Classroom-Based Recycling Program First of its Kind

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Jan. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Schools nationwide can save glue bottles, glue sticks and ultimately the planet one orange cap at a time. Elmer's(R) Products, Inc., an industry leader in adhesives, arts and crafts, office and educational products, announced today the launch of a school-based glue bottle and glue stick recycling program.

"More than 40 million students use Elmer's glue and glue sticks annually," said Terri Brown, Elmer's marketing services and communications manager. "By recycling Elmer's, the #1 brand of school glue, teachers and students can take pride in improving their communities. To provide teachers with all the tools to execute recycling, we have developed a classroom program with online support to keep students engaged and excited about the recycling project."

The Elmer's Glue Crew Recycling Program combines Elmer's expertise in education and creativity with its commitment to sustainable practices. Throughout the school year, participating classrooms collect empty glue bottles and glue sticks to be recycled. To reduce the environmental impact, teachers and students are encouraged to creatively use empty boxes in the classroom as collection boxes. Once a box is full, teachers simply seal it, label it as instructed, take it to the nearest Wal-Mart(R) store and drop it off to the store greeter between Earth Day, April 22, 2008, through the end of the school year.

Teachers can visit the Elmer's Glue Crew Recycling Program Web site, http://www.elmersgluecrew.com/ to join or learn more about the program- teachers are eligible to participate at no cost. Participating teachers can use the site to find additional resources and instructional materials to help implement the program and reinforce the importance of being environmentally conscious in their classrooms. Teachers can download classroom projects that promote education and creativity and support efforts that reduce, reuse and recycle. Teachers are also encouraged to refer a colleague and submit lesson plans, projects or anything else that shows a classroom commitment to recycling for a chance to win prizes.

"Because our products have been in classrooms for more than 60 years, it's our duty to make sure that teachers and students have the best place to create, build and learn," said Brown. "With this program teachers can take advantage of our tools to make their students lifelong recyclers. Our program makes recycling incredibly easy for teachers."

A survey commissioned for the Elmer's teacher's club found that most classrooms were recycling newspaper and aluminum. Of the teachers surveyed,97 percent wanted to recycle glue bottles and glue sticks. Furthermore, teachers said they were using 40 to 60 glue bottles per year in their classroom.

"In my classroom we're creating projects that use glue on a daily basis and consequently create a lot of waste," said Ricki Rosen, art teacher at Pickerington Elementary in Pickerington, Ohio. "We're excited to have the resources to recycle our excess materials and incorporate recycling into our projects."

To join the Elmer's Glue Crew Recycling Program or learn more about the program visit http://www.elmersgluecrew.com/.

Green Conversations!

By JOHN DRAKE, Boston Globe

Even the New England Confectionery Co. is jumping on the environmental bandwagon, going green with its pastel-colored Valentine's Day hearts.

In a marketing nod to eco-trendiness, the Revere company yesterday released a list of 10 new sayings with a whimsical nature theme that will appear on its Sweethearts Conversation Hearts this year.

Gift-givers can implore their lovers to "Chill Out," ask if they're "In A Fog," transport them to "Cloud Nine," and grant them a little "Sun Shine."

"It's not a political statement," said Necco's marketing manager Lory Zimbalatti. "It's just concern for the environment."

Other new sayings are "Wild Life," "Nature Lover," "Do Good," "Melt My Heart," "Get My Drift," and "Heat Wave."

The firm has been printing flirty messages on the sweets since the 1860s.

Unlike 2004, when the company Necco ventured into trendy terminology with the introduction of "IM Me," this year's crop seems to include more "classic slang" with a broader appeal, suggested said Boston College marketing expert specialist Kathleen Seiders.

"I mean, 'Heat Wave?' Wasn't that Martha and the Vandellas?" she said, referring to the 1960s Motown group that released the song "(Love is Like a) Heat Wave."

"That's going to reach a very broad-based market, which I'm sure is their intention."

Now, That’s Hot! Human Body Heat to Warm Office Complex in Sweden

From Larry West,Your Guide to Environmental Issues.

People in Sweden know about body heat. How do you think they get through those long, cold Scandinavian winters? But now a Swedish company has come up with a really hot idea: a simple yet innovative plan to use human body heat as a source of renewable energy.

Every day, some 250,000 people pass through Stockholm Central Station, the largest train station in Sweden. They rush to catch trains or subways, or simply stroll along shopping at some of the many stores and shops inside the station.

With every step, those people generate body heat, and the Swedes are tired of letting it all go to waste.

Turning Body Heat Into Renewable Energy
Jernhuset, a state-owned property administration company, plans to use the body heat from the millions of people who visit Stockholm Central Station each year to heat an office building, small hotel and several shops in a new complex being built near the station.

