Recycle

[Chumley]

http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080506/MULTIMEDIA02/80505016

[jrhd97]

WOW! Interesting stats.

[AL49BGN]

That is something to consider.Never knew that about plastic bags.

[rb1651]

Very informative read. Thanks for sharing.

[Phantom Winger]

From Checkout to Decked Out - Trex Gives New Life to Discarded Plastic Bags

The Average Eco-Friendly Trex(R) Deck Contains Approximately 140,000 Recycled Bags

WINCHESTER, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 26, 2008--Ever wonder what happens to all of those plastic grocery bags you recycle? You might be pleasantly surprised to learn that more than 70 percent of them are used by a company called Trex to manufacture decks, fencing and other outdoor living products.

With nearly 100 billion plastic bags handed out annually in grocery stores nationwide, it's clear that America is facing a growing plastic waste surplus problem. Fortunately, Trex has been turning this used material into beautiful outdoor living products for more than 16 years as the creator of the composite decking category and the leading brand name in alternative decking, railing and fencing products.
Trex collects, salvages and repurposes plastic, wood scrap and sawdust, and turns it all into low-maintenance outdoor living products that stand up to the test of time. In fact, the average 500-square-foot composite Trex deck contains about 140,000 recycled plastic bags.

"Every year, Trex turns millions of recycled plastic bags into eco-friendly outdoor living products," said Brandy Derry, recycling promotions coordinator at Trex. "Using sustainable materials and green manufacturing processes is a policy that touches everything we do. We are proud to contribute to a cleaner environment and a healthier future for our consumers and communities."
With seven out of every 10 recycled plastic grocery bags in the country ending up at a Trex facility, Trex sets the standard for "green" outdoor living products. The numbers speak for themselves:

-- Zero - Trees cut down to make Trex products

-- 98 - Percentage of recycled and reclaimed plastic and wood fibers in each Trex composite product

-- 600 million - Pounds of plastic and wood scrap that Trex salvages and keeps out of landfills each year

-- 1.5 billion - Recycled grocery bags used to manufacture Trex products each year

Starting in 1992, long before the term "green" was even on the scene, Trex composite technology was used to recycle the plastic waste from Mobil Corporation. Nearly all the ingredients used to create Trex composite products are being reused by the company - which, in turn, saves waste from building up in landfills and eliminates the need to harvest new materials.
As the largest plastic bag recycler in the U.S., Trex supports various local recycling solutions in communities nationwide including:

-- BagSmart - Consumers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey are encouraged to recycle used plastic bags through "BagSmart" at
their local grocery stores or Goodwill center. The bags are collected and taken to Goodwill facilities, where they are
sorted, baled and shipped to Trex to be repurposed into beautiful, low-maintenance composite decking material.

-- "Bags for Bears" - Athens-Clarke County, Ga., schoolchildren collected thousands of plastic bags for "Bags for Bears" to be
used in a bear habitat constructed of Trex at the local zoo.

Not only does Trex turn used plastic scrap into eco-friendly decking, it also ensures that its manufacturing process is as "green" as its final product with efficient operations like vegetable oil powered trailers, a proprietary processing method that eliminates smokestacks and the use of recycled packaging materials.

The Trex family of composite products designed to create a "green" outdoor living space includes Trex Contours(R), Trex Brasilia(R), Trex Accents(R) and Trex Origins(TM) Decking, Trex Designer Series Railing(R) and Trex Seclusions(R) Privacy Fencing System.
About Trex Company Trex Company is the nation's largest manufacturer of composite decking, railing and fencing, with over 16 years of product experience. Built on "green" principles and values, Trex makes its products from a unique formulation of reclaimed wood and plastic, combined through a proprietary process. Trex decking, railing and fencing offer significant design flexibility with fewer ongoing maintenance requirements than wood, as well as a truly environmentally responsible choice. In addition, Trex distributes ultra-low maintenance PVC decking under the trademark Trex Escapes(TM) and PVC trim under the trademark Trex Trim(TM). For more information, visit the Company's website, www.trex.com (http://www.trex.com). Trex(R), Trex Accents(R), Trex Contours(R), Trex Brasilia(R), Trex Origins(TM), Trex Designer Series Railing(R), Trex Seclusions(R), Trex Escapes(TM) and Trex Trim(TM) are trademarks of Trex Company, Inc., Winchester, Va.

[Idena]

And the checker at Lowe's looked at me like I was crazy on Saturday when I showed up to bag my stuff with a reusable pink bag. But I can't stand the idea of wasting resources when I can reuse something. Isrowei can tell you what a recycling Nazi I am. Thanks for posting!

[Chumley]

And the checker at Lowe's looked at me like I was crazy on Saturday when I showed up to bag my stuff with a reusable pink bag. But I can't stand the idea of wasting resources when I can reuse something. Isrowei can tell you what a recycling Nazi I am. Thanks for posting!


My wife has purchased an insulated bag which we use for both cold and hot items during transport...keeps it in the trunk of the car. It works great and is, of course, reusable.

Funny that we started by protecting the rainforests when we switched from paper to plastic, now we are going to a textile cloth material to replace the plastic. Full circle again.

In our area a few facilities are now burning garbage, instead of burying it in the dumps, then using the heat to generate power. Finally!!! I don't like the thought of waiting 100,000 years until the dumps decompose to dispose of waste.

I'm very surprised that there is very little advertising by the construction industry for solar and wind options, residential and commercial. In our current state, it seems like the easy sale to offer such upgrades to consumers. We are building more now with green and/or recycled products, so why not push the "less dependant on fossil fuels" initiative??? ( Answer - our leaders are so intertwined in the oil and automotive industries, that they don't want to let go of the easy wealth and certainly not the obvious lobby money ) Maybe someday soon...if we can get a President with a backbone AND integrity.

I hope we'll see less expensive solar and wind power generation products widely available very soon. Someone's got to take advantage of this enormous consumer need and provide some viable products, in particular for the residential market. Dammit - I want to go to Walmart or HomeDepot and pick up a backyard windmill, and an easy to install solar system for my house, with quick connects to a pre-built battery plant in the basement. Just hire an electrician to make the final connections and Viola! Someone get me Trump on the phone!

How about this Ad - Leatherneck.com - powered by the sun.
"We were olive-drab before the world went green"

enough coffee for me already....

SFi
C