Green

Some joggers now carry trash bags with them as part of the "Plogging" movement to pick up litter while they run.

"Plogging" - is a new exercise trend gaining momentum worldwide that provides a major benefit for every community and the planet in general.

The idea is simple, green and very effective.

Plogging is basically combining jogging with picking up litter along the way.

The idea is that after you put on your running shoes, you also don a pair of gloves or bring along a grabbing device. Then you take out a trash bag and off you go.

As you jog down the street, through a park or on a trail, you squat or bend down quickly and gather trash along the way.

When the bag is full, you place it in the nearest trash receptacle.

The word "plogging" actually originated in Sweden. It's a combination of the word jog and "plocka up" which just as it sounds, means "pick up." The trend is attributed to an avid Swedish trail runner named Erik Ahlstron and started in 2016.

Gradually, the word about plogging

Recycled plastic bench with engraved lettering

Recycled plastic benches have an attractive feature that could help parks and other facilities instantly add more benches to their location.

That feature - engraving.

Many cities across the country manage successful sponsorship programs as an inexpensive way to fill their grounds with park benches.

Probably one of the most successful programs is run by one of the most recognized parks in the world - Central Park in New York City.

More than 4,000 of the iconic park's 9,000 benches were installed from their adopt-a-bench program.

What a great way for a city to save money on park furnishings. And what a great way for the public to honor a loved one or group in a highly visible way that can be seen 24/7. Plus providing a welcome place for people to sit is a nice service for their fellow citizens.

The great advantage of recycled plastic benches is that it is a fairly easy process to engrave letters in the memorial bench back.

Recycled plastic benches

The #trashtag movement is gaining momentum

You may have heard about the new Internet phenomenon called the #TrashTag challenge. It is certainly gaining traction.

If you haven't, here's how it works.

The idea is modeled after the old #IceBucketChallenge. That's where people dumped a bucket of ice water on their heads and then agreed to pledge a few dollars.

The program was a fantastic way to raise both money and awareness for ALS disease (a motor neuron disease also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.)

You know your program is working when billionaire Bill Gates dumps a bucket of water on his head and then posts it on social media.

A few other challenges have come and gone, usually rather quickly. Like chewing on detergent pods. That trend as you can imagine, was not very beneficial to anyone.

#TrashTag is a selfie for a reason

But this new one - #TrashTag is really starting to blow up. And for a good cause.

The idea is simple. Anyone can do it. And participating gives you a satisfying feeling

Outdoor ashtrays at parks and beaches are one way to alleviate the debate on smoking bans

Outdoor ashtrays are a smart strategy to consider in the debate on banning smoking from state and city parks and beaches.

The idea to outlaw smoking at parks and beaches continues to surface in different states around the US.

Gov. Jerry Brown of California recently vetoed, for the third time, a bill in his state that would have enacted such a ban.

The governor reportedly felt the bill amounted to overreaching by the government.

There are several issues involved.

Proponents of these bans argue about the dangers of secondhand smoke. Opponents say there are plenty of places in parks and beaches where people can avoid the smoke if they are concerned.

Another dispute is the possibility of forest fires caused by discarded cigarettes, which is major worry in a state such as California where thousands of acres and numerous homes have been destroyed by fires.

Outdoor ashtrays are a deterrent to cigarette litter

Vertical bicycle racks wall mounted at Ten Penn Center in Philadelphia

Vertical bicycle racks have become a more popular addition to buildings across the country as people prefer to bike to work and want extra protection for their expensive bicycles.

Take Ten Penn Center on Market Street in Philadelphia.

Penn Center is a prestigious retail and office complex in the heart of Philadelphia's business district. The buildings between 15th and 19th street provide nearly five million square feet in office and retail space.

At Ten Penn Center, General Manager Henry Glover recently had vertical bicycle racks from the Park and Facilities Catalog installed in a designated bike room.

