Repurposing Decommissioned Office Furniture & Equipment

 

 

 

'Green Standards' Finds Homes for Unwanted Assets

 

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

 

By F. Alan Shirk Sustainability

Some nine million tons of used or out-of-fashion office furniture and equipment are dumped into America’s landfills each year, according to the EPA.

Yet, much of that “waste” can be diverted and repurposed, according to Green Standards, a Toronto-based company that specializes in the responsible and cost-effective redistribution of surplus and obsolete office furniture, fixtures, supplies and IT equipment.

Since its inception in 2009, Green Standards has worked on more than 1,000 projects, resulting in nearly $20 million worth of in-kind donations to non-profit organizations, offsetting 60,000 tons of greenhouse gases and diverting 20,000 tons of material from landfills — nearly 99 percent of the surplus equipment it repurposed.

On a turnkey basis, Green Standards, “efficiently channels surplus office assets according to its clients’ priorities for charitable donations, recycling and resale… simplifying the process by taking responsibility for vendor selection, third-party valuations, title transfers and IRS-compliant documentation,” said CEO and co-founder Richard Beaumont.

“We challenge organizations to reimagine the value of their excess furniture and equipment. Every usable item is an opportunity to help nonprofits improve their workspaces, and in turn their work, and simultaneously protect the planet from the negative impact of landfill waste.

“Every step towards a circular economy counts,” Beaumont continued. “To achieve zero waste, to extract full value out of our products at their end-of-life, we need to see waste as the economic opportunity it is.”

The private, for-profit Green Standards serves hundreds of clients including corporations, government agencies and large non-profits with an active sales force, remote project management and key partnerships including one with Herman Miller, one of the world’s largest furniture manufacturers.

The company’s North America-wide networks of non-profits, office furniture resellers, specialized recyclers and commercial movers makes it possible for Green Standards to redistribute office furniture and equipment.

Sixty percent of its business is done in the U.S., 40 percent in Canada and among its largest clients are Marathon Oil, Frost Bank, Adobe, TELUS, Canada Bell, Suncor, Great West Life and Edwards Wildman. Although work is concentrated in major cities, Green Standards routinely works in small cities and with businesses of all sizes.

Green Standards works with registered non-profits of all types including charities, school boards, associations, cultural groups, food banks, museums, foundations and others. Any registered non-profit is eligible to join the Green Standards network and place requests.

Donation recipients are then chosen based on a number of factors — client preference, distance from the project site, size of the request and overall need for items. Green Standards notifies non-profit members when items become available.

Beaumont said Green Standards began by helping companies donate used office furniture to charities, a sliver of the current business model. “Beginning in 2010, we began to grow the concept, for example, adding services like project management. We demonstrated to companies how they could trust us to manage this process and go beyond simple donations.”

Green Standards, according to Beaumont, offers a significant advantage over traditional ways to dispose of office furniture.

“We are doing something radically different when it comes to dealing with this issue. People tend to always stick with the tried-and-true and that’s no different when it comes to disposing of office furniture. For example, most would call a well-known liquidator and most of the furniture would wind up in the dump.

“Now, we are offering a cost-benefit to companies, especially Fortune 100 and multinational businesses through our North America-wide program that can not only serve a client in a single city, but also one with locations in many cities across the U.S. and Canada.”

Jarrod Clabaugh, director of communications for the Office Furniture Dealers Alliance (OFDA) based in Baltimore, said Green Standards has developed what he believes is a cutting-edge solution to recycling office furniture.

The OFDA is one of the largest North American associations in the office furniture industry and evolved from the National Association of Stationers and Manufacturers started in 1904. That association has grown into the Independent Office Products & Furniture Dealers Association, of which the OFDA is a core division. Alongside its sister association, the National Office Products Alliance, OFDA represents more than 1,200 members, including dealers, manufacturers, wholesalers,  and industry service providers.

