Green Arch Design

You have probably noticed the small number imprinted onto the bottom of a plastic container. It is typically inside the three arrows that make a triangle, a symbol of recycling. The number inside the triangle is actually an indication of the resin content of that container and the numbers range from 1 to 7.

Those containers with the number 1 are polyethylene plastics. The number 1 plastics are clear plastics. They may be gray, blue or white but they are clear and you can actually see through them. Examples of 1 plastics are soda bottles, ketchup bottles and medicine containers.

Number 2 plastics are high-density polyethylene. The best example of number 2 plastics is a milk jug or water jug. Other examples of 2 plastics are liquid laundry soap containers, bleach containers, shampoo bottles and motor oil bottles.

Number 3 plastics are poly vinyl chloride, or PVC. Pipes, shower curtains and shrink wrap are some examples of this.

Number 4 plastics are low-density polyethylene. Plastic grocery bags and sandwich bags are common examples of number 4 plastics.

Number 5 plastics are polypropylene. Examples of this type of plastic is yogurt tubs and other food storage containers, and outdoor carpet.

Number 6 plastics are polystyrene plastics. Disposable flatware, plastic cups, and bakery containers are examples of this kind of plastic.

Number 7 plastics include all other kinds of plastics. They are usually made from blending different kinds of plastics and are usually difficult to recycle.

In some areas, recycling centers will only take plastics with certain numbers on them. This can be frustrating and confusing for recyclers and can cause people to give up and not recycle. The best way to make sure what you leave at the curb is getting recycled is to call your local recycling center or sanitation service and find out for sure which types they accept. When you know which kinds can be recycled, try to choose packaging that is recyclable when you are shopping. Typically, 1 and 2 plastics are the most recycled.

Sometimes, a recycling center will take all kinds and your local curbside pickup company will only take some kinds, or vice versa. Different facilities have the ability to take different materials because of the different ways they are recycled and the cost of recycling each. Finding out who takes what can help you get more things recycled and help you make more of a difference for the environment.

For more information, call 864-297-8558

Click on the link below to learn more about the recycling centers in Greenville County.

Recycle

“Mauldin Middle School has become the first in the Upstate to earn the title of “Green Power Solar School.”

Laurens Electric Cooperative and Santee Cooper have installed a 2-kilowatt solar power system at the school, according to a press statement from the Cooperative.

The system is designed to provide a teaching, research and hands-on demonstration opportunity for sixth-grade students at the school.

“Today is the beginning of a dynamic educational project that I know will make a difference in our students’ future,” said R. M. Singletary, Sr. Vice President of Corporate Services at Santee Cooper during Monday’s announcement. “I thank Laurens Electric Cooperative and Greenville County Schools for their environmental leadership.”

Mauldin Middle has been provided an Internet based monitoring system that provides real-time access to information regarding the system’s performance from any Internet-enabled computer.

“This partnership is a great opportunity to bring together the community, the school, and local businesses to show how important it is to invest in our future, our students,” said Mauldin Middle School’s Science Department Chair Gwendolynn Shealy.” - Excerpt from http://greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070918/NEWS01/70918016. 

 

“Contrary to a common misperception, today’s vinyl siding, the nation’s most popular choice for exterior cladding, is being recognized for its environmentally friendly benefits. When evaluated on attributes such as global warming impact, environmental performance, economic performance, transportation issues, recyclability, resource and manufacturing efficiency and durability, vinyl siding is concluded to be a sustainable product that leaves a small environmental footprint.

Throughout the manufacturing process, on the home and even after it has fulfilled its useful life, vinyl siding scores well on tough environmental tests”.  – Excerpt from http://www.vinylsiding.org/

Click on the link below for more information.

Siding

“A lot of products claim to be “green.” A lot of building methods claim to be environmentally friendly. For most of us, being green starts with using less energy. Others see green as better indoor air quality.

Deep greeners are focused on the political agenda, where environmental concerns include workers’ rights and the rights of indigenous peoples.

Every builder — including me — has had to consider what being “green” means. Sorting out the truly green from just marketing can be very tough”. – Mike Holmes

Click on the link below to read the entire article.

Mike Holmes

Mike Holmes is the host of

Holmes on Homes on HGTV.

For more information, go to

http://www.holmesonhomes.com/

“The U.S. population has the largest per capita environ-mental imprint in the world, with greater impact on many of the planet’s resources and ecosystems than any other nation on earth. 

With just 5% of the world’s people, we’re responsible for 25% of global CO2 emissions.

Starting here at home, we need to make environmental sustainability a national priority…” - Excerpt from Businessweek.com.

Click on the link below to read the entire article.

Footprint

“Critics might argue that many things about the United Nations need rethinking, and that perhaps renovating its headquarters doesn’t have to be top priority. Nonetheless, the Capital Master Plan, a proposal to renovate the international organization’s monolithic Manhattan home that was first introduced in 1996, is now finally moving ahead.

The original headquarters—designed by French architect Charles Le Corbusier, along with a panel of multinational architects including Wallace Harrison of the U.S. and Howard Robertson of Britain—opened in 1952. Built for $65 million, the 39-story building now swarms with the delegates from member states and the 4,000 administrative staffers who work within the iconic Secretariat building.

All of the buildings are active year-round, and while a temporary building will be built to house the General Assembly, ripping down the main Secretariat was never, according to officials, an option”. – Excerpt from businessweek.com 

Click on the link below to read the entire article.

U.N.

 

“As gasoline prices speed toward the $4-per-gallon mark, consumers are buying hybrid and flex-fuel cars or filling up with biodiesel, and new ethanol plants are sprouting up to squeeze an alternative fuel from corn. Fittingly, the retailers of these cleaner fuels are using green design to make an architectural statement that their pit stops are as ecoconscious as their fuels”. – Excerpt from Architectural Record.

Click on the link below to read the entire article.

Fill ‘er up

“Small companies are donating a protion of their sales to environmental groups through 1% For the Planet

Jeff Goldberg was looking for a way to tie his passion for the environment more closely to his work. After spending four years in San Diego’s biotech industry, the avid surfer and outdoorsman found an answer: bamboo. It’s the fastest-growing plant in the world, good for building, and grows naturally without requiring extra water, energy, or fertilizer. Even better, from a business perspective, the market for building with bamboo was almost nonexistent in the U.S., he says, so there was lots of opportunity. And so Cali Bamboo was born to market the plant as a sustainable resource”.  – Excerpt from Businessweek.com.

Click on the link below to read the entire article.

Giving

Click on the link below to learn more about Cali Bamboo

Cali Bamboo