jtrend-systems™ blog : your everyday bio degradable plastic and packaging industry update

Symphony Environmental USA - d2w additive technology

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 18:09:00 GMT

Oxo-degradable additive firm Symphony Environmental has signed a 25-year distribution agreement with Symphony Environmental USA for its d2w and d2p additives.

Symphony Environmental, which operates in 92 countries through 63 distributors, said that this deal was a major milestone for the firm.

The core of Symphony’s business is a suite of chemical formulations called d2w, which breaks down plastic into tiny molecules at the end of its life and eventually biodegrades completely.

Under the deal, Symphony Environmental USA will exclusively distribute and market Symphony’s d2w and d2p additives in the USA. Both firms are also planning a major joint press relations campaign throughout the US.

Symphony chief executive Michael Laurier said: “We are delighted to announce the signing of the US distribution agreement covering an important new market for Symphony and are pleased to have negotiated a long-term commitment from our chosen distribution partner.”

Symphony Environmental USA chief executive Tim Murtaugh added: “We are excited to become members of Symphony’s worldwide distribution network and are planning to invest substantial funds and effort in order to promote Symphony’s technologies in the US.”

Related articles

Wells Plastics aims to be top UK oxo-degradables exporter after MBO

Symphony Environmental joins British Plastics Federation

Import oxo biodegradable d2w products to USA

NH Hoteles switches to oxo biodegradable plastics

Mon, 21 Mar 2011 13:01:00 GMT

On the other day, one of our staff browsed the internet and surprising, we found this (http://www.carbon-clear.com/apps/nh/eicalculator.php?lang=en_ES&idc=1) the carbon calculator from a hotel chain, which is NH Hotel chain, the most fast growing hotel chains on the world that creats a lot of excitement for the customers. Guess what, we found their green initiatives right at the hotel room, they are all biodegradable and made with d2w controlled-life plastic technology (know more about d2w).

This week the hotel chain, with just shy of 400 hotels across Europe, the Americas, and Africa, will announce its intent to have suppliers switch from standard thermoplastics to ones loaded with a special additive that causes thermoplastics to oxo-biodegrade at a controlled rate.

NH Hoteles, based in Spain, has 399 hotels with over 60,000 rooms in 24 countries across Europe, America, and Africa.

What's the benefit of switching to oxo biodegradable packaging?

It's too expensive and not feasible to go compostable, bio-based, or ASTM D 6400 compliant biodegradable, and oxo biodegradable is the only affordable choice for the fast growing hotel group.
NH hotel convert their lawndry bags and shampoo bottles, bath gel bottles all to oxo biodegradable - this is the first green initiative ever in Europe to go green and at the same time, the news update is spreading all over the world through the oxo biodegradable distributors and this increase the awareness of NH Hotel in Asia and in the US.
Marriot has also converted its "lawndry" bags to oxo biodegradable and we hope to help more business (hotel, restaurant, airlines) to convert all their disposable packaging to oxo biodegradable.

For more information, please visit www.degradableplasticbag.com and contact us service@jtrend-systems.com

an example of oxo biodegradable garbage bags from USA : EZ Bagz

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 08:59:00 GMT

Sometimes green products need to create and add extra value, surprises to consumers, not just green, but need to be "something different" and "cool". We see a lot of great examples of oxo biodegradable bags in USA (CVS earth essential, Perf Go Green, Bags on Board, Out, and some home brands in Sam's Club ), here we would like to share with you one of those that create the most excitement to consumers. (more successful stories)

(http://www.ezbagz.com)
EZ Bagz are "Cradle to Cradle^SM" certified, a classification used to describe environmentally-intelligent designs using materials that, once utilized, can be disposed of in any natural environment and decompose into the soil, providing food for small life forms without affecting the natural environment. Biodegradability of Degradable Plastics has been tested and proven to comply with ISO14855 standard defined as "Determination of the ultimate aerobic biodegradability and disintegration of plastic material under controlled composting conditions - Method by analysis of evolved carbon dioxide."

EZ Bagz are there when you need them!