Sustainability and green initiatives are a key focus of OFDA, said Clabaugh. “While we primarily support the manufacturing side by promoting best-in-class standards like LEED and ways to make production more efficient, we are just as concerned with what happens to our products at the end of their life cycle.

“Environmental issues really impact our members, so we are committed to responsible behavior. Consumers are looking at our industry and want to know that we are doing what we need to do for sustainability,” Clabaugh said.

Beaumont said he knew Green Standards would succeed at the end of 2012. “We took a quantum leap forward in terms of stability by signing agreements with two major, multinational petroleum companies based in Houston. That told us that customers with millions of square feet of office space would trust us and have faith in our ability to manage their office furniture decommissioning.

“We were able to scale up significantly and know that we could exist on that scale. Today we are a triple bottom line company with three important metrics: percentage diverted, tonnage diverted and the fair market value of donations,” Beaumont explained.

A good example of Green Standards’ unique business model is its "rePurpose Program" partnership with Herman Miller, Inc., a global provider of furnishings and related technologies and services. Headquartered in West Michigan, the company has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the past 12 years.

According to its website, “As Herman Miller continues its 'Journey toward Sustainability,' designing our products with consideration for their environmental impact remains a central corporate strategy.”

The rePurpose program with Green Standards “helps you give new life to things your organization no longer needs. Your furniture — or whatever asset you need to dispose of — goes to deserving nonprofits in your backyard and around the world, which lets them focus scarce funds on their mission. You immediately transfer title, which frees you of any liability. You might also be eligible for a tax credit for the fair market value of the items donated. Most important, the earth benefits from what it doesn't get — waste that would otherwise clog its landfills.”

Green Standards Marketing and Communications Manager Nick Buccheri said Frost Bank, one of the 50 largest U.S. banks, headquartered in San Antonio, commissioned the rePurpose Program to sell, recycle and donate more than 2,500 items when Frost vacated the downtown Rand Building last April to move to a new 450,000-square-foot complex in western San Antonio.

Buccheri said as part of its ongoing community initiatives, Frost donated items valued at nearly $118,000 to the San Antonio Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity of San Antonio, Haven for Hope and the Westside Development Corporation.

“Frost was able to divert 239 tons of durable goods from the landfill and offset 770 metric tons of CO2e (greenhouse gases) — equal to the carbon-carrying capacity of 19,744 tree seedlings grown over 10 years,” said Buccheri. “Through Green Standards’ managed program of resale, recycling and donation, 67,000 square feet of furniture and non-computer equipment was redistributed over two weeks with 99 percent of Frost’s surplus inventory diverted away from landfill.”

http://www.sustainablecitynetwork.com/topic_channels/public_works/article_da75c420-ba3d-11e5-8d0d-070fed3798bf.html?utm_source=SCN+InBox+e-Newsletter&utm_campaign=4de5d9f707-Newsletter_1-13-2016_Muni&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_11e7ac761c-4de5d9f707-188571221&mc_cid=4de5d9f707&mc_eid=a2be269d55

 

 

 

 

6 Surprising All-Natural Air Fresheners

 

Try these DIY deodorizers made from simple household ingredients.

By Emily Main April 1, 2015

 

Before you reach for that artificially scented bottle of "Hawaiian Aloha," which likely contains dozens of air pollutants, consider healthier air-freshening alternatives. Most of them are available in unexpected places, such as your liquor cabinet or your garbage can...or even on you. Here are six interesting ways to clean up.

 

1. Vodka
Ethyl alcohol, found in vodka and other spirits, is a main ingredient in most commercial air fresheners. Cleaning your air with vodka allows you to get rid of musty odors without saturating the air (or your lungs) with added chemicals, like petroleum-derived propellants and harmful synthetic fragrances. Vodka leaves no odor as it dries, so you can spray it straight into your air as is, or add 20 to 30 drops of your favorite essential oils for a pleasant scent.