The space was long and narrow, but Glover said by adding the DoubleUp Bike Racks, they were able to make more space for four to five more bikes. Now there is room for a total of 20 bicycles. On a day when the weather is good, there will be from 10 to 12 bike commuters who use the room.

"The design is clean and very

 

This Earth Day, it's important to educate people about the end result of all that recycling - the manufacturing of recycled benches, pipes, picnic tables and other items

This Earth Day, 2018, when it comes to plastics, there's some great news and there's some bad news.

Let's start with the good news. And that good news concerns plastic products known as HDPE #2 (high-density polyethylene).

HDPE is a heavy-duty plastic used to make milk jugs, detergent bottles, margarine tubs, bottles from household cleaners and cereal box liners to name a few.

Products made with the stronger HDPE plastic include milk jugs, shampoo bottles and detergent containers. Photo credit: Association of Plastic Recycler

This is a hardy type of plastic that is perfect for manufacturing sturdy, reliable products. Those products that we use every day include recycled benches, recycled picnic tables, pipes, recycled plastic trash cans and recycling bins.

More and more businesses, municipalities and schools are installing

How do you persuade people to take the simple step of throwing their garbage in trash receptacles instead of on the ground?

Trashy slogans help. Skeptical? Consider the "Don't Mess With Texas" anti-litter campaign. This slogan created by the Texas Department of Transportation is credited with reducing litter on highways by an incredible 72%.

When it comes to stopping litter, a catchy phrase can make a difference. Here's a list of our favorite anti-litter slogans. It's a proven way to raise awareness about keeping your community clean with just one simple act - tossing garbage in a trash can.

30 Anti-Litter Slogans To Fill Up Those Trash Receptacles Be part of the solution, not the pollution. Feed the can, man. Slam dunk the junk. You think we like picking up after you? (with a photo of a mom and dad) I hate that empty feeling inside (seen on a trash receptacle). Put trash in its place Join the green side (with image of Darth Vader) If you litter, the future will be bitter Reuse, Reduce,

Recycling symbol created for Earth Day back in 1970 by a 23-year-old college student

When a 23-old student named Gary Anderson submitted his entry into a logo contest for Earth Day back in 1970, little did he know the impact his design would have on everything from recycling bins to recycled plastic benches.

The contest to adopt a "Universal Recycling Symbol" was the brainchild of the Container Corporation of America in Chicago, a recycled cardboard company, to help raise awareness about environmental issues.

At that time, Anderson was a student at the University of Southern California. Using inspiration from M.C. Escher (the artist who created those drawings of warped steps that seemed to defy gravity) and other influences, the young man submitted a drawing depicting three arrows moving in a circular direction. However, it's not a normal circle, but a "Mobius" configuration, where the arrows are twisted.

Anderson's entry won and he took home $2,500. But little did he know at that time

Custom bike racks used by the Central Texas Council of Governments to encourage more bicycle riding and reduce air pollution

Sometimes a bike parking rack is more than a place to lock a bicycle.

In the case of the Central Texas Council of Governments, it's one more step toward creating cleaner air in a seven-county area.

With a grant from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the CTCOG recently purchased 60 custom bike racks from The Park and Facilities Catalog. These U-shaped, unique bike racks include a custom decal with the organization's air quality logo and an inspirational message: "Do your share for cleaner air."

A website, www.ctair.org is also listed to provide residents with additional information on air quality and how the public can get involved to make it cleaner.

This is more than just your standard bicycle parking rack - it's also a mini-billboard for a great cause.

The CTCOG, based out of Belton, TX, covers seven counties - San Saba, Mills, Hamilton, Lampasas,

A couple lock their bikes to commercial bike racks near a facility. Developers can earn LEED credits for adding bicycle parking racks to their apartment or office buildings

Did you know that you can earn LEED credits for  providing commercial bike racks at your facility?

LEED is a highly recognized third-party verification program for green buildings—it stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Its innovations are changing the way people think about planning and constructing buildings. According to the U.S. Green Building Council, an incredible 1.85 million square feet of space is certified daily.

