The Chicago Park District approved an initiative to promote 2,500 recycling bins throughout the Chicago Park District, including 16 miles of downtown lakefront, effectively increasing public access to recycling products (similar to Fibrex recycling bins) by 125 percent.  Chicago will also place dual purpose bins  (like Fibrex Recycle/Trash Bins) that provide residents and visitors with a convenient and rewarding way to recycle their plastic bottles and aluminum cans while on-the-go. 

According to Keep America Beautiful, only 12 percent of public spaces are equipped with recycling receptacles—indicating a clear need for greater public access to recycling bins. Chicago sets the example for improving on the paltry 12 percent national average for public access to recycling options.  

"The Chicago Park District is committed to keeping more than 570 parks and 26 miles of lakefront green and healthy for all to enjoy throughout the year," said Mike Kelly, Chicago Park District Interim Superintendent and Chief Executive Officer. As cities across the nation become increasingly environmentally conscious, The Fibrex Group will continue to lead the way in delivering safe and affordable recycling solutions.

Several Johnson County, Kansas businesses and four elementary schools will receive Johnson County's Green Business Award for success in waste reduction.

To recognize new, as well as ongoing efforts of businesses to "go green," the Johnson County Solid Waste Management Committee has selected 10 recipients of its annual Green Business Award.

The 10 recipients diverted a combined total of 1,227 tons of waste from landfills to recycling and composting. Awardees include manufacturers, schools and a hospital. The 2011 recipients of the top Emerald Award are:

• Farmers Insurance HelpPoint, Olathe
• Shawnee Mission Medical Center, Merriam
• ITW Dymon, Olathe
• ITW Labels, Gardner
• LaserCycle, Inc., Lenexa
• Tomahawk Elementary School, Overland Park
• Brookwood Elementary School, Leawood
• Briarwood Elementary School, Prairie Village
• Bluejacket Flint Elementary School, Shawnee
• WaterOne, Lenexa

Three levels were available for awards.  The highest level being Emerald, followed by Gold and Honorable Mention.
 
A few of the EMERALD Level Winning Companies include:

• ITW Labels - They began with a facility that did no recycling and upgraded to a zero solid waste facility. By designing an innovative recycling program that includes 20 different waste streams ITW went from sending 30 tons each month to the landfill to zero within a nine month period.
• Brookwood Elementary - Brookwood implemented a composting program for all food, paper napkin, paper plate, and milk carton waste with Missouri Organic, a local commercial composting company. This program reduced lunch waste from eight (8) bags each day to less than one (1) bag.
• LaserCycle, Inc. - They implemented a program where trash cans were removed from individual cubicles and offices and placed them in central locations for collection. This provided greater awareness of sorting materials into recycling and residual trash.
• Farmers Insurance HelpPoint - Farmers Insurance refurbished 368 desktop computers that were given back to the vendor and reinstituted to service elsewhere. Additionally, they sent 24 broken computer items to an EPA approved disposal service.
• Briarwood Elementary - Briarwood performed a Recycling Rodeo for all their students. The Rodeo had each classroom collecting, measuring and graphing paper and mixed recycling daily for five weeks. Updates were placed in the Briarwood Brief to keep students and parents informed of their progress.
• Tomahawk Elementary - Tomahawk has fully integrated their "Green" programs into the school. They Changed their concept of conservation and environmental education from just something the school "did" to truly being a part of their everyday culture. The result has been greater participation in the school's after school environmentally focused HiP team.

If you recycle just two gallons of used oil it can generate enough electricity to run the average household for almost 24 hours!

Cars are an indispensable fact of life for most of us. So, too, are abundant and clean supplies of drinking water. What we do with the used oil from our cars plays an important role in balancing our desire for convenient transportation with our desire for a clean and healthy environment today and for future generations.

We are all familiar with recycling newspapers, aluminum cans, glass and plastic bottles, but you may not be aware of the efforts to promote used motor oil recycling: providing convenient collection sites for the purpose of keeping used motor oil out of our waterways and ground water supplies and getting used oil into the recycling system.

Motor oil has value even after it has been drained from an engine. The oil you take to a collection center to be recycled saves energy. It can be reprocessed and used in furnaces for heat or in power plants to generate electricity for homes, schools, and businesses. It can also be sent to a refinery that specializes in processing used oil and re-refined into lubricating base oils that can be used to formulate engine oils.

Used motor oil that is collected by "do-it-yourselfers" is critical to the used oil recycling system. Collecting used oil from the Do-It-Yourself oil changers is easy with the Profile Oil Containers. Conveniently located used oil drop-off sites equipped with attractive and user-friendly tanks are an essential element for any successful used oil program. The Profile Oil Container is specially designed to accept used oil from the public. This attractive unit is very user friendly which improves program participation and aids in keeping the collection site clean.   

The Profile Oil Container combines the unique feature of a steel inner tank surrounded by a rust resistant fiberglass secondary containment. Other features include a large disposal funnel, rain resistant lockable lid, level gauge, instruction decals and a 2” service coupling for pumping out the used oil.

Three out of five people prefer to eat at restaurants that have recycling practices in place, according to a study conducted by the National Restaurant Association.

The study found that roughly two-thirds of the nation's restaurants practice some level of recycling, but they would be more profitable if they implemented comprehensive programs. 

Other highlights include:      

• 85% of consumers say they sort recyclables in fast food restaurants if recycling containers are provided.
• 74% of restaurateurs who recycle do so in the kitchen and office areas, while 43% have a program in the dining room and other customer-facing areas.
• 72% of restaurant operators use products made from recycled materials, most commonly bags, paper products and food containers.
• 51% of consumers say they're willing to pay a little more at a restaurant that recycles.
• 13% of restaurants participate in composting programs

"Sustainability is more than a fad, it's the new way of doing business in the restaurant industry," says Hudson Riehle, Research and Knowledge Group for the National Restaurant Association. "Our research found that a majority of consumers prefer to patronize restaurants with recycling programs and recycling containers, and restaurants are following suit to ensure they meet their customers' expectations."

The National Restaurant Association surveyed 500 restaurant owners and operators nationwide during March and April, 2011.

The National Restaurant Association has signed on as a co-founding sponsor of the first sustainability conference exclusively focused on the restaurant and food service industry which was held this past weekend in Chicago.

Sustainability is a key industry imperative in the multi-year strategic plan, and the National Restaurant Association is committed to educating its members on how to increase recycling and environmental efforts.

The National Restaurant Association is providing tips, tools and resources for restaurant operators to continue to develop their environmental sustainability programs, including waste reduction and recycling.

Original article on sustainable business.com