 

2. Cat Litter
Have a smelly closet or musty basement? Set out a tray of cat litter, specifically, Jonny Cat Litter brand, recommends Joey Green of Joey Green's Cleaning Magic (Rodale, 2010). One primary reason that brand works so well has to do with the fact that the main ingredient is Diatomaceous earth, a naturally occurring mineral that, among its many wonders, absorbs odors (it also absorbs moisture in the air and kills pests that come in contact with it). So if you can't find any Jonny Cat Litter, buy a box of Diatomaceous earth and set a few bowls out in the corners of smelly rooms. You can find it online from garden supply stores, such as Planet Natural.

 

3. Coffee Grounds

Who doesn't love the smell of coffee? According to Green, it's another weird odor remover that helps cut the smell of winter mustiness. You can use fresh or used grounds, but if going with used, let them dry out a bit first. Place them in a bowl wherever you need an odor removed, or wrap them up in a coffee filter or old stocking and hang them in a closet or from a shelf. If you're not a coffee drinker, you can still benefit. Some Starbucks (and many small locally owned cafes) give their used coffee grounds away for free.

 

4. A Palm Tree
We're not talking about palm trees at the beach (though a beach vacation is a good way to get away from dirty indoor air). Palm trees used as houseplants are very effective air purifiers, known to remove formaldehyde, which lurks in paints, furniture finishes, and the glues used to hold pressed wood and particle board together. You'll get similar benefits from a variety of other houseplants, but palm trees are among the easiest to care for. Look for Dwarf date, bamboo, areca, lady, or parlor palm varieties.

 

5. Your Skin
Thanks to all the oils in your skin, dead skin flakes act like natural air purifiers, say researchers from Denmark. According to their study, published in Environmental Science & Technology, one of the most common oils in skin, squalene, reduces levels of the indoor air pollutant ozone, a respiratory irritant that can trigger asthma attacks. After comparing levels of ozone in a day-care center's indoor air with the amount of squalene from skin flakes in its dust, the researchers determined that dead skin flakes can reduce ozone levels anywhere from 2 to 15 percent. We're not quite sure how to make use of this information, but it's nice to know you're producing your very own natural air purifier.

 

6. Elbow Grease
Ultimately, the best way to deal with smelly or chemical-laden indoor air is to go straight to the source. It's easier to eliminate an odor's cause than to try to cover it up with coffee grinds or cat litter. And indoor air pollutants that collect in dust can be trapped by a good vacuum and weekly dusting with a damp cloth. To prevent further polluting your indoor air, make your own green cleaning kit with white vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda, and borax, all of which are also natural odor removers.

 

http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/home/6-surprising-all-natural-air-fresheners?cid=socHome_20150403_43206646&adbid=10153287192314642&adbpl=fb&adbpr=165599879641

 

 

 

Coffee Horror: Parody Pokes At Environmental Absurdity Of K-Cups

January 28, 2015

Maria Godoy

 

 

 

You want a cup of decaf. Your significant other is craving the fully caffeinated stuff. With the simple push of a button, Keurig's single-serving K-Cup coffee pods can make both of you happy.

But those convenient little plastic pods can pile up quickly, and they're not recyclable. And that's created a monster of an environmental mess, says Mike Hachey. Literally.

 

Link to video

 

Hachey is CEO of Egg Studios, a video production company based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Earlier this month, his firm released a 2 1/2-minute mock horror film featuring a giant, Godzilla-like creature constructed entirely of K-Cups.

 

It's a slick little film in the found-footage style of movies like Cloverfield and The Blair Witch Project. And it's got the usual Hollywood tropes of the genre: big explosions, pedestrians fleeing in terror, an aerial onslaught of K-Cup projectiles, soldiers shooting blindly at the enemy.

 

The point, says Hachey, is to use cinematic tactics to raise awareness of the waste. Consider this startling statistic: In 2013, Keurig Green Mountain produced 8.3 billion K-Cups — enough to circle the Earth 10.5 times. (In 2014, output shot up to 9.8 billion portion packs.)