Instead of having to replace a trash bag each time one is removed, EZ Bagz offers a convenient solution by nesting 12 bags into one thoughtfully engineered unit. Secured with an EZ Fit™ elastic flex band, the 12-bag pack stays put in your trash container while you remove each top bag, leaving a fresh bag ready to use immediately. No more worries about finding a bare trash container when you want to throw something away - EZ Bagz are always there when you need them!

The EZ Bagz system is internationally patented* and received the “Product of the Year” award at the annual National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) Show. EZ Bagz has also been named a finalist in the 2010 Housewares Design Awards competition.
*US and Foreign Patents #7,080,750 and #6,102,239

EZ Bagz are affordable! Priced right because of our revolutionary patented manufacturing process, EZ Bagz are the most affordable truly eco-friendly trash bags available on the market today. When you factor in the added convenience of EZ Bagz, the value is heads above the competition.

a example of oxo biodegradable cap for disposable bottles

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 08:34:00 GMT

Here, we would like to share an example of applying oxo biodegradable technology to disposable bottle caps, sounds very different if you first time heard of it, and this is a very interesting idea from NorlandGreen. They have created three colors which are very earthy, and they've showed case their testing process to demonstrate to customers what's going to happen after the safe service life of the oxo biodedegradable products - controlled-life plastic technology. (more examples)

Go Green – Earth-Cap. (http://www.norlandgreen.com)

Earth Smart - Degrades in 5 to 10 years, while other caps can take hundreds of years to degrade.
Eco-Safe – Decomposes to a natural earth-friendly state.
Environmentally-Smart – Fully recyclable.

How it Works – Degradation of the Norland Earth-Cap

The formulation used in the Norland Earth-Cap, contains a proprietary mixture of:

• a pro-oxidant
• a photo-initiated initial degradation inhibition element
• a secondary bio-degradation initiator.

This unique formulation has been developed to give the plastic cap, an in-house storage shelf life of approximately 24 months. There is a further “dwell time”, of around 6 months after disposal. This is followed by a rapid breakdown of polymer properties resulting in acute embrittlement, after 36 months from disposal. The three stages of the cap breakdown are classified as follows:

1. Embrittlement - After the cap is used, and then disposed, the embrittlement process begins. This embrittlement is activated primarily by sunlight, and/or heat generated within a landfill. The embrittlement process is similar visually to that of a shattered windshield-where the plastic cap begins fragmenting into small pieces. Scientifically, the molecular weight of the polymer chain has been reduced, thus increasing the microbial accessibility, and eventual bio-digestion.

2. Micro-fragmentation – this is the further fragmentation of the embrittlement stage into smaller fragments, which then begins the bio-digestion. This micro-fragmentation of the polymer chain promotes the growth of microbial colonies to expedite the biodegradation.

3. Bio-digestion – Is the consumption of the micro-fragmentation pieces, by the microbial colonies, resulting in the Earth-Cap being ultimately consumed.

For more information or need project assistance, please contact us

how to logically market oxo biodegradable plastic products?

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 08:02:00 GMT

This is what the oxo biodegradable world claim:

The Oxo-biodegradable Plastics Association exists to provide information to encourage greater understanding of oxo-biodegradable plastic technology and the role it can play in protecting the environment for future generations. The Association continues to grow - it now has 87 members in 72 countries. Members are manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and commercial end-users of oxo-biodegradable plastic. It is proud to have on its Scientific Advisory Board some of the world's most distinguished experts in this field of chemistry. Oxo-biodegradable plastic technology provides the safest, most cost-effective method of degrading plastic, with control over the degradation time.

This is what the hydro biodegradable / compostable world claim:

BioBag products are BPI certified to meet the ASTM D 6400 specification.

When it comes to making marketing claims regarding a product's biodegradable or compostable attributes, the ASTM D 6400 is the industry's gold standard. The ASTM D 6400 is the North American equivalent of the European EN 13432. Both specifications require that biodegradable products completely decompose in a composting setting in a specific time frame, leaving no harmful residues behind.