Property managers, homeowners, CEOs of businesses, and all kinds of people are interested in earning LEED credits with a goal of adding the credits up to a certification level: either Certified, Silver, Gold, or Platinum. LEED Certification at any level translates into great things for a business.

How Credits from Commercial Bike Racks Helps Your Business

1.

Commercial trash can in a park over-filled with litter which just encourages more trash to be thrown around it

If you think your facility is 100% litter-free with plenty of commercial trash cans in place, you might be in for a surprise

Whether you run a restaurant, store, shopping mall, outdoor park, or any other facility, you are likely no stranger to the problem of littering. Even if your litter is kept to a minimum, there will still be guests who scatter their trash. They may be lazy, busy, or just inattentive. Guests will litter for a variety of reasons, but the key is how facility and property managers handle it.

There are plenty of steps you can take to reduce or manage litter at your facility—here are 10 to get you started. You may not have the bandwidth or budget to implement all of these ideas immediately. However, by creating a specific action plan involving outdoor commercial trash cans, you can take steps to improve your facility and quickly notice improvements.

Business man recycling paper and tossing it into a blue recycle bin. More of this activity is encouraged as part of America Recycles Day

Tues., Nov. 15 is America Recycles Day and while vast improvements have been made in how households recycle, there is still much to be done in the workplace and at facilities. But the process can be as easy as adding a few recycling receptacles and then getting buy-in from people in your building.

The growth of recycling at home has been a tremendous success and has practically become a household routine for most families. Empty a milk jug or water bottle. Read a newspaper. Finish using a cardboard box. Don't throw it in the trash bin. Put it in the recycling bin.

However, according to Keep America Beautiful, this is not taking place in most workplaces, office buildings and other facilities. With an estimated 5.6 million commercial office buildings in the US, you can imagine the impact this would have on recycling.

Here are some helpful hints on how to

 

Trash collectors face more mountains of garbage than eve

Cities can work on all types of new initiatives - sustainability, new museums, bike paths but there's one recurring problem that keeps popping its head up in new and ugly ways and that's trash receptacles.

Here's a new one for you. In Seattle, people complained that commuters were continually overfilling a trash can by a metro stop. What did the city do? Removed the trash receptacle.

It was a sticky situation. Here's the backstory. The metro stop happened to be very close to a Starbucks. As you know, people love to hang onto their mocha lattes to the last drop. So, for that reason, coffee drinkers would all converge on the bus stop and hang onto their drinks until the last second before they stepped onto the bus, and then dumped them in the trash receptacle nearby.

Every day, that trash receptacle would get fuller...and fuller and eventually start spilling out onto the ground.

One solution was to remove it.

That turned out not

Recycled Plastics Facts and Figure

Recycled Plastics Infographi

Note: The following infographic is brought to you by The Park and Facilities Catalog.

From Earth Day through May, The Park and Facilities Catalog is donating a portion of ALL sales of recycled park benches, recycled picnic tables and recycled trash receptacles to the Everglades Foundation.

Click here to view our entire line of recycled plastic outdoor furniture, including our TEC42 commercial site furnishings with 50-year warranties!

These plastic bottles don't need to be here - they can become recycled plastic picnic tables and any number of products

Happy Earth Day fellow Earthlings! How will you honor the Earth this year? Recycling, cleaning up litter or writing to your congressmen are all a good start. But there's an essential part of going green that many people overlook: supporting recycling efforts by buying recycled products that range from recycled plastic picnic tables to paper for your copy machine.

The key to recycling is the reuse of our natural resources. That process starts with gathering recyclable materials. Offices and homes across America take the extra effort to have special recycling bins for paper, plastic, aluminum, glass, and other materials. They carefully educate themselves on proper recycling and their efforts aren't wasted—they successfully avoid overflowing landfills.

After recycled scrap is collected, companies manufacture a huge variety of recycled goods.

Recycled newspaper