Our Green Streets Blog

Try these names or starters: greensulate and acorn.

Ecovative Design co-founders, Eben Bayer and Gavin McIntyre. Source: ED website

These are two products released from a company worth watching, ECOVATIVE DESIGN. One is an insulation material, called greensulate. the other is an alternative packaging material, named acorn.

From Ecovative Design’s website:

Acorn™ packaging takes a radically different approach to packaging. Acorn™ is made of agricultural waste materials that come from renewable sources. This environmentally-friendly innovation is just as reliable, easy to use, and affordable as competitive packaging products, like expanded polystyrene. Acorn™ is 100% compostable after use, and can be embedded with grass, flower and plant seeds, which draw upon the material as it breaks down to fuel organic growth. Read more of this >>

This is a site worth visiting: http://ecovativedesign.com

look at their videos on Greensulate, an incredibly exciting non-synthetic product! Read more of this >>

For us sneering at the notion of plastics and biodegradability, it is time to stand back and jump up!

Biodegradable plastic bottles will soon be on grocery shelves. Source: Enso Bottles, LLC

What’ll it be: 10,000 years, or two years? That is the question when it comes to the life expectancy of the plastic bottle you drink from.

For those of us looking for the next level of plastic – something that’s not going to be around for eternity – even compostable – we may need to look no further than Arizona.
That’s where ENSO Bottles, LLC is making plastic drinking bottles that are – yes – biodegradable. Not only biodegradable, but when they go to the landfill, digestible to microbes making methane, which can be captured and converted to energy.

This is exactly the kind of cycle in waste-to-energy that ENSO Bottle co-founder and president, Danny Clark, wants. “When our bottles go into the landfill, the idea is that the bottled will break down and create methane.”

Thus Clark can proudly list one of his company’s operating mantras that it develops products that can create value when they are discarded. Clark says there is no exact time for how long it takes his bottles to break down, but estimated the time to be about two years.

Read more of this >>

Mario Vellandi, publisher of Melodies in Marketing recently posted this insightful missive on the evolution of the sustainability vocabulary as it pertains to marketing:

So I came across this article, Seeking to Save the Planet, With a Thesaurus on the NY Times recently and it coincided very nicely with my recent post on effective communications for sustainable product branding. Namely that the language we use in marketing communications (whether it be for social/environmental campaigns or product branding), has to connect with the audience. So this firm EcoAmerica had put together a study, of which portions were leaked out on the internet a month prior to its official release. Quoting from the NY Times article, Read more of this >>

Read on from the monthly newsletter of Denver Recycles:

For many of us, spring is a time when we clean out our basements and garages. The act of spring cleaning is a great way to start anew; however it can also leave us perplexed as to what to do with the leftover fertilizers, pesticides, stains, varnishes and CFLs that we no longer need but know are not safe to throw in the trash.  Through its Household Hazardous Waste Collection Program, the City & County of Denver can help you safely dispose of chemicals and other household hazardous waste that you come across during your spring cleaning.

Residents of the City and County of Denver are eligible once per year for a free collection of household hazardous waste.  Residents may schedule a door-to-door collection at their home or in some unique cases, an appointment to drop off materials at the facility. Materials accepted through the program are: aerosols, automotive fluids (degreasers, oils, etc.), batteries, caulk, grout, cleaners and polishes (drain, oven, carpet, etc.), CFLs and fluorescent tubes, expired medications, fertilizer, garden chemicals, gasoline, fuel, kerosene, glue, hobby supplies, insecticides and poisons (bug spray, weed killers, etc.), lubricants, metal polishes, moth balls, paint, photography chemicals, sealants, stains and varnishes, solvents and thinners (turpentine, etc.), pool chemicals and thermometers. Read more of this >>

Although some are ready to proclaim the end of the non-biodegradable plastic bottle, some scientists take issue with the reality of such claims. Among those questioning PET biodegradability is Ramani Narayan, Michigan State University Distinguished Professor from the Department of Chemical Engineering & Material Science. Read more of this >>

Joe Lederman, from the Mesothelioma Cancer Center, has requested we post this information about asbestos.

Places to look for sbestos in older homes

Sustainability and energy guide many aspects of life in the United States. There are many green, eco-friendly materials that replace the need for asbestos and can reduce energy costs annually. The implementation of eco-construction and green energy home solutions will play an important role in the transformation to a healthier and sustainable world.

Recently, congress passed an economic stimulus package that promotes energy efficiency for home and business owners. The American Recover and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009 include incentives for upgrading to more eco-friendly/sustainable methods of energy and insulation. The move to a greener lifestyle will build on the change to healthier methods of building products, home remodeling and renovation. Read more of this >>