It is important to note that the ASTM D 6400 is an ASTM specification, meaning specific results must be attained to receive certification. Some manufacturers, who have not met the ASTM D 6400 specification, may reference other ASTM standards to promote their products. Usually, these companies will reference the ASTM 6954 or the ISO 14855 as proof that they have surpassed some standard for biodegradation. In fact, the ASTM 6954 and the ISO 14855 are standard procedures to be followed for conducting tests and have no pass/fail requirements for heavy metal content or a product's ability to disintegrate.

The ASTM D 6400 is currently the ultimate test for a biodegradable product's ability to decompose in ideal composting conditions. Think about it. If a product can't "go away" after being ground up, tumbled, heated to 165 degrees, and placed in the optimum setting for decomposition, a well-run composting site, would it meet most consumers beliefs of what a biodegradable product should be?

Because of the number of unsubstantiated claims in the marketplace, the State of California (see California Law) enacted into law a requirement that products sold in California must meet the ASTM D 6400 specification to claim any "biodegradable qualities." In fact, the state now requires the word "compostable" to be used to define a product's ability to decompose.

Actually, both parties are correct and are reasonable to promote the best benefit of the technology to serve the purpose of the green products:

When do we need oxo biodegradable/ oxo degradable:

if the bag is not going to end in compost, then we want it to degrade faster, instead of leaving in landfill, ocean, mountains for more than 400 years.
if the bag need strength and factory cannot change the process, but really need an alternative to go green or become greener.
if the bag is going to end in compost, for example to tailor to local compost program, to make compost food waste into organic energy, then oxo biodegradable supplier should make consumer 100% understand the oxo bags cannot be used to serve the compost purpose

When do we need hydro/ compostable plastics:

if the product is going to compost facility for sure, then the compost bag will be required to meet the local compost regulations (for example, in California) - fit the purpose
but if the product is not going to be disposed in "compost", since compostable bags will not degrade in non-compostable environment, so it will become a pollution too, some compostable product supplier need to stress for consumer's understanding and really make compost bags fit the purpose.

Besides from compostable plastics, oxo biodegradable plastics, there is also "degradable plastics" which only make plastics to break down into small flakes and pieces due to the material is only design to break down into small pieces without changing the material structure, without transforming the material into bio-assimilated materials. So, it's very important to consumers to look at the product packaging for details whether the bags are made by certified technologies, proven test results, and endorsed by recognized organization that support the technology from professional and knowledgable advisory board.

why not plastics? face the reality and find the solution now!

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 10:18:00 GMT

In recent years we have seen plastic bags provided by grocery stores and other retailers. Some countries have levied a tax on the use of these retail carrier bags while others have banned their use outright. The movement against these bags looks like the elimination of plastic bags would solve all of the earth’s pollution problems. This line of thinking is naive to the extreme.

Walk down any aisle of any grocery store anywhere in the world and you will be surrounded by plastic products that improve the quality of our life – shampoo and laundry detergent bottles, bread bags, cookie and candy packaging, milk jugs, mustard, vinegar, spices and other condiment containers, produce bags, meat, fish and cheese packaging, paper towel and bathroom tissue packaging, and on and on and on. What about all these plastic products? Don’t they also represent potential plastic pollution?

Or have we conveniently ignored all these other plastic products that we find so useful every day?

The reality is that plastic products are deeply embedded in our everyday lives and there is no viable substitute on the horizon. As a result plastic products will continue to be an integral part of our lives for the foreseeable future. But plastic bags represent just a very small part of a much larger concern.

When plastic products have served their useful purpose, like most items that are considered to be “garbage” they end up in landfill sites mixed with other garbage. Much of this garbage is contained in traditional plastic garbage bags which may take hundreds of years to break down, entrapping their contents and preventing them from breaking down as well, and clogging our limited landfill space as a result. In reality these garbage bags represent a much bigger problem than plastic carrier bags. Fortunately there is a solution. (epi-global website)

www.degradableplasticbag.com

Greener Family Holiday: 3R to Go Green

Mon, 06 Dec 2010 08:31:00 GMT

Family holidays can be both green and fun. And if you stay close to home, they’re likely to be cheaper and more eco, too. (however, it's not always possible, so don't worry, here we are going to share with more some alternative ways to make yourself less quilty)

Take the train

Staying local is the simplest way to make your family holiday kinder to the planet.

