Download the whitepapers: Hangers Cleaners | Barkley | UMB
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Cutting Back on Passive Power and Toxic E-Waste
Posted by:Brad Roderick
Here is an article about passive power consumption from The Huffington Post, written by Larry Magid.
We’ve made some progress since the first Earth Day in 1970. Many of our rivers are cleaner and — though it’s still a problem — air pollution in some cities isn’t nearly as bad as it was back then. But our increased reliance on technology has also created some new problems.
For one thing, according to the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC), much of our recycled e-waste is exported to developing countries, where adults and children involved in dismantling the equipment are exposed to toxic chemicals that affect them and the environment around them. SVTC.org has a compelling 14-minute video, “Citizens at Risk,” that illuminates the issue.
In many jurisdictions, consumers are required by law to recycle used electronic products, but you need to make sure you do it responsibly. Check with your local waste management services to see how they handle recycled electronics.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Recycling Electronics Helps More Than the Environment
Posted by: Brad Roderick
I would like to share an article about the benefits of recycling your old electronics written by Derek James for Fox Charlotte News.
Charlotte, N.C. – Your old Apple computer, Zach Morris cellphone, or old video game machine sits in the attic collecting dust. We either hang on to them because we don’t know what to do with ‘em or they get trashed. There’s a greener choice, recycle them!
“We know they’re not going in landfills, we know they’re not going to other countries. We know that those machines are being kept out of those places and they’re going back to help our community,” says Bo Hussey, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont.
Friday, May 14, 2010
InkCycle’s Green Activists Featured in Green Magazine
Posted By: Brad Roderick
Grenk was recently featured in the digital magazine, Our Wonderful World about the company’s green activists.
Click image to view
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Green Charities offer opportunities to donate old electronics
Posted By: Brad Roderick
I want to share an article written by Lauren Indvik from Mashable.com regarding ways to recycle used electronics. Every year, less than 20 percent of consumer electronics is collected in eco-friendly ways. Donating used electronics are highly encouraged. Charitable recycling programs may include Dell and Goodwill, the Wireless Foundation, Students Recycling Used Technology, Komputers 4 Kids and eBay Giving Work. However, a couple of steps are also recommended prior to taking action, for example, clean the hard drive and donate supplementary materials..
5 Charities for Donating Your Old Electronics
Consumer electronics, a broad category that includes TVs, computers, audio devices, phones and other related devices, currently constitutes nearly 2% of the municipal solid waste stream and is steadily rising at a rate of 8% per year. According to the EPA, of the roughly 2.25 million tons of used and unwanted electronics each year, 18% is collected for recycling and roughly 82% winds up in landfills.
These are unfortunate statistics given the many useful and eco-friendly alternatives for disposing of your old electronics — not to mention tax breaks for consumers. We’ve highlighted a few of these options below, along with information about preparing your unwanted goods for donation.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Recycled ink & toner cartridge company announces green video, featuring eco activists at InkCycle
click here to view video
In a new video released by InkCycle, Brad Roderick, executive vice president, discusses his employee’s efforts outside of the workplace by telling their personal experiences of sustainable living.
In InkCycle’s latest video, three employees are spotlighted for their unique ideas and organizations they participate in to promote and continue a green lifestyle. Here is an example from the trainer for the toner department, Jerry Hartenbower:
“Outside of here I speak for a company called ‘Bridging the Gap’ teaching people how to create a more sustainable planet for us to live on. We talk about lighting, we talk about recycling, we talk about keeping our areas clean of trash.”
Roderick wants everyone to know the strong effort all of the people who work for InkCycle have towards building a cleaner tomorrow and the future of their children.
“Our director of supply chain management, Chad Seal, he’s got four kids so during the Christmas season he kept all of his packaging, outer box material, and kept it sorted so that one: he could recycle it. But he wanted to weigh it. He wanted to see how many pounds of Christmas wrap, plastic packaging, of cardboard corrugated material that he was getting before he recycled it because he wanted also to take the practice home to his kids and get them thinking about what’s going on at landfills but also from a consumer standpoint of ‘how many things are we buying?”
Friday, April 23, 2010
InkCycle Announces A Series of Whitepapers for 40th Anniversary of Earth Day
Posted By: Brad Roderick
In celebration of Earth Day’s 40th Anniversary, InkCycle, announced a whitepaper regarding Barkley’s recycling efforts.
Barkley’s Green Recycling Diverts Electronic Waste From Landfills
Currently, Barkley has sponsored four Green Solutions Electronic Waste Drives, diverting more than 8,000 pounds of waste from area landfills. The company has worked hard to remain true to its commitment to be green by reducing its waste via recycling, utilizing eco-friendly products and incorporating daily operational energy-saving tactics.