 

"To see that stat ... made us think, wow," says Hachey.

 

Hachey began digging into the issue after he bought a Keurig machine for his 22-person office last year. The system was great, he says. The mounds of plastic cups they were tossing out were not. "We basically decided, 'You know what? This is just too wasteful,' " he says.

 

He could have left things at that, but instead, he started investigating K-Cup waste. About 1 in 8 American households now has a single-serving coffee brewer, according to a 2013 survey by the National Coffee Association, and Keurig, which launched in the 1990s, is the market leader.

 

"There were 60 billion K-Cups that have gone into landfills during Keurig's rise so far," he says. "Obviously, Keurig is the machine of choice for many people — 13 million people have this machine."

 

The video is Hachey's attempt to get K-Cup lovers thinking about what their habit means for the planet. "We wanted to do something that looked big and felt big," Hachey says. His team of engineers and animators spent months working on post-production effects — work they squeezed in between paying gigs for clients. "Doing things like this stands out and can create a bigger conversation," he says.

Concerns about the K-Cup's environmental impact have been brewing for several years. "It's a warranted criticism," says Monique Oxender, chief sustainability officer for Keurig Green Mountain. She says the company has been exploring recyclable alternatives since Green Mountain acquired Keurig in 2006.

 

"We're not proud of where we are right now, and we're committed to fixing it," she tells The Salt.

 

Several competing coffee pod makers offer recyclable options. Nespresso, for example, makes its pods out of aluminum. But K-Cups are made from No. 7 composite plastic, which isn't recyclable in most areas.

The company says its newer coffee pod systems are made from recyclable plastic: the Vue, K-Carafe (which holds multiple coffee servings in one pod), and the Bolt (designed for workplaces). But those models are just 5 percent of the beverage packs Keurig Green Mountain produces; the rest are K-Cups.

 

So why not simply adopt those new materials in the far more ubiquitous K-Cups? The sticking point is backward compatibility — there are already millions of Keurig brewing machines out there, Oxender explains. "It has to work on all models," she says.

 

The newer recyclable pods are designed to be punctured once, not twice as with K-Cups, and the overall shape and design are different. And in K-Cups, the filter and coffee grounds are fused to the cup and the lid; in Vue cups, they are attached to the peel-away foil lid.

 

Oxender says the company experimented with a paper K-Cup, but that didn't pan out. One challenge, she says, is that coffee starts to degrade as soon as it is exposed to oxygen. "You have to have the right combination of cup, the filter and the top."

 

"We just haven't hit the right formula," she says.

 

Keurig Green Mountain has set a deadline of 2020 for making all of its beverage pods recyclable.

 

Hachey isn't impressed. He says that's way too far into the future. He launched a website, Kill The K-Cup, that includes a link to a Change.org petition urging the company to move up that deadline.

 

How does Oxender respond? "I would really love to," she says. "And I'm pushing the organization as hard as I can."

 

In the meantime, the new Keurig 2.0 brewing system also has critics steamed. It accepts the greener Vue and K-Carafe pods, as well as K-Cups, but it doesn't work with pods made by Keurig competitors — including some recyclable options. The new system also lacks a reusable filter, which was available for the previous model. Oxender says the company is considering bringing that option back.

 

So what's an eco-minded K-Cup user to do? The company has a program called Grounds to Grow On for workplace K-Cup users to mail back their used pods. These get burned up as fuel — a less than ideal solution, Oxender says, but at least they don't end up in landfills. The company plans to pilot a similar program for residential users in the next few months, she says.

 

Or you could sign up for a service like Terracycle's Zero Waste Box. The company sends you a bin to fill up with your spent pods, and you mail it back for custom recycling. Bins cost $70 to $118, depending on size. That's not cheap — but it might help keep visions of the K-Cup monster at bay.