Taking the train from London to Lanzarote instead of flying to Marbella cuts your carbon footprint by 2.4 tonnes for a family of four people.

If you have to drive

If you do drive to your destination, park the car and leave it. Local initiatives like West Cornwall’s ‘Boot, bus and branchline’ make it easy for visitors to explore the area by public transport.

The National Cycle Network offers over 12,000 miles of walking and cycle routes on traffic-free paths, quiet lanes and traffic-calmed roads. To find a local route, visit Sustrans: www.sustrans.org.uk.

Greener places to stay

Find greener accommodation

Consider where you’ll be staying – the simpler the accommodation, the greener it’s likely to be. Look for places that:

recycle
use renewable energy
conserve water
source local or organic food
employ local people.

The Green Tourism Business Scheme lists over 1,400 environmentally-friendly places to stay and visit in England and Scotland. Go to www.green-business.co.uk.

Farm stays

Feed the animals, eat home-grown produce or help with the fruit-picking – Featherdown Farm offers B&B or self-catering accommodation in idyllic rural settings and a chance to learn more about the countryside and the people who work in it.

Camping

The ultimate ecofriendly holiday, and a great budget option if you get back to basics with sleeping bags and primus stove. Search for a camp site, read reviews and share tips on life under canvas at www.ukcampsite.co.uk. For camp sites with great locations or spectacular views, try www.coolcamping.co.uk

There’s a great range of camping equipment at Tesco direct.

Staying under canvas doesn’t mean giving up your creature comforts. For a taste of ‘glamping’ (glamorous camping), Featherdown Farm offer luxury tents in traditional working farm settings.

Youth hostels

Not just for hikers and backpackers, youth hostels cater for families, too. Many are being revamped with en-suite rooms replacing dormitories. The newly built YHA National Forest eco-friendly hostel in Derbyshire is a great base for exploring the great outdoors.

Canal boats

Narrowboat holidays have a small carbon footprint and with constantly changing scenery, locks to work and plenty of wildlife to watch, they have bags of kid-appeal. Did you know that you can spend your Clubcard vouchers on a canal boat holiday? Find out more at here.

Greener holidays abroad

If you’re holidaying in Europe, think about taking the train rather than flying or driving.

Northern Spain, the South of France, the French Atlantic coast and even Sicily have some of the best beaches in Europe and can easily be reached by train and/or ferry. For information and tips on booking train travel in Europe (and beyond), visit www.seat61.com.

Green ratings

Keep an eye out for the leaf-shaped Travelife logo in mainstream holiday brochures – it’s awarded to hotels and travel companies that follow good green practices.

The Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO) also promotes responsible tourism through a star-rating system – there are nearly 30 members with the top three-star rating.

From now on, your dog waste bags will not last forever

Fri, 26 Nov 2010 08:49:00 GMT

J-Trend Systems now supplies biodegradable dog waste bags manufactured with oxo-biodegradable formula that have been fully tested and certified by oxo-biodegradable plastic association.Our oxo-biodegradable pet waste bags are economical and earth friendly. J-Trend Systems dog waste bags keep your environment clean and leave no harmful traces - 100% degraded. (for more information, please contact us: service@jtrend-systems.com)

(assessment report: http://www.jtrend-systems.com/jtrend_systems/reports_dogpoobag_01.html)

Top 10 Tips for an Eco-Friendly Thanksgiving

Thu, 25 Nov 2010 08:35:00 GMT

An eco-friendly Thanksgiving will enrich your family’s holiday experience, because you will know that you have made the world a little brighter by reducing your impact on the environment. And that’s something for which everyone can be thankful.

1. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

To make your Thanksgiving celebration as eco-friendly as possible, start with the three Rs of conservation: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

Reduce the amount of waste you produce by buying only as much as you need and choosing products that come in packaging that can be recycled.