"So many people go through the Central Station ... We want to harness some of the warmth they produce to help heat the new building," said Karl Sundholm, project leader for Jernhuset in an interview with AFP.

A New Use for Old Technology
Jernhuset will use the station’s ventilation system to capture the body heat generated by people who pass through Central Station every day, and use the energy to warm water that will be pumped through pipes to the new complex, which is expected to be completed in early 2010.

"This is old technology, but used in a new way. It's just pipes, water and pumps, but we haven't heard of anyone else using this technology in this way before," Sundholm said.

A High Return on Low Investment
The company expects the innovative system to lower heating costs in the new complex by as much as 20 percent—and for a relatively small investment. Creating the new heating system, including installing the necessary pumps and laying the underground pipes, is expected to cost around 200,000 kronor (21,200 euros or 31,200 dollars).

"For a large building expected to cost several hundred million kronor to build, that's not that much," Sundholm told AFP.

Human Body Heat: Coming Soon to a Building Near You
Given the abundance of human body heat worldwide and the growing need for renewable energy to replace increasingly costly and unsustainable fossil fuels that cause pollution and contribute to global warming, using body heat to warm buildings is almost certain to be adopted elsewhere if this new Swedish project succeeds as expected.

Don't be surprised if more architects and builders start looking for ways to formally incorporate human body heat into their designs for heating and cooling both commercial and residential buildings.

Plan in Place to Protect Cozumel´s Natural Beauty

Ed. Note: I think this calls for a fact-finding mission!

Jan. 15, Waste News -- Cozumel, Mexico, has a new environmental protection agreement in place to help protect the island, which can receive up to 10,000 visitors a day via cruise ships.

The conservation agreement covers areas such as waste management and traffic and includes environmental awareness and education for cruise ship passengers.

"This is an exciting moment in time, bringing many different interests together to work on the common goal of protecting Cozumel´s natural heritage in order to strike the right balance between tourism and conserving the environment it depends on," said Seleni Matus of Conservation International.

Conservation International, a non-profit group, worked with Cozumel´s Department of Tourism and the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association to help create the conservation agreement.

Cozumel had 1,058 cruise ship dockings and 2.6 million visitors in 2006.

An Interview with Florida's Governor, a Republican Climate Crusader

Meet Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, a surprising blend of Grand Ol' Party and bleeding-heart greenie. During his first year in office, he shocked and delighted environmentalists by pushing an aggressive agenda to stave off climate change and taking other big steps to protect the natural beauty for which his state is famous. In an interview with Grist's Amanda Griscom Little, Crist talks about his lifelong concern for the environment, his animosity toward coal, and the day when he realized he needed to take action against global warming.

Don’t Let Those Holiday Cards Go to Waste

From The State, Neighbors section, January 11:

Each Christmas card that arrived during the Yuletide season was treasured.

You opened each, eager to see pictures of children, get updates from friends faraway or just to see who remembered you.

During the past few weeks, they’ve been displayed on refrigerators, hung around doors or stuck in wreaths as a part of holiday decorations and tradition.

And now?

Don’t let them become landfill fodder.

How about keeping them — and using them for other things.

Mary Pat Baldauf, recycling coordinator for Lexington County Solid Waste Management, offers these suggestions:

Postcards and cards: Cut off the backs of holiday cards that do not have writing behind the front and use them as postcards. Write a message on the back and attach a postcard stamp. You can also cut images from old cards and paste them on new card stock to make beautiful handcrafted cards.

Gift tags: Cutouts from old holiday cards can be used to make delightful and creative gift tags. Leave some space around the picture when you cut it so that you can write messages there. Three or four gift tags can be created from a single card. The patterned front with a plain back makes an attractive and practical gift tag. Tip: If you are making more gift tags than you are likely to use, why not make up packs of gift tags and offer to a local church or charity to sell at bazaars and fundraising events.

Recipe cards: To share a favorite holiday recipe, use an old holiday card as a recipe card. Simply write the recipe on the back, or glue an image from the old card to a new recipe card.

Scrapbooking: Instead of spending for holiday scrapbook materials, cut out images from old holiday cards and use them to create your family's holiday scrapbook.

New Tatas

You can't make this stuff up...

Tata Motors unveils world's cheapest car in India: The world's cheapest car was unveiled in India last week by Tata Motors, which hopes that its new $2,500 subcompact will help make car ownership a reality for tens of millions of people in the developing world. The Tata Nano, dubbed the "People's Car," gets respectable gas mileage, about 50 miles per gallon, but its introduction was met by protests from environmentalists fearful that more-accessible autos will clog India's substandard road system, dirty the air, and worsen climate change. Currently in India, two-wheeled transportation is common, while only seven in every 1,000 people own a car. Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said of the cheap new Nano, "I am having nightmares."