Welcome to the inaugural issue of your EcoRewards Newsletter! Every quarter you will receive information that will both interest and inform you regarding recycling. If you have a specific interest you'd like to see in this newsletter, contact Ken Carrier. We look forward to hearing from you!

The University of Texas M D Anderson Cancer Center - Houston

According to Frank Colbourn, Manager of Building Services for M D Anderson Cancer Center and EcoRewards participant, the key to successful workplace recycling is getting your employees engaged. He suggests forming a Recycling Team early in the process. Getting input from your staff at the beginning will help you at every step along the way.

Colbourn also suggests using the EcoRewards staff to the fullest. "We were lucky to have Michael Filandro's experience to draw on," Colbourn explains. "He helped us tremendously with our internal marketing and in educating our employees."

"The staff enjoys seeing the data that reflects their facility's shrinking carbon footprint. People all over our campus are excited about our recycling program." According to Colbourn, "they are taking real ownership." To read more about the beginning and the structure MDA's recycling program click here .

CB Richard Ellis- Houston

"How much MONEY are you throwing away?"
Arthur Triplette, a CBRE Real Estate Manager, had a waste audit completed to help him answer that very question. The audit helped him discover the buildings in question were overpaying for their waste collection services. Using the data created by the audit, he cut his per-week trash pickups by 40% --- from 5 to 3! And after he started a recycling program at each of the buildings, he expects to reduce his pickup frequency by 1 more. That will reduce his pickups by a total of 60%. To read more about the audit, click here.

To discover how much money you are throwing away - schedule an audit with EcoRewards experts. Click on the green "Schedule Time with our Staff" button to the left.

March 1 - 4 Southeast Recycling Conference and Trade Show - Destin, Florida info
March 30 - 31 WasteNews Capitol Hill Summit - Washington, D.C. info
April 4 Don't Mess with Texas Trash Off (Keep Texas Beautiful) info
April 16 - 19 Gulf Coast Green Symposium & Expo - Houston, Texas info
April 22 Earth Day - info
June 8 - 11 Waste Expo - Las Vegas info
Aug 30 - Sept 2 State of Texas Alliance for Recycling Summit- Galveston info
Nov 15 Texas Recycles Day info

Latest On-Highway Diesel Prices - click here
 

Consumer Electronics Recycling
Manufacturers and Recyclers area banding together to expand their electronics recycling programs. The EPA program "Plug-In To eCycling with the U.S. EPA" is a partnership between the EPA and consumer electronics manufacturers, retailers, and service providers. It offers you opportunities to donate or recycle - to "eCycle" - your used electronics.

Plug-In to eCycling partners increased their recovery rate by 30 percent in 2008. The Plug-In to eCycling site will guide you to find the easiest route to recycling your business' used electronics. Click here.

Breath Easier in the MetroPlex
The Environmental Protection Agency has given final approval to the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) clean air plan for ozone, making the region the first in the nation to receive such an endorsement.

"With this plan, more than six million residents who call the Dallas-Fort Worth area home will be breathing cleaner, healthier air," said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene. "To be the first in the nation to develop a viable plan to reduce ozone is significant in itself. But to have done it while also balancing the needs of a growing population and vibrant economy makes it even more remarkable." To read more about it, click here.

 

Project Certification
LEED certification provides independent, third-party verification that a building project meets the highest green building and performance measures. All certified projects receive a LEED plaque, which is the nationally recognized symbol demonstrating that a building is environmentally responsible, profitable and a healthy place to live and work. To learn more about the certification, visit the U. S. Green Building Site. Click here.

100% Recyclable PET Bottles

Enso Bottles LLC of Phoenix is introducing a plastic bottle that is totally recyclable with traditional polyethylene terephthalate containers.

According to Danny Clark, Founder of the company, the PET containers will biodegrade in anaerobic and aerobic compostable environments. The materials used in the containers are certified as food grade by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration. To read more about this innovation visit the Enso site. Click here.

Contain Your Recycling!

One of your most common first requests regarding office recycling is, "What containers should we be using?"

A brochure presenting a wide range of office/commercial recycling containers recently came to the EcoRewards offices. We are happy to share it with you to help you with your organizational activities. To see the brochure, click here.

Coming later this year - Transaction-Level Account Reporting. You will be able to access your account information via the EcoRewards site at any time. Details as they become available.
 

Welcome to EcoRewards!
Weingarten Realty - Houston
Kroger - Dallas-Ft. Worth
Cintas Document Management - Dallas-Ft. Worth
Chevron - Houston
Doubletree - Dallas-Ft. Worth
General Dynamics - Dallas-Ft. Worth
Whole Foods - Dallas-Ft. Worth