A cooperative I’m associated with has helped 100s of food service businesses during the past several years shift toward zero waste. Zero waste is a sustainable philosophy that promotes the reconstruction of resource life cycles so that all products are either reused or recycled.

Food service businesses driving toward zero waste focus on decreasing their waste as much as possible and then diverting any remaining waste toward recycling and composting facilities. To achieve zero waste, I’ve found these businesses incorporate 3 important strategies:

1) Removing Non Recyclable And Non Compostable Waste – I have seen a variety of our generations green bistros and cafes effectively get rid of all waste that can’t be sent for composting or recycling. For outbound packaging supplies (the ones used by consumers), numerous businesses have shifted over to compostable food packaging (e.g., biodegradable cups, compostable plates, compostable forks, biodegradable containers). Note: Managers should make sure that any item labeled “biodegradable” meets ASTM D6400 for compostability in a commercial composting facility. Incoming packaging supplies are a little tougher to control (e.g., it’s harder to make sure that your supplier does not wrap your vegetables with cellophane), but still many restaurants have been able to ask vendors to avoid using product packaging which is difficult to recycle (e.g., Styrofoam).

2) Getting Rid Of their Trash Bins – I have seen several green minded business owners dispose of or drastically reduce the size of their trash bin. This appears to be an incredibly powerful strategy assuming that you’ve already implemented #1 and switched most of your packaging to items like biodegradable cups and biodegradable plates. By getting rid of your trash can, you effectively force consumers to stop and think before throwing away their food & packaging waste into a composting or recycling can; and when combined with proper recycling & composting signage, this is an extremely effective strategy for getting customers to sort their own recyclables & compostables in-store.

3) Employee Education – I’ve found that restaurants that are the best at getting to zero waste take significant effort to educate their staff on effective recycling techniques, composting practices, and the use of reusable goods. Training is key when answering customer questions (e.g., which bin does this fork go in?) and for the sorting of waste that has been left on counter-tops or in the kitchen. Additionally, having a staff that is excited about a business’ move toward zero waste will definitely go a long way toward embedding that feeling into a restaurants’ culture and the hearts of its customers.

I hope you enjoyed learning about the eco-friendly steps being taken by food service businesses. Best of luck on your green-minded journey!

Connect with organizations that are helping small businesses reduce their waste + get access to significant price cuts on biodegradable coffee cups and compostable plates.

Living in a house with older windows has its good points and bad. The windows may be classically beautiful with lots of character but they are also old and have most likely become less efficient and functional with age. It is easy to reduce your carbon foot print with sash window draught proofing.

Many owners of older homes have received advertisements from residential window replacement companies touting the wonderful qualities of the new, hi-tech windows on the market. Their job is to try to convince you to replace your ‘old, inefficient, non-functioning’ windows for their low-E, thermo-paned, gas filled, vinyl-framed units to ‘up-grade your home and increase energy efficiency’. Your job is to not fall for their line.

The best advice regarding older windows is to repair whenever possible and to replace only if absolutely necessary. Old windows are almost always worth saving and, with proper restoration, can be made to look and operate as they were designed to. And new, modern windows do not really look good on an older house.

Old windows were built to last as long as the house they were installed on and the house is still there, right? But old windows get tired and worn out and need to be maintained (just like us!). Most people who live in really old houses have NEVER seen their windows work properly, as they were meant to. But that can be fixed.

It could be something as simple as scraping away a few dozen coats of paint. More likely the sash cords need to be replaced or the counter-weights are out of balance. The single most beneficial thing you can do for your windows, however, is to draught-proof them.

It is easy and cost-effective to reduce your carbon foot print with sash window draught proofing. Not only will a proper job stop the draughts but it will also minimize dust and noise. It will even help eliminate rattling of the panes. It will help the heat stay in during winter and stay out during summer. It’s a very sound strategy.

Sash window repairs London experts complete make your older home more energy efficient and attractive. A sash window renovation is a good choice when upgrading your home or business structure.

Installing double glazing in your own home or office can help you to reduce your carbon footprint. But what is a carbon footprint? Well, this is usually worked out by looking at how you live and how you spend your recreation. How many tonnes of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide do you use in a year? It might surprise you to learn that by simply installing double glazing in your home or office, you can dramatically cut down this footprint.

