MIAMI — Office supplies retailer Staples Inc. has earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification for its 20,000-square-foot store on Biscayne Blvd., according to a press release.
The company originally intended to achieve LEED Silver certification, but exceeded the initial expectations, the release stated.
Some of the sustainable elements in the construction include: Rainwater collection, water-efficient fixtures, utilizing recycled building materials and on-site recycling, the release noted.
Additional factors that led to LEED Gold certification are the building's proximity to public transportation, bike racks to promote self-powered transportation and the diversion of construction waste from landfills, the release added.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Hotel Saves 140 Tons of Waste by Recycling and Composting
COLLEGE PARK, MD — Through a recycling and composting program that was implemented in February 2008, a Marriott hotel at the University of Maryland has diverted about 140 tons of waste from landfills, according to Earth911.com.
According to estimations, the amount of waste generated by the hotel fell by nine tons each month, accounting for a $6,000 a year savings, the story stated.
Ten percent of the waste generated by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified hotel is recyclable, the story noted.
The programs were put together with the help of composting vendor Envirelation Inc. and recycling vendor Pinnacle Waste Inc., the story added.
According to estimations, the amount of waste generated by the hotel fell by nine tons each month, accounting for a $6,000 a year savings, the story stated.
Ten percent of the waste generated by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified hotel is recyclable, the story noted.
The programs were put together with the help of composting vendor Envirelation Inc. and recycling vendor Pinnacle Waste Inc., the story added.
The Fortune 500 janitor
GLENDALE, AZ — After being laid off from his $70,000 a year job at a Fortune 500 company last June, Mark Cooper took a job as a janitor making $12 an hour, according to KNXV-TV.
The hardest part in the adjustment phase for Cooper is not the pay decrease, but rather overcoming the stigma attached with being a janitor, the story stated.
Cooper said: "They realize you're a janitor and it's almost like you don't count and that is so wrong."
The job provides good benefits and Cooper is grateful to have any job at all, the story noted.
Cooper told KNXV-TV: "The pay isn't anything outstanding but it helps meet our bills and has benefits for us. [My wife and I] are spending more time together. We're closer and stronger and our faith has grown immensely."
This trend of taking any job available simply to survive is being seen more and more often in today's uncertain and struggling job market.
The hardest part in the adjustment phase for Cooper is not the pay decrease, but rather overcoming the stigma attached with being a janitor, the story stated.
Cooper said: "They realize you're a janitor and it's almost like you don't count and that is so wrong."
The job provides good benefits and Cooper is grateful to have any job at all, the story noted.
Cooper told KNXV-TV: "The pay isn't anything outstanding but it helps meet our bills and has benefits for us. [My wife and I] are spending more time together. We're closer and stronger and our faith has grown immensely."
This trend of taking any job available simply to survive is being seen more and more often in today's uncertain and struggling job market.
Ex-township official assaulted school custodian
LONG VALLEY, NJ — Former Washington township planning board chairman Greg Jones was arrested Monday and charged with aggravated assault on an elementary school custodian, according to the Daily Record.
Custodian David Murphy and Jones were fighting in the parking lot of Flocktown-Kossmann Elementary School over an "old personal issue that lingers between the two men," the story stated.
When police responded to the scene, they found Murphy bleeding from wounds to his mouth, nose and forehead, the story noted.
Jones had fled the scene before police arrived, but later turned himself in and was released on his own recognizance after being charged, the story added.
According to the story, the Washington Township School District was closed Monday for a snow day, but custodians were on-site for snow removal efforts.
Custodian David Murphy and Jones were fighting in the parking lot of Flocktown-Kossmann Elementary School over an "old personal issue that lingers between the two men," the story stated.
When police responded to the scene, they found Murphy bleeding from wounds to his mouth, nose and forehead, the story noted.
Jones had fled the scene before police arrived, but later turned himself in and was released on his own recognizance after being charged, the story added.
According to the story, the Washington Township School District was closed Monday for a snow day, but custodians were on-site for snow removal efforts.
SEIU Mocks Employee Free Choice Act Foes
WASHINGTON — The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is lobbying in favor of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), according to The Exception magazine.
In a recently released video, SEIU pokes fun at and mocks what they believe to be scare tactics used by organized labor opponents, the story stated.
As it now stands, to win government recognition from the National Labor Relations Board, union organizers must solicit signatures from at least 30 percent of workers. Then, after navigating appeals from management, they must successfully win support during a secret ballot, the story noted.
