Community Welfare

Many things that end up on the curb each week aren't thrown out because they're broken or even obsolete — they're just not useful to their owner anymore and they take up too much space. Five years ago, a man by the name of Deron Beal set out to make us think twice about the value of the stuff we no longer use, through a network of community message boards called Freecycle.

Ecolab, the top gun car wash manufacturer/supplier (world largest sanitizer company with $5 billion in sales), announced its new program to certify car washes in the US as green. The company is looking for a two-tier improvement in the car washes it supplies: make them green and market them as green to eco-aware consumers. The program is called Blue Coral Beyond Green. Modern Car Care reported the new rollout as Ecolab’s effort to move a laggard car wash industry into the green era.

Local Harvest offers a comprehensive database of local farms, markets, community supported agriculture and local supplied restaurants, as well as an internet store that allows small farmers to sell goods like soap, maple syrup, preserves and dried fruits to a national market.

In the ongoing unsafe and negative public relations saga of toxic toys, major toy chain Toys “R” Us recently announced its efforts to reduce the toxins PVC (polyvinyl chloride) plastic and lead used in the toys they offer for infants and children. The company stated it’s future goal is to have all toys they carry PVC-free, and for now are working to reduce the amount of PVC in their toys.

AAMCO, the multi-state transmission and car care franchise people, have launched a new (and first of kind) program to completely eliminate waste at their auto serving centers. Called Eco-Green Auto Service Certification, the program also works on getting customers’ cars more fuel efficient and promotes alternative fuels that many studies conclude are less polluting.