The way that most people can work out their own carbon footprint is to use some online software, which is easily available. This calculates a number of things such as the number of car journeys or plane journeys a person makes among other things. These are known as the primary carbon footprint and also include a measure of how energy efficient your home is. That is, does it have insulation in the loft and wall spaces etc.

Next, it asks questions about your indirect carbon usage. This is your secondary footprint and involves things such as where your produce comes from. Do you buy sugar produced in your own country or shipped in from far away for example?

Double glazed windows are made from frames containing two panes of glass quite close to each other. These act as insulators as they trap air between the panes. This can reduce the heat which is lost from a house by up to half.

Adding double glazing to a property can have an immediate impact on the energy efficiency of the house. It can significantly reduce your monthly bills. It can also have an immediate impact on your carbon footprint by reducing it by up to 740kg a year as soon as you have it put in!

Double glazing is indeed a quick and energy efficient way to transform your property from one which leaks heats through the windows into one which conserves heat. And if we all do this, we all help to save the planet too.

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Cincinnati Schools’ Green Renovation

Cincinnati School’s has in effect a long term $1 billion building project that will help to renovate and rebuild many of its older buildings. One Cincinnati School ‘s elementary school, Pleasant Ridge Elementary School, has been recently featured in District Administration. This national magazine focuses on issues in K-12 education. The article from the August issue discusses the growing concern and interest in green building and environmentally friendly construction. The article states that even though the upfront cost can be more the long term benefits of green construction are quite clear. The construction of Cincinnati Schools’ Pleasant Ridge Elementary School is not only a gain for green construction strategies but it also teaches the students important lessons about the environment and responsibility.

Cincinnati Schools’ Pleasant Ridge Elementary School will be the first LEED School in Cincinnati Schools upon its completion. The LEED Green Building Rating System was devised by the U.S. Green Building Council which has helped Cincinnati Schools write its new building plans and codes. The article refers to the work of Ginny Frazier as one of the major influences on the Pleasant Ridge Elementary School project. A private citizen who lives in the area, Frazier is the head of a local group that advocates environmentally friendly building. She went to the Cincinnati Schools’ authorities and administrators with proposals on how the school in her neighborhood could be rebuilt using green materials and environmentally friendly tactics. Some of the ideas she proposed included according to the article, “geothermal heating so the new building uses the earth’s temperature for cooling and heating, using natural building materials, noxious-free cleaning products and art supplies, as well as natural water filtration systems.”

The article discusses the five key areas that the Cincinnati Schools’ Pleasant Ridge Elementary School project uses innovative techniques or old-fashioned common sense to improve the building design. The Cincinnati Schools’ Pleasant Ridge Elementary School project will improve the lighting of the schools in several ways. The lights will feature sensors that will automatically turn off lights in unoccupied rooms. Currently Cincinnati’s City Hall is using a similar system that has greatly reduced energy costs. The Cincinnati Schools’ Pleasant Ridge Elementary School will also have photovoltaic panels, which convert solar energy into electricity. Saving energy with heating and cooling systems is also a concern. All the new and renovated Cincinnati Schools will have central air systems. The article states that, “Air conditioned classrooms prevent pollution from outside, and in the end, help asthmatic children breathe easier, he says. And moisture from hot, humid days can also cause ceiling pads to buckle or gym floors to sag”

Another area the article talks about is indoor air pollution. Cincinnati Schools’ Pleasant Ridge Elementary School project is using less carpet in the design in order to help reduce pollutants indoors. Plans for reducing the amount of water use in the Cincinnati Schools’ would also be based on sensors that detect movement around sinks and toilets. The article comments on the concerns that the Cincinnati Schools’ Pleasant Ridge Elementary School project has in this area. The main concern is in using faucets that have an automatic shut off system or a push button system.

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The grownup rootworms come through in July and can ruin corn afterwards in the summertime. The grownups will feed on the upper layer of the foliage, usually concentrating deterioration close to the leaf tips. Damage on leaves would seem brown where the lower surface of the leaf is left out. The grownups will go after the silks if these are present. If this pops up prior to the shedding of the pollens, they have got the potential to obstruct with the pollination process if their amounts are substantial.

