Green Recycling Products Blog

Resort communities are part of one of our nation’s most important and fastest growing industries. Travel and tourism accounts for a large percent of all international trade. Since 1950, total annual expenditure on tourism has risen from $2 billion to annual worldwide revenues of $476 billion. This amount exceeds the combined Gross National Product of the world’s 55 poorest countries.
Every community needs a recycling program in place. However, for those communities that rely on tourism as a mainstay for their local economy, it is even more important.

It is human nature to care for our own space and communities more than we care for other's. Therefore, it is very important for areas that rely on scenic views and beautiful vistas to provide easy recycling and waste disposal for their guests.

As visitors to new locations, we do not necessarily notice when a resort location is spotless and clean, but we do notice when it is dirty and littered with trash. When a community counts on tourism, especially if it is seasonal, it is imperative that that community is clean.

However, aside from the economic benefits to recycling: tourism revenue, job opportunities and utilization of resources; there are obviously other benefits as well. Mountains and oceans comprise the majority of vacation destinations and represent more than half of the the earth's fragile life sustaining ecosystems.  Ocean and mountain environments are sensitive and are essential for normalizing climate. Increased access to these areas means that tourism has become a source of environmental stress and often significant environmental degradation. The tourism industry is obligated to minimize environmental degradation. 

Cities such as North Myrtle Beach rise to the challenge.  Fibrex Group supplied the Profile 6 recycling container to North Myrtle Beach to minimize the negative environmental effect of their tourism industry. With this area of South Carolina being a resort and recreation area, and reliant on the economics of tourism, Myrtle Beach felt obligated to keep the area clean by having access to recycling containers for visitors.

By taking the time to recycle, you reduce the need for landfills and incineration while simultaneously helping to conserve national resources such as timber, water, and minerals, sustaining the environment for future generations.

Funding for recycling containers was recently awarded for the “Play Green” project.

The grant funding allows the city to furnish additional permanent recycling containers for the parks, as well as purchase more portable recycling containers for the city’s special events as well as educational and promotional materials.

“The containers are primarily for water bottles, cans and that sort of thing,” said Cristal Rollins, community programs coordinator for Coppell. “Those are the things found most often out on the parks and trails. Park goers can now recycle more while they are using the parks, fields, facilities and trails with the new recycling containers in place.

The containers were provided by a Solid Waste Implementation Project grant from the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) and Texas Commission on Environmental Equality (TCEQ).

Rollins wrote the grant for just under $15,000 and that money provided 17 new recycling containers in the parks and on the trails located in Coppell.

The recycling containers have been placed at Andy Brown East and West parks, the Kid Country playground and the trail system. Each recycling container is marked with “Coppell Recycles Bottles and Cans” signage and has a special opening at the top to minimize contamination. The recycling receptacles are placed next to trash cans in all locations, Rollins said.

“The recycling containers are in the parks and we are using some of the portable containers we purchased at some of the recent city events,” she said. “We also purchased some promotional items to give out to encourage people to recycle.”

Recycling in the parks was first initiated in 2006. The first recycling containers were placed at the soccer and baseball fields at Wagon Wheel and MacArthur parks through “Run, Refresh, Recycle.”

The “Run, Refresh, Recycle” project was also funded through a Solid Waste Implementation Project grant.

The “Play Green” project funds have given the city the opportunity to enhance the park recycling program, increase the diversion rate and create less waste that ends up in a landfill, and gives park users more chances to play green, Rollins said.

Original article written by Jim Kilpatrick – Coppell Gazette

To any school, college, business, or event, the economic benefits of recycling are simple and substantial. Colleges, schools, businesses and those hosting large events pay hefty fees for the collection, transportation and disposal of garbage and trash. Often, it contains more recyclable materials than actual garbage or trash. Beverage containers, food service containers and documents make up the majority of “the trash” that is transported to already full landfills.
 
Trash or waste audits can be performed that will provide a reasonable estimate of just how much trash volume and expense can be reduced when you strategically place recycling containers throughout a campus, school, business, or event. At schools and colleges, cafeterias and libraries are ideal locations for recycling containers.
 
School administrators in particular, may not fully understand the extent of their trash expense. In Seattle, Virginia Mason Hospital recently reduced their garbage expense by $170,000 a year after increasing the use of recycling containers. In addition, the amount of garbage they contributed to landfills was reduced by 80%. Certainly, colleges or large institutions could use that kind of savings.

The Fibrex Group has recycling containers designed for durability and easy cleaning which are also attractive. Recycling bins can have the college or school mascot on them, or they can be color-coordinated with the event or business logo. Our recycling containers are clearly labeled and are made from numerous materials, in many sizes and shapes, to fit nearly every need or decor.

By installing and promoting the use of recycling containers, colleges, schools, businesses and municipalities can significantly reduce their trash expenses and their carbon footprint. School board officials, community leaders and investors will see this as positive indicators of your success and innovative thinking. Additionally, the community will see your business or event as a responsible neighbor, rather than a disruption or intrusion. The successful use of recycling containers will improve your reputation and social performance and keep more cash in the bank.

This blog post centers upon the little known fact that partially filled plastic containers can ruin the recycling process.  We discussed this subject with our kids the other day.  Our youngest suggested we “put it in our new blog”.  How can we argue with that?
   
We have a curbside recycle bin and recently discovered a three-quarters-full plastic soda bottle.  You might be surprised how this seemingly benign circumstance can have a dramatic effect on the recycling process.

Consider these facts:

• Machines that handle the sorting of the materials can become damaged, which means that precious time, energy and money will be needed to repair the machines.

• Liquids and solids left in recyclable materials makes the job far more difficult and inefficient for workers sorting the material by hand.

• Certain biodegradable materials actually inhibit the materials in the bin from turning into the highest quality materials possible

• In extreme cases, foreign matter in the recycling containers can result in the entire bin content being sent directly to the landfill.

Now back to those kids.  I know that they are much more concerned about “Mother Earth” than they are about wasting Mom and Dad’s hard-earned money.  While I don’t expect to see any more half-full soda bottles in our recycle bin,  I am a realist and know their concern for Mother Earth will not  resolve their natural calling to open 12-ounce drinks to satisfy their two-ounce thirst. I suppose they will devise some creative (and comical) covert product disposal methods all in the name of protecting the environment.