their soy-based, cotton-wicked candles, which provide 60 to 80 hours of wine- scented burn.
Second Life for Paper Purina’s Yesterday’s News and Second Nature litter for cats and dogs, respectively, is made from recycled paper and absorbs waste upward from the bottom of the litter box for easier cleaning. The unscented litter pellets are three times as absorbent as clay, non-toxic and nearly dust-free. Hedgehogs, mice, gerbils, hamsters, guinea pigs and reptiles also like Yesterday’s News for bedding. On average, 44 million pounds of paper are annually recycled for these products. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States annually generates 11 million tons of asphalt shingle waste, mostly from re-roofi ng tear-offs and new installation scrap, comprising 8 percent of construction waste. Each recycled ton saves a barrel of oil. OFIC North
America, of Fredericksburg, Virginia, creates its Ondura corrugated roofi ng from old newspapers or magazines and cardboard, made durable by infusing it with asphalt. It’s placed atop existing roofs, which means no discarded shingles. Each day, 40 to 50 tons of recycled paper goods fi nd new life in Ondura products, available at most home improvement stores. Sound inside Buick Lacrosse and
Verano vehicles is dampened via a ceiling material made partly from reused cardboard shipping boxes. Paint sludge from General Motors’ Lansing, Michigan, Grand River assembly plant becomes durable plastic shipping containers for Chevrolet Volt and Cruze engine components. Some 200 miles of absorbent polypropylene sleeves, used to soak up a recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, were converted into air defl ectors for the Volt, preventing 212,500 pounds of waste from entering landfi lls. As part of its community
outreach, 250 shipping crates from GM’s Orion assembly plant became raised garden beds for a Southwest Detroit
community garden. A local entrepreneur turned donated sound absorption material into coats that also serve as sleeping bags for the homeless.
Old Tires Transformed The Rubber Manufacturers Association reports that Americans discard 300 million tires each year, each one having consumed about seven gallons of oil in its manufacture and poised to add to Earth’s landfi lls. Lehigh Technologies’ micronized rubber powder (MRP), made by freeze-drying discarded tires and pulverizing them into a fi ne powder, changes the equation. MRP is now used in many items, from new tires, roads and building materials to shoes.
It feels good to place used items in the blue bin instead of the trash, knowing that more and more companies are helping to put these resources to good use.
Connect with freelance writer Avery Mack at
AveryMack@mindspring.com.
Saturday
April 20, 2013 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
Lake Eola Park (east side) 195 N. Rosalind Avenue Orlando, FL 32801
www.CFEarthDay.org
Check the website for more info about the event and other Earth Week activities.
All money raised will be used for local environmental education and outreach.
Featuring: Ibex Puppetry’s Endangered Species Parade
FREE EVENT! Presented by
March 2013 35
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