These varieties have a really slender host range, feeding on corn and several other grass species. Over the course of winter, the eggs are to hatch the following May. The small larvae can just move a very short length in the solid ground to get roots and start out their improvement. That is why, in Kentucky the western and northern corn rootworms are solely problematic in steady corn. The southern corn rootworm overwinters as an adult and will place its eggs in the springtime. The southern corn rootworm has a truly wide host range and will lay down its eggs around the bases on many plant varieties, it usually does not concentrate on only corn.

That which is popular with each of the corn rootworms in Kentucky is always that their eggs hatch in late spring and the larvae are damaging to corn roots. Nearly always the greater part of injury comes about throughout the calendar month of June. Precisely what can change among the species is anytime the eggs are produced. With the west and northern species the eggs are laid in the dirt at the foundation of corn plants through the previous summer season. These types have an extremely slender host range, feeding on corn and a few other grass species. Over the course of winter, the eggs are to hatch this May. The young larvae can just move a very short range in the dirt to find roots and start their progression. For that reason, in Kentucky the northern and western corn rootworms are merely problematic in steady corn. The ones that live in the southern region remain alive throughout the winter as an adult and will lay its offspring in the spring. This particular rootworm has quite a wide host collection and will lay down its eggs around the bases on numerous plant species, it normally doesn’t focus on only corn.

The damage achieved by the larvae to corn roots might be substantial. Corn plants produce roots on gradual rings, this particular larvae can hurt a few or more complete rings of roots throughout June if communities are intense. Corn plants that were seriously affected by corn rootworm larvae normally fall over partially and may attempt to bend further up. This is attributes of rootworm impairment and is termed ‘goose-necking’ of corn.

Take notice, insecticide ideas in this journal are registered for implementation in Kentucky, USA mainly! The utilization of numerous merchandise may not be legal in your area or nation. Remember to assess with your local county agent or regulatory officer before making use of any pest control described in this article.

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Green business practices is a great boost for your company’s public image. You will be seen as company that does the responsible thing, no matter what. What is really even better is that few of them really realize that you are also cutting costs and helping your profit margin all at the same time. It turns out that being environmentally conscious is also quite good for the bottom line.

What reducing waste really means is reducing costs. Waste refers not only to leftover scraps of paper, or raw production materials, that are thrown away; it also refers to the money that is wasted on these things. It means a lack of efficiency. A lack of efficiency mean that there is money being thrown away. It means that there is room for improvement. You want to reduce the need you have for purchasing the materials, such as paper, in the first place.

There is no need to purchase scrap paper. Anytime the printer or fax machine jams there is plenty of paper that is deemed no longer suitable for professional use because it is horribly wrinkled. Cut it up and use it for phone messages. Make sure both sides of the paper gets used before it finally hits the recycling bin.

Lots of companies are making the move to paperless billing and invoicing. Not only does it create a lot of waste, it also costs a lot of money to produce the waste. If you are not comfortable jumping in with both feet you could test the water first by offering it as an option to existing clients, customers, or suppliers first. Then gradually make the shift to paperless billing as a standard. While people can still request paper, they will incur additional fees for it.

Travel expenses can add up quickly and be very costly for a company. Reduce the amount of emissions your company makes by doing as many meetings as possible through web conferencing. While this will not be completely free, there are usually minimal costs for these services, it will still be lower than the cost of having numerous employees traveling to another location.

If office space is costly you a lot of money, then see who on your staff is a good candidate for telecommuting, sharing office space with flexible schedules, or another similar arrangement. While you may still have to pay to set up their home office, and will need them to physically come in periodically, it saves you from having to maintain their office or cubicle. Your employees may be wanting this change anyway, so it could do wonders for morale. You also will not have people driving their cars into work everyday. Lower emissions, happier employees, and the reduction in expenses was just the icing on the cake.

Recycling bins need to be clearly marked and easy to find throughout your building. Before throwing away anything make sure that it does not belong in the recycling bin instead of the trash can. Several cities and communities have instituted steep fines for not recycling.

