resources.

For example, an estimated 2.6 billion holiday cards are sold each year in the United States, enough to fill a football field 10 stories high. Electronic holiday greeting cards, offered through a variety of websites, are a convenient, no-cost, waste-free alternative.

It’s estimated that between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, more than 1 million tons of additional waste is generated each week nationwide. In fact, 38,000 miles of ribbon alone is thrown out each year--enough to tie a bow around the Earth.

When shopping for family & friends, look for recycled-content products. Be sure to stock up on rechargeable batteries for all of those gadgets & electronics as well. And always take your reusable shopping bag with you when heading out to your local retailer. Malls & big box stores are great, but we prefer to support our local small businesses during the holiday season.

Recycle that Christmas tree once the big day has passed. Contact your city or county’s recycling coordinator to find our where to recycle your tree. If you live in a beach community, ask them about recycling your tree as part of a dune renewal project.

As always, check out the Fibrex Group website for all of your recycling needs year round. We are the best source for recycling containers, waste receptacles, recycled plastic site furnishings and sustainable playgrounds. All of our products are designed & manufactured in the USA! Reduce. Rejoice. Recycle.

As the winter approaches, now might be a good time to consider your parks, apartment community areas and school playgrounds. As outdoor spaces see less patrons, now is the perfect time to begin new outdoor public space projects. This is a great time of year to begin the conversation of refurbishing playgrounds and parks as the new year is approaching and budgets are getting realigned.

The Fibrex Group is known for our extensive line of recycling bins and  waste collection containers, but we are also pleased to introduce our new Envirodesign Site Furnishings Catalog! All of our recycled plastic lumber site furnishings (benches, picnic tables, bike racks, etc) are included in this latest edition. Recycled plastic lumber is the material of choice able to withstand weather and time better than traditional lumber and construction materials. Our site furnishings made from recycled lumber is not susceptible to rotting or splintering like wooden products and needs little maintenance or repair.

Our vast array of designs can fit any budget. We also offer memorial and message benches. For your park, playground, church, university, school, corporate campus or favorite green space, Envirodesign Site Furnishings will enhance your open space and show the public that you care about our earth’s future.

Available in ADA models and entirely designed/produced in the USA!! Contact the Fibrex Group today for more information.

Fibrex Group is the exclusive manufacturer’s representative for Play Mart Playgrounds in the state of New Jersey. We offer a variety of play structures containing recycled materials (milk jugs & shampoo bottles), in many different configurations and sizes that can be customized to meet your specific needs. Our superbly trained staff can provide site visits, design services (2D, 3D & site plan drawings) and full quotations including removal of existing equipment, installation, surfacing, borders and delivery to your site.

After the cancellation of the 2012 show due to Hurricane Sandy, come see us at Booth #1101 at the New Jersey State League of Municipalities Show in Atlantic City from November 19-21. See how we can help your local school, day care, church, public park or green-space build the sustainable playground of your children’s dreams. Work. Play. Recycle.

Think for a moment about all the trash you produce in a day. If you’re like the average American, you generate 4.4 pounds of trash in just one 24 hour period. Instead of all that trash going into a landfill, help us ensure that more of it gets recycled and given a new life.

November 15 is America Recycles Day! Keep America Beautiful (KAB) is encouraging the entire country to recycle more. Americans recycle just 35 percent of our waste, and we need YOU to help us change that.

Take the 'I Recycle pledge' today, and tell America what you pledge to recycle more. You can make your pledge go even further through the America Recycles Day Thunderclap, which will post a synchronized message of support on the Facebook or Twitter accounts of all the supporters at the exact same time on America Recycles Day. All it takes is one click!

Check out www.fibrexgroup.com for the most attractive & economical recycling solutions for your office, university, dorm room, school, home, or apartment building. Our vast line of products can accommodate any recycling program of any size. We are also offering a 15% discount off our entire line of products! Just mention our America Recycles Day promotion.

Thanks for supporting this important campaign!

While the holidays are a time for fun, celebration and memories, if we are not careful Mother Nature is left out of the party.

Try these 4 simple tips recommended by the Green Business Bureau to celebrate a greener Halloween:

1. Consider recycling/reusing costumes from previous years to make new costumes this year.
2. Lower your emissions by buying locally grown pumpkins.
3. If you are holding a party, avoid disposable tableware and other décor.
4. Compost pumpkins and any other food leftovers after the party.

And, as always, recycle those used cans & plastic bottles by using Fibrex Group’s recycling containers! Our Recycle Boxes are a great budget option for those spook-tacular Halloween parties!

Fibrex Group has recently begun carrying the Kidz Collection recycling bins for schools/classrooms. These recycled content, kid friendly recycling units will get kids excited about recycling while in a day care, preschool or elementary school environment. With their eye-catching red, yellow & blue colors and fun graphics, administrators and faculty can get their students to participate in recycling in a classroom, cafeteria, or specialty station setting.

