| Buy It Again! Newsletter of the New Jersey Buy Recycled Business Network –Winter, 2003 |
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Verizon and the Naval Air Engineering Station - Buy Recycled Success Stories While Verizon and the Naval Air Engineering Station are obviously very different types of organizations, they do have one significant thing in common. Both were recently presented with awards that recognized their outstanding Buy Recycled programs. Verizon, one of the world's leading providers of communications services
and a founding member of the New Jersey Buy Recycled Business Network,
was one of two companies to receive a "Recycling Works Recognition
Award" from the National Recycling Coalition at its annual ceremony
this past December. The award recognizes the company's achievements in
recycling, waste prevention and recycled product procurement. Verizon's
use of recycled content paper in its telephone directories is just one
of its many outstanding environmental initiatives. In 200 1, all 180,000
tons of directory text paper purchased by the company had a minimum of
40% post-consumer recycled content. For additional information, contact
Joseph Verga of Verizon at The Naval Air Engineering Station (NAES) in Lakehurst was one of the recipients of the 2002 "Closing the Circle Awards" presented by the federal government to federal facilities with outstanding programs in the areas of waste prevention, recycling and the procurement of recycled content products and environmentally preferable products. The NAES established a highly successful affirmative procurement plan that calls for all purchases to be screened to verify that they conform with the recycled content recommendations of the Environmental Protection Agency's "Recovered Materials Advisory Notices." As a result of this program, many recycled content building products were used to construct the facility's new lab. For additional information, contact Lawrence Lemig at lemigLG@navair.navy.mil. Did You Know … The Cumberland County Improvement Authority provided Environmental Enhancement
Grants to several county organizations for the purchase of various recycled
plastic lumber products. Contact Dennis DeMatte at "The Green Business Letter" is a good information source for companies, associations, universities, and others striving to integrate environmental thinking throughout their organizations in profitable ways. For further information, visit www.greenbizletter.com EcoBUZZ workstations by Balfix Furniture, Inc. are made with post-consumer recycled plastic and newspaper, as well as with sustainable agricultural boards. Visit www.beitix.com for further details. Federal agencies purchased nearly $500 million in products containing recycled content during the 2001 fiscal year. SplaffFlopps sandals are made from recycled race car tires, recycled
bicycle inner tubes and other recycled materials. Visit Techneglas Inc., a Columbus, Ohio, television glass maker, produces cathode my tube (CRT) funnels for TV sets with 10% post-consumer recycled CRT glass. Corporate awards and gifts made from 100% post-consumer recycled glass
are available from Rivanna Natural Designs. Visit www.rivannadesigns.com
for further details. Recycled Paper Update A 2002 study conducted by Conservatree and the Alliance for Environmental Innovation revealed that despite recent mill closings there is still more than enough industry capacity to support a large and rapid increase in the demand for recycled content paper. This finding is important because purchasing officials often mistakenly cite lack of supply as a reason for not buying recycled content paper. This misconception has slowed the growth in demand for recycled content paper over the past few years. For more information, visit www.conservatree.org Closing the Loop with Total Recycling Services Total Recycling Services of Ridgefield is not only a member of the New
Jersey Buy Recycled Business Network but also the provider of a myriad
of distinctive recycling services and unique recycled products. The company
specializes in oil filter recycling, antifreeze remanufacturing, absorbent
products, absorbent recycling, parts washing sink rental, solvent recycling
and secondary spill, containment products. While the primary focus of
the company is obviously on recycling, the company's commitment to the
"Buy Recycled" cause can best be seen in the areas of antifreeze
remanufacturing and absorbent products |
Rather than disposing of used antifreeze, Total Recycling Services offers a program to the public wherein used antifreeze is collected and reprocessed back to crystal clear ethylene glycol and water. AD impurities, additives and dyes are removed in the process. At a point, the company blends in a proprietary addpack corrosion inhibitor thereby creating remanufactured antifreeze that is the equivalent of new antifreeze in terms of quality and performance. In addition to the environmental benefits associated with recycling used antifteeze, Total Recycling Service's remanufactured antifreeze program costs 40% less than new antifreeze. Another interesting recycled product offered by Total Recycling Services
is their "Total SorbTm" absorbent. This product is not only
made from IOW16 reclaimed cellulose fibers, but is also part of a complete
cradle-to-grave management program that makes Total Sorb tm less expensive
than traditional absorbents made from clay. For further information about
Total Recycling Services and its products, please visit their website
at www.totalrecycling.com RAP On the Rise Governor James E. McGreevey recently signed into law two pieces of legislation that promote the use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP). P.L. 2002, c. 113 permits the use of RAP on public highways maintained by local governments, while P.L. 2002, c. 114 permits the use of RAP on public highways maintained by DOT and on the State's three toll roads. Textile Trail Provides Great Material for a Story The textile recycling industry has quietly and effectively been managing the annual generation of 2.5 billion pounds of post-consumer textile product waste for many years. Post-consumer textile waste consists of any type of garment or household article, made of some manufactured textile, that the owner no longer needs and decides to discard. Of the post-consumer textiles that are recovered, almost half is diverted towards used clothing markets. Most of these markets are overseas. The Council for Textile Recycling reports that industry members are capable of delivering a pair of pants in clean, damage-free condition to the east coast of Africa for $.34 a pair and sweaters to Pakistan for $.12 each. This price includes the shipping cost, as well. Obviously, this enterprise helps those in impoverished countries greatly. Recovered post-consumer textiles are also used as wiping and polishing
cloths. In addition, this material is also converted into fiber that is
used in the automotive, furniture, mattress, coarse yarn, home furnishings
and paper industries, among others. For additional information, visit
www.textilerecycle.org NJBRBN News Please welcome the following companies as new members of the Network:
New Jersey Buy Recycled Business
Network Steven Rinaldi, Co-Chair |