 

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2015/01/28/379395819/coffee-horror-parody-pokes-at-environmental-absurdity-of-k-cups?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20150129

 

 

 

 

7 Best Air-Cleaning Plants

I know this is an area I need to improve in.  Believe it or not, I don’t have any plants in my office right now and I need to change that.  Hopefully this article will help you, too!  Just remember, many of the plants listed can be invasive if grown outdoors in South Florida.  Leave them in the pot indoors, please!

 

 

Finding plants that clean the air could make your lungs healthier and put you in a better mood.

 

Winter isn't easy on most of us. Piles of ice and snow greet us weekly, and short days make brief periods of sunshine even harder to come by. That, combined with bitterly cold temperatures, means most of us wind up staying inside our well-sealed energy-efficient homes, rather than get outside for fresh air. And that could put your lungs at risk. There are a wide variety of toxic chemicals lurking in your home, and while you can take steps to minimize them, one the most prevalent chemicals in your home isn't easy to get rid of. Formaldehyde, a volatile organic compound that is emitted in low levels by a variety of household building products and furniture, may cause cancer in humans and has been known to trigger asthma attacks and allergic reactions when present in high levels. A common component of glues that hold pressed-wood or particleboard furniture and cabinets together, it's also emitted by natural gas stoves, carpet glues, flooring glues, caulks, sealants, paints, furniture finishes, and the water- and stain-repellent finishes applied to upholstery and clothing.

Government regulations have reduced the amount of formaldehyde that is used in insulation and particleboard furniture, but the sheer number of potential formaldehyde emitters found in the average home makes the chemical difficult to avoid. The good news is, you have a cheap, easy, green tool at your disposal to get rid of it. In 1989, NASA scientists tested a variety of houseplants for their ability to remove formaldehyde from the air, and one of the authors, B.C. Wolverton, later published the findings in a book titled How to Grow Fresh Air (Penguin, 1996).

Following is a list of their top formaldehyde removers, as well as a few other plants that clean the air and may bring a little sunshine into your winter. But before you head to your local greenhouse, ask your friends if they can give you any clippings or root cuttings. Not only are they free, but it's also difficult (if not impossible) to find organically grown houseplants. Greenhouses are breeding grounds for aphids and other plant pests, and as a result, growers commonly use herbicides and fumigants.

 

#1: Boston fern.

Boston ferns remove more formaldehyde than any other plant. They're also highly efficient at removing other indoor air pollutants, such as benzene and xylene (these are components of gasoline exhaust that can migrate indoors if you have an attached garage). The downside is that they can be finicky. You need to feed them weekly in seasons when they're growing, monthly during the winter, and they like to be watered regularly. Depending on the humidity and moisture levels in your home, you may need to water them or mist their leaves daily. Another good fern for formaldehyde removal is the Kimberley Queen, a larger, broader-leafed fern than the Boston fern. It's also a much better choice if you have particularly dry indoor air, thanks to a high transpiration rate (the rate at which water evaporates from leaves). Wolverton writes that they're "one of the best natural humidifiers of all houseplants tested."

 

 

#2: Palm trees.

Palm trees seem particularly good at removing indoor air pollutants, particularly formaldehyde, and fortunately, they're all relatively easy to care for. The best at formaldehyde removal is the Dwarf date palm, which is closest in appearance to the palm trees that remind you of warmer climates (a good cure for the winter blues). But you'll also get clean air with a bamboo palm, areca palm (pictured left), lady palm, or parlor palm. Another plus: Palms like cooler temperatures, in the 60 to 75 degree range, so they force you to be energy efficient and lower your thermostat.

#3: Rubber Plants and "Janet Craigs."

Got a dim office that's just screaming out for cleaner air and a little touch of nature? Try a rubber plant or the dracaena "Janet Craig." Both will tolerate very little sun (though they may grow a little more slowly) and top the list for formaldehyde removers, which is particularly important in offices where most furniture is made from particleboard held together by formaldehyde-based glues. Janet Craigs will tolerate more abuse and neglect than rubber trees, but rubber trees are a little more aesthetically pleasing.