The green business movement has some serious advantages. Doing the right thing generally pays off one way or another and this is no exception. If you check into it you will find that there are a growing number of grants and funding opportunities available to people wanting to implement environmentally responsible changes in their companies. Tax breaks are also often available.

Find the right ways to make your company a green business. Green Businesses are ones that show they care about the environment, show your support to this cause. Go online and find out more now.

People these days primarily hear about bed bugs but never do they get to observe these insects. Bed bug contaminations were well-known in the United States before the World War II when there was even so a lessening of pest control remedies. But with the excellent improvements in folks general hygiene and the employment of quite a few chemical insecticides in the 1940′s and the 1950′s, the number of bugs in the USA nearly vanished.

Nonetheless these pests were still a widespread sight in Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa. Nonetheless, thses bugs are making a big comeback in the US during the recent years. They are making their way not just through homes but additionally in other outdoor amenities like hotels, schools, even in vehicles and other modes of transportation! Immigration, international travel, the several modifications in modern pest control practices are noticed to be the major factors behind the these pests reappearing once again.

Description and Habits Bed bugs are lightweight, brown, flat insects which feed mainly on the blood of other animals. The popular bed bug, Cimex lectularis, is the species most suitable in living with human beings. They are so at ease in fact, that they have been co-existing with human beings since old times. Evidences of their co-existence with human beings are outlined in old European texts and traditional Greek documents dating back to the time of Aristotle. Grownup bed bugs ordinarily measure about 3/16 inches lengthwise and are reddish brown in color. They are often wrongly recognized for ticks and cockroaches. Younger bed bugs are quite equivalent to grownups but are smaller and lighter in colour.

These pests usually do not fly but they move quickly over floors, walls, and other areas. Female bugs prefer to lay their offspring in remote regions. They often lay one to two eggs each day which total to hundreds during their life span. The eggs are practically as tiny as a dust speck that it really is impossible to notice them with out magnification. They are very sticky when first laid, which is why these eggs could cling to the surface.

Freshly hatched pesky insects are straw-colored and shed their skin five times before reaching maturity. With positive situations, bed bugs can develop in a month’s time producing three or more generations per year. Cooler temps or restricted supply of blood could expand their development time. Bed bugs are resilient and can actually survive several weeks without feeding as nymphs and years as adults. Infestations are hence unlikely to end even if you get away from a premise for several years.

Bed bugs are active at night time and gather together in routine hiding spots. Their flattened bodies allow them to fit in small gaps in headboards, box springs, bed frames and mattresses. These areas are notable by black stains, which usually are from the dried waste of the bugs. Bed bugs prefer to hide near to where they feed but will crawl several feet to obtain a meal, if necessary.

Bites and Problems

These particular bugs in most cases bite people at nighttime when they are asleep. They do this by piercing through the skin with an extended beak which pulls out the blood. It takes approximately 3 to 10 minutes to eat but the individual hardly ever knows that they are being injured. Signs or symptoms change after being bitten. Quite a few get an itchy red mark or inflammation. Some people have very little or simply no response while several have a postponed effect. A common concern with these particular bugs is if these people could transmit diseases. Even when these bugs may possibly carry germs in their system, it is very improbable that they could propagate them to individuals. But regardless of whether they do not have illnesses, these these particular bugs could significantly decrease your quality of life because of the pain, sleeplessness, anxiety, and shame that they cause. Standard repellants used for ticks and mosquitoes are not efficient against bedbugs.

How Infestations Begin Regardless of whether it would seem that bed bugs come from thin air, these bugs are really productive hitchhikers and are normally transmitted through luggage, garments, mattresses, furnishings, and other items. Once presented, they often multiply throughout the area.

Where They Hide The most common spot to find these particular bugs is the bed, specifically in the earlier stages of the problem. As the harmful attacks grow greater, these pesky insects are likely to proceed from the mattresses into other destinations making pest control more tough. A cautious inspection and treatment could take numerous hours. Several businesses are basically now using dogs to find hard-to-find contaminations. Well educated canines can be very efficient but very few businesses are utilizing them as it can be really costly to teach and sustain such pets.

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