To learn more, check out Barkley’s Whitepaper.
Friday, April 16, 2010
InkCycle featured in Kansas City Star article: Jobs and employment increase for KC area small business as opportunities during recession grow
Posted By: Brad Roderick
The fear of a double-dip recession may be lessened after reports from March show the largest gain in payroll jobs for one month since 2007. I would like to share an article written by Diane Stafford from the Kansas City Star, about payroll jobs increasing during the month of March, and how InkCycle was a part of the increase in payroll jobs.
Payroll jobs rose in March
In the third straight month of gains, manufacturers added 17,000 jobs.
Among them was InkCycle in Lenexa. The producer of aftermarket toner and inkjet cartridges brought about 15 employees on board last month and reached 304 on payroll.
“We’re working hard to staff a second shift based on a 20 percent increase in orders,” said Robb Urschell, who is recruiting for the company. “We have 86 actual openings right now, some of which we’re using temporary staff to fill.”
Mark Rogers, a material handler at InkCycle in Lenexa, was hired by the ink recycling company full time in March.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Grenk releases video on electronic waste and the impact it has on the environment
Posted By: Brad Roderick
E-waste is an important issue, not just in the US or North America, but globally. Its an important issue on a number of fronts. Most people are aware that virtually every major city in the US that their landfills have been closed—theyre at maximum capacity now. So where does excess landfill material go? It has to be shipped somewhere. So were creating a problem somewhere else. Thats general landfill space, but when we look at electronic or e-waste space, the problem is a lot greater. In less scrupulous environments, e-waste is typically sold and bought by the pound and goes offshore.
China has significant problems in a couple of different provinces and regions right now because their whole economy is based on e-waste. In Hong Kong, one of the most beautiful cities on the planet, there are days when you cant breathe outside. The air is that thick, it makes you choke, its brown, its black. What happens with this e-waste is that there are certain chemicals; there are certain components that are of value say gold in electronic circuitry that they need to extract out of that. They do that by burning off the rest of the material. So there are toxic fumes there are toxic chemicals that are created when they try and extract the little bit of value out of this e-waste that here is. What happens to the rest of that material? It ends up being burned; it ends up being stockpiled in areas.
The thing about electronic waste: its growing, not just as a problem but its growing in terms of total units. What do we buy anymore that doesnt have some electrical or electronic componentry to it. But the two big ones that sometimes people forget are computer monitors. Those have to be handled in an environmentally appropriate way. They cant just be thrown into the garbage.
The other is the growing area of the home theatre stuff. Bigger and bigger screens and its all shorter life. So there is a growing amount of electronic waste that is being created and we have to find environmentally responsible ways to be able to deconstruct that material, to be able to truly recycle it in ways that are not just preferable but environmentally safe.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Grenk Featured in Sweeps4Bloggers Promotional Giveaway
Posted By: Brad Roderick
I want to thank Valerie Mitchell for featuring grenk on Sweeps4Bloggers for their promotional giveaway.
Giveaway – Grenk Printer Ink Cartridges – 5 Winners – Ends 5/2/10
For all information about the promotional giveaway go to: Sweeps4Bloggers
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Grenk featured in product review on myshoppingconnection; Greener Choices for Electronics
Posted By: Brad Roderick
I would like to thank Erika Pitera and myshoppingconnection.com for giving grenk an excellent review in their article; Greener Choices for Electronics.
Greener Choices for Electronics
We live in a very tech-centric society, and our daily activities inevitably leave behind a carbon footprint.
Luckily, more and more companies are offering us ways to save energy, reduce waste and generally be more eco-friendly when it comes to the gadgets and electronics we use.
Here are just a few companies making strides in the world of green tech.
grenk
Even if you only print a little bit at work or at home, your ink and toner cartridges have a fairly significant carbon footprint. Enter grenk, an eco-friendly company that remanufactures cartridges to conserve natural resources and control waste from manufacturing processes.
grenk’s package design and manufacturing standards were developed by InkCycle, and grenk uses a self-regulation process for remanufacturing and distributing ink and toner cartridges.
Some of their efforts include: a commitment to maximize the reuse of materials from an ink or toner cartridge to minimize landfill waste and reduce end-waste cycles; environmentally friendly package design that uses the highest available content of recycled material with certified chain-of-custody (such as oxygen-degradable film, air pillows and shredded test sheets from the plant to help cushion the delicate cartridge).
Make sure you tell your office manager about grenk!
For all the products in their review click here