#4: English ivy.

Grown outdoors, English ivy is an invasive species that can damage your home's exterior and tear off your gutters. But bring it inside, and it's an effective formaldehyde remover. Thanks to its ability to climb structures, it's easy to grow as topiary and use as a decorative element in your living spaces. English ivy likes part sun and part shade, so it's a good plant to try indoors, and it's not as temperamental as Boston ferns are. Occasional waterings and mistings during the winter will keep it healthy.

 

#5: Peace lily.

One of few houseplants that will bloom indoors, the peace lily with its seashell-shaped spathes really will bring a touch of summer into a dreary winter. One of the best plants for removing formaldehyde, it also removes benzene and certain VOCs that are emitted by harsh cleaning products (making it another good office plant, particularly if your maintenance staff doesn't use green cleaners). It also prefers low-light conditions and has a high transpiration rate that will humidify your air. Just be aware that the leaves can be poisonous to pets and children, so peace lily may not be a great choice for new parents or pet owners.

 

#6: Golden pothos.

Though not high on the list of formaldehyde removers, we've included this plant because you can practically hit it with a hammer and not kill it. It tolerates a lot of neglect and is forgiving when over-watered. And it's still relatively effective at removing air pollutants. For those reasons, it's a great "starter houseplant" for people without much indoor-gardening experience. Golden pothos are often mistakenly sold as philodendrons, which are related plants that are equally good at removing formaldehyde, and almost as forgiving to newbie houseplant tenders.

 

#7: Flowering air purifiers.

Nothing is better at beating the trifecta of winter blues—dirty air, and lackluster décor—than a flowering houseplant. Florists' mum and Gerbera daisies (pictured) are the best at removing formaldehyde, with tulips not far behind. Of course, nothing worth having comes easy. Flowering plants require more careful watering and feeding, and most prefer cool temperatures (below 65 degrees). Also, unless you're a really good indoor gardener, you have to toss the plants after the flowers die. If you're really dedicated, you can try rooting a new azalea plant this spring in a movable container that you can bring indoors in the fall. Azaleas can be bred to flower all winter, they are great at removing formaldehyde, and they don't have to be tossed out when their flowers fall off.

http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/7-best-air-cleaning-plants?page=0,0

 

Here’s to a cleaner, healthier office in 2015!

 

 

 

 

Indoor Plants and Indoor Air Quality

Do indoor plants really fight indoor air pollution?

By Marc Lallanilla

Green Living Expert

 

Indoor plants brighten our lives by bringing a little touch of nature into our homes and offices.

But beyond their aesthetic and emotional benefits, many people swear that indoor plants also improve our physical health by cleaning the air of toxins.

Is this story about "cleaning out the toxins" just a bunch of hippie hokum, or can houseplants really purify the air?

The Science Behind Indoor Air Quality

In order for a plant to thrive indoors, it has to be tolerant of low-light conditions, stale indoor air, an irregular or indifferent watering regimen, and all the other slings and arrows we humans throw at our plants.

Not all plants, of course, are going to make it indoors, as many a brown-thumb gardener can attest. Even the most cautious of caretakers has thrown out a plant that just seemed determined to die.

And indoor plants certainly have their work cut out for them: The EPA has determined that indoor air can be up to 100 times more polluted than outdoor air.

What pollutants are found in indoor air? You may be sorry you asked. A frightening list of volatile organic compounds, or VOCs -- including benzene, xylene, hexane, heptane, octane, decane, trichloroethylene or TCE, methylene chloride and formaldehyde -- have been found in indoor air.

Additionally, ozone -- the highly reactive, colorless gas that's the main component of smog -- isn't just an outdoor pollutant. Ozone also infiltrates indoor environments since it can be released by ordinary copy machines, laser printers, ultraviolet lights and certain indoor air purifiers.

