close the loop company presentation 2014 esu innovation center
DESCRIPTION
Close the Loop Company, founded in the Poconos in 2000, is a pioneer in offering creative & unique products made from recycled plastics, tires & glass bottles. Waste materials are turned into functional and durable products, bringing innovative ideas and new uses for materials to the marketplace. Recycled plastic fencing is made in Saylorsburg, PA from state-of-the-art recycling of milk jugs for plastic lumber, with material sourced from local townships in the Poconos. Waste tires are used to make rubber pavers and landscaping materials, and glass bottles are tumbled for use as decorative & vibrant glass mulch. Rita Lacey served 6 years on the Solid Waste Advisory Committee in Monroe County, PA. She proves that you can do well by doing good when you focus on a triple bottom line: people, planet and purpose. Her business, Close the Loop Company is a new type of business, called a "Benefit Corporation", which requires the business to have a positive effect on people and the planet as a top priority. For the past 6 years, Close the Loop has organized free community events like their "Give & Take Days" and "Website Building Workshops". More information online at www.closetheloop.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/closetheloop Twitter: https://twitter.com/closetheloopTRANSCRIPT
PA’s 1st Benefit Corporation ~ a new legal entity type to create a positive impact on society and the environment ~ forgos maximizing profit to pursue public good, even when doing so cuts into revenue.
The start of a new economy in Pennsylvania, one based on a triple bottom line: people, planet, purpose
And you CAN do well by doing good!
We offer:
Free Website Building Workshops, for unemployed and underemployed to start their own small businesses, through a partnership with:
Give & Take Days…all items FREE!
Give & Take Days, annually since 2009
Part of the website building workshop includes:
Register online at http://www.closetheloop.com
To truly “close the loop”, we need to do 3 things:
1) recycle our waste 2) make something new out of it 3) buy recycled
We only have one planet with finite resources, in nature there is no waste.Nature builds up & breaks down…every organism provides an environmental service during and after its life ~ we can do the same with humans to create a society in which there is also no waste.
Humans make products that do not break down, creating problems throughout the world on land and sea for generations to come.
According to the EPA, the waste materials generated in the US annually:
Plastics - 30 million tons of plastic waste (nearly 60 billion pounds). Only 9% of plastic waste was recycled in 2013
Glass – 13.2 million tons of glass, about 22 % recycled
Tires – 300 million tires in the US, 12 million in Pennsylvania alone.
Source: Closed Loop Fund
About 91% of the total plastic waste generated was landfilled, littered, incinerated or finds its way into our oceans…
Only 9% was recovered for recycling…
Source: http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/plastics.htm
How can you make something disposable that's indestructible?
Photo:
Midway Journey
Plastics kill 1.5 million marine animals each year ~ litter finds it way to our oceans
Plastic Waste
…can be turned into Plastic Wood Fencing
Of the Recycled Plastic Bottles Collected:
Source: 2008 United States National Post-Consumer Plastics Bottle Recycling Report
Less than half of the PET (#1) collected goes to US manufacturers of recycled products, the majority goes overseas to China and other countries.
In 2014, the Svendborg Maersk was struck by high wind and waves off the coast of France and lost more than 500 containers, now at the bottom of the ocean.
Glass Waste
The Process of Glass Recycling
…can be turned
into a sparkling
landscape glass
walkway or used in a gas fire pit
This is where we came from…
This is the progress we’ve made:
We can do the same with plastics…
Waste tires can be turned into playground surfacing, horse footing, rubber timbers & tiles…
Here’s the Solution:
It takes 525 gallon-sized milk jugs to produce one 2-rail section of plastic post & rail fencing.
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It takes 100 tires to make 1 ton (2,000 lbs) of rubber mulch ~ enough to cover an average size home playground.
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It takes 4,000 beer bottles to make 1 ton (2,000 lbs ~ about 1 cubic yard) of glass mulch. It takes 100 beer bottles to make 1, 50 LB bag of glass mulch.
In your lifetime there are ~50 yrs of oil left for gasoline, heating, plastics, tires, much more…
Question: Will we be forced to mine landfills for raw materials?
Video ~ America's National Wonder: Plastic!?
Areas of Green Opportunities:Areas of Green Opportunities:1)1) Conserve, recycle, and efficiently use energy Conserve, recycle, and efficiently use energy
and materialsand materials
2)2) Use renewable & alternative sources of energyUse renewable & alternative sources of energy
3)3) Purchase materials with recycled contentPurchase materials with recycled content
4)4) Reduce the amount of waste we throw away.Reduce the amount of waste we throw away.
5)5) Encourage Extended Producer Responsibility Encourage Extended Producer Responsibility or enact legislation to require it. or enact legislation to require it.
According to NRDC Report“More Jobs, Less Pollution” report shows that a 75 percent
national recycling rate would create nearly 2.3 million jobs. The US recycles about 35% now…
Jobs in: Recycling Industries: MURF’s ~ collection and processing of
recyclables to make them available for use Reuse and Remanufacturing Industries: new recycled
products
Source: Natural Resources Defense Council, http://www.triplepundit.com/2011/11/recycling-create-23-million-jobs-according-nrdc-report/
Design products with the end of life in mind… cradle to cradle, not cradle to grave (landfills).
Focus for the future: waste = food (resources)Focus for the future: waste = food (resources)
Impacts of Buying US Made Recycled Products
Investing in American made products creates jobs Sets a good example & helps our economy Long-term economic and environmental benefits. What better raw material to use than our waste
materials transformed into a valuable resource ~ in nature there is no waste.
Leave less of a footprint on the earth…
Favorite quotes:
Waste is really a design flaw. ~ Kate Krebs, NRC
Plastics, like diamonds, are forever! - Capt. Charles Moore, Algalita Marine Research Foundation
If only they made a pesticide for litterbugs! ~ Monroe ~ Monroe County, PA Beautification OrganizationCounty, PA Beautification Organization
Be the change you wish to see in the world. ~ Mahatma Gandhi