Recycle paper, and all plastic, glass and aluminum containers. If you don’t already have a compost bin, use your Thanksgiving fruit and vegetable trimmings to start one. The compost will enrich the soil in your garden next spring.

2. Buy and Eat Locally Grown Food

Buying only locally grown food is one good way to have an eco-friendly Thanksgiving. Locally grown food is good for your table, your health and the environment. Locally grown food tastes better than food that has to be grown and packaged for maximum shelf life, and it requires less fuel to reach store shelves.

3. Make Your Meal Organic

Using only organic food for your feast is another good eco-friendly Thanksgiving strategy. Organic fruits, vegetables and grains are grown without chemical pesticides and fertilizers; organic meat is produced without antibiotics and artificial hormones.

4. Celebrate at Home

Skip the stressful holiday travel and celebrate an eco-friendly Thanksgiving at home.

5. Travel Smart

If you must go over the river and through the woods, there are still ways to have an eco-friendly Thanksgiving. If you drive, use less fuel and lower your emissions by making sure your car is in good working order and your tires are properly inflated.

If you fly, consider purchasing carbon credits to offset your portion of the carbon dioxide emissions generated by your flight. A typical long-haul flight produces nearly four tons of carbon dioxide.

6. Invite the Neighbors

The original Thanksgiving was a neighborly affair. Having survived their first winter in America only through the generosity of the native people who lived nearby, the Pilgrims of Plymouth Rock celebrated a bountiful harvest with a three-day feast to give thanks to God and their Indian neighbors.

Your neighbors probably haven’t saved your life, but chances are they have done things to make your life easier or more enjoyable. Inviting them to share your eco-friendly Thanksgiving is an opportunity to say thank you, and also to reduce auto emissions by keeping more people off the road or ensuring shorter trips.

7. Plant a Tree

Trees absorb carbon dioxide—a greenhouse gas that contributes to the greenhouse effectand global warming—and give off oxygen in return. Planting one tree may not seem to make much difference in the face of global climate change, but small things do matter. In one year, the average tree absorbs roughly 26 pounds of carbon dioxide and returns enough oxygen to supply a family of four.

8. Make Your Own Eco-Friendly Decorations

With a few simple supplies and a little imagination, you can make great eco-friendly Thanksgiving decorations and have a lot of fun in the process. Colored construction paper can be cut or folded into simple Pilgrim, turkey and harvest decorations. Later, the paper can be recycled.

Baker’s clay, made from common kitchen ingredients, can be shaped and molded into holiday figures and colored with non-toxic paints or food coloring. When my children were young, we used baker’s clay to make whimsical turkey, Pilgrim and Indian table decorations that drew compliments from our Thanksgiving guests for years.

9. Make it a Spiritual Day

The Pilgrims who celebrated the first Thanksgiving fled religious persecution in Europe to seek a better life in America. The Thanksgiving holiday was established to provide a national day of thanksgiving for all Americans. Even if you follow no particular religion, however, Thanksgiving is a good time to count your blessings, beginning with the many ways the natural environment sustains and enriches our lives.

As part of your eco-friendly Thanksgiving, make time for prayer, meditation, reflection, or perhaps just a walk in the woods to contemplate and give thanks for the wonders of nature.

10. Say Thank You

Whatever else you do on Thanksgiving, make it a time to say thank you to the people in your life who matter most and, if possible, to spend time in their company. Life is short, it is the moments that count most, and many of the best moments in life are those spent with friends and family.

If distance or circumstances prevent you from spending Thanksgiving with some of the people you love, call, email or write them a letter (on recycled paper) to tell them why they mean so much to you and how they make your world a better place.

closer again with the nature : use biodegradable plastics

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 04:03:00 GMT

You must watch this video we recently created, it embedded the best country music we have heard recently, and when you listen to it, you will be brought to a new world to convince to get closer to the nature, it a 100% heart-touched music.