According to the story, the EFCA would allow unions to form if organizers can gain support and have cards signed by at least 50 percent of employees.
Opponents of the EFCA argue the bill is undemocratic because union organizers can effectively bully workers into signing cards, the story added.
According to SEIU claims, the Employee Free Choice Act is a bipartisan, common sense economic recovery for working families that will pump billions of dollars into our nation's economy.
In a recently released video, SEIU pokes fun at and mocks what they believe to be scare tactics used by organized labor opponents, the story stated.
As it now stands, to win government recognition from the National Labor Relations Board, union organizers must solicit signatures from at least 30 percent of workers. Then, after navigating appeals from management, they must successfully win support during a secret ballot, the story noted.
According to the story, the EFCA would allow unions to form if organizers can gain support and have cards signed by at least 50 percent of employees.
Opponents of the EFCA argue the bill is undemocratic because union organizers can effectively bully workers into signing cards, the story added.
According to SEIU claims, the Employee Free Choice Act is a bipartisan, common sense economic recovery for working families that will pump billions of dollars into our nation's economy.
PROCYON products first to meet new GS-37 standard
WASHINGTON — Green Seal, the premier independent ecolabel in the United States, is excited to announce that Plus Manufacturing’s soap-free PROCYON® products are the first to meet the new criteria of GS-37, Green Seal’s Environmental Standard for Institutional and Industrial Cleaners, according to a press release.
The fourth edition of GS-37, released August of 2008, tightened the restrictions regarding reproductive toxins and volatile organic compounds as well as prohibited phthalates, and chemicals known to cause asthma; products certified under the new GS-37 standard are among the greenest cleaning products available on the market, the release stated.
Founder of Plus Manufacturing, Ivan Day, said: "Soap-free, odor-free cleaning is not going anywhere; in fact, we have seen this concept changing the world. We see thousands of schools, colleges, health care facilities and professionals, who stand with us in changing the way the world thinks about soap-free cleaning today. One day the detergents will disappear in this industry. I still believe in the next three years that everyone in this industry will be soap-free/detergent-free, odor-free and green."
Plus Manufacturing Inc. is proud to acknowledge that over the past 30-years they have not changed a single thing about their PROCYON products, the release noted.
The fourth edition of GS-37, released August of 2008, tightened the restrictions regarding reproductive toxins and volatile organic compounds as well as prohibited phthalates, and chemicals known to cause asthma; products certified under the new GS-37 standard are among the greenest cleaning products available on the market, the release stated.
Founder of Plus Manufacturing, Ivan Day, said: "Soap-free, odor-free cleaning is not going anywhere; in fact, we have seen this concept changing the world. We see thousands of schools, colleges, health care facilities and professionals, who stand with us in changing the way the world thinks about soap-free cleaning today. One day the detergents will disappear in this industry. I still believe in the next three years that everyone in this industry will be soap-free/detergent-free, odor-free and green."
Plus Manufacturing Inc. is proud to acknowledge that over the past 30-years they have not changed a single thing about their PROCYON products, the release noted.
ServiceMaster slices 155 positions
MEMPHIS, TN — ServiceMaster Company announced it will lay off 155 employees, according to the Memphis Daily News.
ServiceMaster informed the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development that the employees will be laid off between March 21 and July 31, the story stated.
ServiceMaster spokesperson Gina Kamler said: "We are proud that our company has performed well under some of the toughest economic challenges in decades, but we recognize that we must have plans in place to continue building on the strong market-leading positions of each of our brands over the next few years."
ServiceMaster is providing severance and outplacement support to the displaced employees and have been assured they will get no fewer than 60 days’ notice before their jobs are cut, the story noted.
The layoffs stem from the decision of ServiceMaster to outsource some of its information technology services to IBM, the story added.
ServiceMaster informed the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development that the employees will be laid off between March 21 and July 31, the story stated.
ServiceMaster spokesperson Gina Kamler said: "We are proud that our company has performed well under some of the toughest economic challenges in decades, but we recognize that we must have plans in place to continue building on the strong market-leading positions of each of our brands over the next few years."
ServiceMaster is providing severance and outplacement support to the displaced employees and have been assured they will get no fewer than 60 days’ notice before their jobs are cut, the story noted.
The layoffs stem from the decision of ServiceMaster to outsource some of its information technology services to IBM, the story added.
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