These pollutants can have serious health impacts. Benzene, for example, is internationally recognized as a cancer-causing agent. Other illnesses, such as asthma and other neurologic, reproductive, developmental, and respiratory disorders are all linked to exposure to VOCs.

And the toxic effects of ozone on humans include pulmonary edema, hemorrhage, inflammation, and a significant reduction in lung functioning. In other words, poor indoor air quality can sicken and kill you.

Phytoremediation to the Rescue

Has anyone ever proven that indoor plants can clean the air of these and other pollutants? After all, a scrawny little spider plant, drooping in a forgotten corner of someone’s office, doesn’t look all that potent of an air purifier.

But indoor plants really don’t have anything to do all day except take in carbon dioxide and other gases from the air, and convert these (plus a little light and water) into the sugar compounds that keep the plant alive.

In 2009, to test the effects of phytoremediation (the ability of plants to clean indoor air), researchers from Pennsylvania State University studied the effects of three common houseplants on indoor ozone levels. The scientists chose snake plant, spider plant and golden pothos to study because of the plants' popularity (primarily due to their low cost, low maintenance and rich foliage) and their reported ability to reduce indoor air pollutants.

To recreate a typical indoor environment, the researchers set up phytoremediation chambers in a greenhouse equipped with a charcoal filtration air supply system in which ozone concentrations could be measured and regulated. Ozone was then pumped into the chambers, and the chambers were checked every 5 to 6 minutes. The study revealed that ozone depletion rates were significantly higher in the chambers that contained plants than in the control chambers without plants.

Indoor Plants and VOCs

Researchers from the University of Georgia in 2009 tested the phytoremediation ability of indoor plants to remove VOCs from the air. A range of popular plants were placed in gas-tight glass jars and were then exposed to benzene, TCE, toluene, octane, and alpha-pinene. The plants were then classified as superior, intermediate, and poor, according to their ability to remove VOCs.

The study concluded that bringing common plants into indoor spaces has the potential to significantly improve the quality of indoor air. Of the 28 indoor plant species tested, Hemigraphis alternata (purple waffle plant), Hedera helix (English ivy), Hoya carnosa (variegated wax plant), and Asparagus densiflorus (asparagus fern) had the highest removal rates for all of the VOCs introduced. Tradescantia pallida (purple heart plant) was rated superior for its ability to remove four of the VOCs.

And in 2011, a team of researchers tested the efficiency of formaldehyde removal in 86 species of plants representing five general classes (ferns, woody foliage plants, herbaceous foliage plants, Korean native plants, and herbs).

The scientists found that Osmunda japonica (Japanese royal fern), Selaginella tamariscina (Spikemoss), Davallia mariesii (Hare's-foot fern), Polypodium formosanum, Psidium guajava (Guava), Lavandula (Sweet Lavender), Pteris dispar, Pteris multifida (Spider fern), and Pelargonium (Geranium) were the most effective species tested. Ferns had the highest formaldehyde removal efficiency of the five classes of plants tested, with Osmunda japonica determined to be most effective of all 86 species, coming in at 50 times more effective than the least efficient species.

 

http://greenliving.about.com/od/healthyliving/a/indoor-plants-indoor-air-quality.htm

 
http://plantscapers.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/6-good-indoor-plants.jpg

 

 

 

 

Keurig Coffee Pods Conundrum: What to Do With All That K-Cup Waste?

By Sara Novak on April 21, 2014

 

The single brewing coffee maker has changed the face of an at home cup o’ Joe. I’ll be the first to admit, a cup of Keurig coffee seems somehow more sophisticated. I’m not sure why and I’m not even sure it tastes any different, but for some reason knowing that my cup of coffee was made only for me makes me feel special. And I’m not the only one.