We now encourage everyone to take a look at where you live, look at the mountains, the ocean, rivers, and forests. Some animals were trapped by plastic waste, and ban plastic is not a solution, the solution is to give plastic a controlled safe service life, make them degrade naturally in any environment when the plastic are not disposed in the usual disposal stream.

Don't be afraid about the add-on cost, because the add-on cost is too small to be considered compared to any plastic polution or any wildlife that may be taken their life away. Biodegradable is affordable when people really work together and consider it as "necessary", it's like a iphone, when only 1 people buys it, it might be a million dollar, but within more than one million people buy it, then the cost can go down to $300. what a saving!

For more information about where to buy biodegradable plastic products, please contact us service@jtrend-systesm.com.

For more information about what products we sell, please visit our green product show room!

innovation + go green = cost saving

Fri, 22 Oct 2010 17:49:00 GMT

Working as a marketing leader in a GO GREEN company (J-Trend Systems, Inc.) is not always easy, because everytime when a customer complains to me, "why it's so hard to go green; what's the benefit of GO GREEN, why do I need to spend more", I am getting a bit upset and now after so many times, I have been working with my team and people to devote time to think about how to "be innovative" and "go green", and at the same time, achieve cost saving = low cost leadership. This is what my mom told me, the good products need to be greener, cheaper, and better to use.

Here is our rule:

material reduction, when thinner can get things done, why do we need to make it so thick? When stronger can make customers happy, why not we make customer happier?
intelligent plastics, when we understand this plastic might not be disposed properly and might take a very long time to degrade in landfill, why not we make it degrade fast and save our earth and save the ocean animals?
reduce packging and printing, we never over packaging and over printing. If we can get things done with one colour printing, why use two colours? And, we only use water printing ink, eco friendly.
reduce logistic carbon footprint, logistic sometimes cost a lot of carbon footprint, so we manage to reduce the chances of sending unnecessary samples and use high tech multimedia technology, like Skype to contact conference call and exchange samples through video transmission - direct and much more interactive.

Of course, more development on our innovative low cost products are still under progress and we pull an effort to get things done through green consumers from all over the world, please feel free to write to us, and let's work together for the best GO GREEN products. BRAVO!!!

about making dreams come true

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 13:11:00 GMT

Everytime when we shop in grocery stores and supermarkets, we see consumers looking for better products, lower price and smart buy. Better products are products that are produced with better quality or higher value; lower price means competitively priced, and smart buy means you make the right choice. But how can consumers find our go green products. This is a problem because sometimes the retailers tend to charge too high and that freak out some good manufacturers, as they have to spend too much money on advertising, giving commissions to marketers, and make the products with lower cost materials, sometimes it's not good to making things moving to improve our world. But this is what what we want, as a marketer of our brands, we try everything we can to produce "best product", "low cost leadership", and "creativity". Sometimes, copycat is not going to make consumers pay attention to, so in order to reach our consumers, we have treid everything we can to reach our target customers. For example:

cost leadership: we price our products at 20~25% lower than oour competitors, we save some marketing cost and give rebate directly to customers
quality leadership: we set up our own test facility and quality control systems for degradable plastic products, we do not just add "addtive technology", in order to make sure all our products are 100% degradable and having controlled safe service life, we test everything before we make them commercialized and having a professional service team to facus on improving product quality especially devoting resource on carbon footprint reduction
green showroom: we understand logistic also cost money and a lot of energy, instead of sending samples and inviting people to visit to touch our products, smell them, and test them, we invite customers to visit our green showroom anytime and we use social media to interact with our customers whenever they need.

We are still waiting for our dreams to come true for the first retailer to adpot our products on their shelf.

reuse, reduce, and recycle with oxo biodegradable plastic products

Sat, 18 Sep 2010 14:36:00 GMT

3R: reuse, reduce, recycle: this is a well-known environment topics, recycling and saving the earth's precious resources.

Reuse: Many items can be used for different purposes. So before you throw items away, everyone should think about how these items can be reused. For example, reuse retail carrier bags as bin liners; send the old stuffs to any of your friend or family that may need them; reuse the drink glass as plant jar; reuse the scratch paper again and stape them together for personal organizer purpose.

