WELCOME to The Loop, Issue 29 Sep/Oct 2004 A Bimonthly Newsletter for Friends of Close the Loop® This month's issue includes... Reduce Your Waste Keenan Kids, Keen on Safety National Public Lands Day WHAT'S YOUR OPINION? Marketplace Exceptional Products Reduce Your Waste Online Waste Calculator for Businesses: help your company save money, conserve resources and protect the environment. Almost every business generates some form of solid waste. How your business handles its waste can seriously affect your company's bottom line. If the supplies and equipment used in your daily operation aren't managed efficiently, they become waste that must be collected and disposed of at your company's expense. By visiting this website, you will gain the following information: a) how much paper, glass, food waste, etc. is in your company's waste stream. This information is usually collected by systematically examining the waste that is thrown into your dumpster. Also known as "dumpster sorting," this process can be an expensive and time-consuming way to develop a waste profile. b) develop an effective waste management program by estimating how much waste your business produces (and ultimately pays to dispose of) in a year. c) examine ways to reduce that waste by making simple changes to everyday processes, businesses can often prevent waste from being generated in the first place, find uses for "scrap", and recycle many other residual materials. NOTE: Miami-Dade County, with a grant from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, has developed this free online tool to help businesses generate a customized profile of their waste stream, visit http://reduceyourwaste.org Keenan Kids, Keen on Safety An investigation of Atlanta public playgrounds concludes that most are full of obvious dangers that could injure or kill the children playing on them. "I was shocked and it was no-brainer stuff," said attorney Don Keenan. Keenan said on average, nationally, one child a month dies in a playground because of simple design flaws and poor maintenance. The dangers included: · Exposed Nails · Places where children who trip can hit their heads against hard objects as they fall · "S-hooks" on swings that are wider than the thickness of a dime, that can come loose, or entangle clothing · Peeling paint that small children might put in their mouths Parents can also visit the site to see a checklist of what to look for in their own neighborhood playgrounds http://www.keenanskidsplaygroundsafety.com/report_card.html National Public Lands Day, Saturday, September 18th 2004 One out of every three acres of America's land - 600 million acres - is public land. Lands to hike, bike, climb, swim, explore or just plain relax. And when you get your hands dirty on National Public Lands Day you help spruce up your beautiful lands. GETTING STARTED New to National Public Lands Day? Find out all the ways you can get involved in this important national event. Get started. VOLUNTEER CHECKLIST Come to this year's event fully prepared. View our checklist for participants to find out what you'll need to have the best NPLD experience. View the checklist. National Public Lands Day is managed by the National Environmental Education & Training Foundation. Chartered by Congress in 1990, NEETF is a private nonprofit organization that develops and supports environmental learning programs to meet social goals and builds partnerships among government, the private sector and non-governmental organizations. For more information, please visit www.npld.com What's Your Opinion? - Submit your answer to this month's Close the Loop® Poll: Many of us, particularly children, are concerned about the environment and the protection of natural resourcesWhat is your favorite environmental project? To respond, click here. Thanks for last newsletter answers to what is your favorite eco-friendly vacation spot? some of the answers: Signal Mountain Lodge in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. They are awesome when it comes to a business that cares. Signal Mountain is a part of a larger organization, Forever Resorts, who is committed to preserving and protecting the resources where their properties are located, many of which are in national parks, forests and recreation areas. We participated in a "volunteer vacation" this year, was a lot of fun helping people & the environmentonline at: http://www.volunteeramerica.net/vacations.htm Marketplace Exceptional Products Close the Loop, LLC is dedicated to help preserve our environment by regarding our waste as an integral resource rather than an unwanted by-product, and to assist in the development and marketing of consumer products to foster movement toward a sustainable materials economy. At Close the Loop, we offer a broad range of recycled products: rubber mulch, pavers, curbs & very cool swings all made from waste tires; post & rail fencing & landscape timbers made from post-industrial waste plastics, promotional items and much more. Please visit www.closetheloop.com for more information. Customer Feedback: "Everyone that sees the [rubber] mulch wants some! I talk about it highly to everyone! I'd love to see this stuff at all the public playgrounds. A couple pieces have found their way into the dryer - and no, they didn't melt or show any signs of damage/change - I just tossed them back outside! The kids seem to know intrinsically now that their playground is safer - they are running around like wild and playing with even the old "tired' equipment as if it were brand new and they never want to wear their shoes! I have FAR less worries of them getting hurt now than when we had just the wood mulch down." - MD Inspirational Quotes: "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." Wiliam Butler Yeats "One repays a teacher badly if one only remains a pupil." Friedrich Nietzsche "I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." Albert Einstein Discover new ideas -- Close the Loop |