Products included in the Kidz Collection are the Slim Bin container in single, double & triple configurations, the Kidz ClearView 26 gallon receptacle, 7 & 10 gallon Station Sorters, the Dual Stream Recycler, and the Kidz Mini-Sorter 3-in-1 station. Please click here to see the variety of products.

What better way to get kids excited and teach them good recycling habits than at school? This is a wonderful way to show kids that by collecting plastic milk & soda bottles, that those items can be recycled into items such as playground equipment and site amenities for their outdoor areas whether they are home or at school.

For more information please contact Fibrex Group, visit www.fibrexgroup.com or call 1.800.346.4458. Work. Play. Recycle.

The Fibrex Group is please to release it’s new 2013/2014 Envirodesign Site Furnishings Catalog. To check it out, please click here to view the brochure.

Our Envirodesign site furnishings product line - which includes park benches, picnic tables, recycling/trash receptacles, bike racks and message centers - includes a perfect sustainable solution for your park, campus, corporate or hospitality green space. We have combined sustainable design with industrial strength to create an exclusive line of public site amenities. Our quality construction will ensure many years of service even in the busiest and harshest of environments.

Recycled plastic lumber is built to last and features up to 95% post consumer (milk jugs) recycled content. RPL has a wood-like appearance and does not require any maintenance since it does not absorb any moisture. Envirodesign products will never need waterproofing, painting or staining and will never rot, rust, crack, decay, split or splinter. Design makes the difference!!

For more information or to view the entire Envirodesign line of products please visit www.fibrexgroup.com or give us a call at 1.800.346.4458.

Wyndham Worldwide, one of the world's largest hospitality companies, announced that in 2012 it achieved a nearly 12 percent reduction in carbon emissions per square foot of its operationally controlled assets versus its carbon footprint in 2011.

The company, which is working toward a goal to reduce its carbon emissions by 16 percent by 2016 and by 20 percent by 2020, announced this latest accomplishment in its third annual Sustainability Report.

"Advancing sustainability best practices remains among our top priorities not only because it's good for the environment, but because it's also good for business," said Stephen P. Holmes, chairman and CEO, Wyndham Worldwide. "This latest milestone of meaningfully reducing our carbon footprint is the result of collaboration across our organization, including our associates, suppliers, customers and business partners.”

As part of their recycling endeavor to aid in their carbon footprint reduction, Wyndham recently purchased the Fibrex Group’s latest product, the Mobius Flex dual stream recycling containers for their Mount Laurel, New Jersey location. The Mobius Flex is a high-end design receptacle at an affordable price. With its two generously sized compartments featuring molded drop-in openings for collecting bottles & cans, paper products, organics and/or trash, it is perfect for use in high profile settings. Each compartment holds up to 25 gallons and is fitted with a rigid plastic liner. Conserve landfill space, reduce your carbon footprint and go green with Fibrex.

**Portions of this blog were provided by Green Lodging News

In the months after September 11, the Bush administration and the US Congress decided that Americans would be safer from terrorists if they combined 22 federal agencies into a single unit. This included the Coast Guard, the Customs Service, the Secret Service, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Infrastructure Protection Center, and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, to name just a few. It was the largest reorganization of the federal government since the creation in 1947 of what would become the US Department of Defense.

The new Department of Homeland Security would have 180,000 employees and a $36 billion budget, but its supporters promised it would be nimble. The project, located at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital (a former mental institution), is the largest construction project in the District of Columbia since the Pentagon was completed in 1943. There are herds of deer, a flock of wild turkeys, and a bald eagle that reside in the fenced-in facility in Anacostia.

The GSA decided that they wanted exterior recycling stations that had the ability to collect two streams in high traffic areas throughout the West Campus. Fibrex’s Envirodesign Combination Trash/Recycling Containers were a perfect solution to their needs! These receptacles are made from 95% post consumer content recycled plastic (milk jugs). These two-compartment (2x 21 gallon) containers are designed especially for the collection of both waste and recyclables at non-residential locations.

Recycling and waste reduction programs can provide cost savings to any organization. Initial costs are offset by reduced trash disposal fees and less waste creation. A visible commitment to the environment will also result in intangible benefits to employee morale and the public perception of the organization. The DHS and GSA realize that it is paramount to establish a successful recycling program that maximizes cost savings by ensuring employees actively participate at their place of work while doing the right thing for the planet.

Since 1990 Fibrex Group www.fibrexgroup.com has been known for its innovative product line of green design recycling containers, waste receptacles and site furnishings. Our aesthetically pleasing products combine outstanding durability and environmentally friendly practices with affordable high-end design and performance. Fibrex Group products are made with sustainable resources containing the maximum amount of post consumer recycled content and require minimum maintenance. Providing attractive and user friendly recycling receptacles in high visibility public spaces promotes good environmental stewardship while reducing waste and increasing recycling participating rates.