Insider�s Guide To Compostables Collection at Events
It�s not as easy as collecting trash, but a significant source of nutrient rich materials is available for composting with pre-event planning and outreach. (Full Article) Posted: 8-25-09
Archives - August 2009
ID Alleys Beware: Compost Bins Are Moving in and Taking Over
Owners of 25 restaurants and businesses are kicking the stink of communal dumpsters by enrolling in the City of Seattle Compost Collection service. Food scraps are collected in 60-gallon, 8-yard containers and hauled to Cedar Grove Organics Recycling, LLC for composting. (Full Article) Posted: 8-25-09
Recycle Plastic! Save the Molecule!
... Why are consumers so preoccupied with degradable products? I honestly do not know, but I can guess. It is guilt alleviation. People can still buy an iced latte or a garden salad to go, but since it is in a degradable (or bioplastic) container, they don�t have to feel guilty. Unlike regular plastic, it will not be around �forever.� Hooray!...or maybe not. Let�s think this through a bit more. (Full Article) Posted: 8-20-09
Water Footprint of Beer More on the Farm Than in the Brewery
The total water involved in producing beer is overwhelmingly used on the farm rather than in the brewery, according to a report presented to World Water Week by major brewer SAB Miller and leading global environment organization WWF. (Full Article) Posted: 8-20-09
Greener Package Unveils Industry-First 'Anti-Greenwash' Guidelines
Picking up where the Federal Trade Commission left off in its attempt to devise parameters for sustainability claims, Greener Package has released the industry�s first comprehensive guidelines to packaging sustainability claims. Developed by Environmental Packaging Intl. (EPI), with input from Packaging Knowledge Group LLC (PKG), the Greener Package Guidelines to Sustainability Claims will be used as a basis for the review of claims made by suppliers submitting their product data to the Greener Product Database. (Full Article) Posted: 8-20-09
Kitchen Cleaning: So Fresh, So Green
Only a couple of years ago, well-meaning chefs who tried to make the switch to greener cleaning products ran into several obstacles. An all-natural hand soap came at a steep cost. A floor cleaner was available through only one obscure vendor. And an effective, eco-friendly degreaser? Next to impossible to find. The results: spotty�in both meanings of the word. (Full Article) Posted: 8-20-09
Catering for a Sustainable Future Group Launches Energy Efficiency in Commercial Kitchens Guide
Commercial kitchens can make big improvements on energy efficiency, according to a new guide written specifically for caterers by the Catering for a Sustainable Future Group (CSFG) and the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE). (Full Article) Posted: 8-17-09
USDA Proposes Label for Bio-based Products
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has proposed a labeling system to identify products made with renewable plant, animal and other bio-based materials. The BioPreferred labeling proposal is an outgrowth of the federal government's BioPreferred purchasing program, which was created in the 2002 Farm Bill. The 2008 Farm Bill expanded the program to also promote the sale of bio-based products outside of the government. (Full Article) Posted: 8-7-09
Website Connects Sustainable Retailers and Suppliers
The new website FishChoice.com launched last Monday allows chefs and retailers a free, fast and convenient way to locate suppliers who deal sustainable seafood. The seafood featured on FishChoice meets the strict sustainability standards of six leading seafood conservation groups. (Full Article) Posted: 8-7-09
The Greening of Cleaning
Today, protecting Mother Earth ranks near the bottom of the country's top concerns. Americans now say jobs, the economy, terrorism, healthcare, crime, tax cuts and moral decline are more important than green issues, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted early this year. Yet if recent history is a guide, the environment will again be front and center once the economic picture brightens. After 9/11, for example, environmental worries tanked before resurging as a priority in 2006. (Full Article) Posted: 8-7-09
Companies should get BPA out of packaging: Groups
Consumer groups on Tuesday ramped up their campaign to shame food and beverage companies to take a hormone-disrupting chemical linked to breast and prostate cancer out of their packaging by outing their business plans. (Full Article) Posted: 8-5-09
Bill Would Restrict Antibiotics in Food Animals
A New York congresswoman is trying to rally support for a federal bill that would restrict antibiotic use in food animals just months after a similar measure tanked in California. Despite being voted down in Sacramento, a proposal that bans feeding antibiotics to cattle, hogs and poultry to increase their growth seems to be gaining momentum in the nation's capital, where the Obama administration has condemned the practice. (Full Article) Posted: 8-5-09
Guilt-Free Sushi
As consumers� love affair with seafood continues to grow, so does the pressure on populations of popular fish. Many species such as red snapper, Atlantic halibut, West Coast salmon, and cod are considered overfished. And fishing methods, such as bottom trawling for monkfish and other species, can destroy important habitat. (Full Article) Posted: 8-5-09
The Oil Intensity Of Food
Today we are an oil-based civilization, one that is totally dependent on a resource whose production will soon be falling. Since 1981, the quantity of oil extracted has exceeded new discoveries by an ever-widening margin. In 2008, the world pumped 31 billion barrels of oil but discovered fewer than 9 billion barrels of new oil. World reserves of conventional oil are in a free fall, dropping every year. (Full Article) Posted: 8-5-09