Keurig coffee was introduced in 1998 and today it’s the leading single cup brewing system in North America. The company, which is owned by Green Mountain Coffee, produced 8.3 billion Keurig cups (known as k-cups) in 2013. Today, nearly 1 in 5 coffee drinkers use some sort of single cup brewing system.

Green Mountain Coffee seems, well, green. I know that sounds superficial, but the name makes me picture a lush green mountain growing all sorts of organic caffeinated goodness. But no matter what kind of coffee may be in those little cups, the plastic pods produce a massive amount of waste.
Journalist Murray Carpenter wrote in her book "Caffeinated: How Our Daily Habit Helps, Hurts, and Hooks Us" that a row of the k-cup waste produced in 2013 would circle the planet 11 times. And as green as you might wish Green Mountain is, only 5 percent of those little pods were made out of recycled plastic.

 

Mother Jones reports:

Some competitors already have recyclable or biodegradable versions of this single-serve pod; Nespresso's lid and pod is made entirely from aluminum. A Canadian brand, Canterbury Coffee, makes a version that it says is 92 percent biodegradable (everything save for the nylon filter can break down). Finding a substitute is an interesting challenge, says Keurig spokeswoman Sandy Yusen, because coffee is perishable, and so the material used must prevent light, oxygen, and moisture from degrading the coffee.

 

“The whole concept of the product is a little bit counter to environmental progress,” said Darby Hoover, a senior resource specialist for the Natural Resources Defense Council. “If you are trying to create something that is single use, disposable, and relies on a one-way packaging that can’t be recycled, there are inherent problems with that.”
Not to mention that it’s #7 plastic. While #7 plastic is free of the endocrine disruptor BPA, it does contain polystyrene, which could damage the nervous systems of the workers that come into constant contact with it.

It’s all the more reason to think twice before using a single brewing coffee system. Opt for the high quality, yet reusable bliss of a french press.

 

http://naturallysavvy.com/live/keurig-coffee-pods-conundrum-what-to-do-with-all-that-k-cup-waste

 

 

 

 

When a Pencil Becomes a Plant

We have always been advocates of using your pencils to the end, but Sprout have planned even further ahead. To combat throw-away culture, they have designed an ingenious wooden pencil which can be planted in a pot once it was been worn down to a stub. With a bit of love, water and sunshine, the pencil stub will grow, develop roots, and blossom into a fully-fledged plant that will provide fresh vegetables and herbs.

 

Sprout comes in eleven different varieties, including green peppers, cherry tomatoes, thyme, dill, rosemary and many more. We are told to wait 2-3 weeks before it sprouts and 4-5 weeks before your fresh herbs and veggies are ready to be used for cooking.

 

 

Sprout’s innovative idea is a truly dual-edged blade. On one hand, it cuts our wastage of basic utensils and objects, which get cast into the rubbish bin long before they’ve given all they have to give. On the other, it encourages households to be more self-sustainable when it comes to sourcing fresh ingredients, luring us away from tomatoes which are flown in from Italy.

Stopping stationary waste may only be a microcosm of the colossal waste issue worldwide but it just goes to show that, with a little ingenuity, humankind has the opportunity to reinvent resource systems for the better – regardless of scale.

You can get your hands on Sprout by heading to their website.

 

All images belong to Sprout.

Posted by katee

June 4, 2014

News, Products, Technology

http://dothegreenthing.com/blog/when_trees_die/

 

 

 

 

 

Plug electronics into a power strip

Even when turned off, electronic and IT equipment often use a small amount of electricity. U.S. households spend approximately $100 per year to power devices while they are in a low power mode -- roughly 8 percent of household electricity costs.

Nationwide, it is estimated that standby power accounts for more than $11 billion in annual U.S. energy costs! Using a power strip for your computer and all peripheral equipment allows you to completely disconnect the power supply from the power source, eliminating standby power consumption and cutting carbon pollution.

Learn more about how you can act on climate: http://epa.gov/climatechange/wycd