Reduce: some people tend to be too wasteful, when you can use one to do the job, why some people use two? reduce is important and is part of the courtesy of chinese and japanese culture that we should cherish what we have and reduce the garbages and reuse stuffs again and again, and reduce the way to consume earth resources.

Recycle: how to properly recycle stuffs, everyone should try to understand how to best rexcycle stuffs and comply to community recycling activities and policies. It is just a habit to make that everyone should at least give it at try to improve the way we live. Some of the people create a lot of garbages, but if they can learn to recycle them, then we will have more recycled material source for our life.

oxo biodegradable plastic products can be reused, recycled and also reduce plastic waste.

View product gallery

California´s plastic bag ban fails in state senate 14-21

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 07:46:00 GMT

It is ia great news for plastic bag industry, since plastic bank has been an issue that everyone concerns - reduce plastic bags, reuse them, and recycled them, but what's the points to ban plastic if there is not an avaliable green technology that can replace disposable plastics, ban plastic is a meaningless approach that make the total plastic industry shock and don't know what and how to follow the green policy to move on for a greener world.

California´s plastic bag ban fails in state senate 14-21 Sept. 1 -- California´s plastic bag ban, which would have banned single-use plastic bags from retail outlets in the state, has failed in the state senate by a vote of 14-21. The bill, AB 1998, garnered support from environmental groups and was called a hidden tax on consumers by the American Chemistry Council. "We congratulate Senate members for discarding a costly bill that provides no real solutions to California´s litter problem and would have further jeopardized California´s already strained economy," said Tim Shestek, senior director of State Affairs for the American Chemistry Council. "Plastic bag makers look forward to working with grocers, legislators and environmental groups to develop workable, effective legislation that enables consumer choice, promotes recycling education and encourages a healthy environment and economy," Shestek said. The ACC worked towards the measure´s defeat. Mark Murray, executive director of Californians Against Waste, one of the organizations championing the bill, thanked the group´s supporters in an email message. "We gave this bill our all -- thanks to all of you who supported our efforts," said Murray. The organization´s efforts aren´t over, however. He said CAW would be moving from a state to a local initiative. "Los Angeles County, Santa Monica, San Jose, Berkeley and many other cities and counties have announced they will soon ban plastic bags. CAW will be advocating in the coming months to enact these and other plastic bag bans at the local level." Contact Waste & Recycling News reporter Amanda Smith-Teutsch at 330-865-6166 or asmith-teutsch@crain.com

we have oftenly been asked: why we need biodegradable plastic for?

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 03:23:00 GMT

We always wish to share with more households and friends about the solution for plastics waste and we need to take a positive position to face it and speak out what we think to improve our life and save the earth. A frequently asked question, if we can recycle plastics, why we need to make them degradable, and since we can resue them again and again, and actually we are pretty "organic" , we use cotton, jute, and plant based materials, why we need to care about disposable plastics which are something we have not considered to use them in our everyday life. But can you think again, have you really not using any plastics? here are some simple questions to help you evaluate the impact you might have for the earth that associate with disposable plastics:

does your organic food need packaging? when you shop in WHOLEFOOD? are they not in plastics? how about the organic veggie or fruit? (this is the biggest chain store supermarket that specialised selling healty and organic liftstyle in the US)
do you use any garbage bags? 13 gallon tall kitchen bags? are they not made from plastics?
do you use any ziplock or hefty gallon freezer bags? are they not in plastics?
do you usually "reuse" disposable plastic products or plastic packaging? it will be easy for us to use retail carrier bags for garbage bag, but no one is going to use again the produce bags that we use them in the supermarket since they are usually topped with a some fingerprints and may not be so clean.
how about the dog poop pbag/ dog waste bags? are they not made with plastics?

If we admit we do use plastics, we actually cannot keep us away from them, whereever you go, there is always plastic packaging, some are actually in paper packaging (but guess what? these paper also laminated with the plastic film). Thus, we have to consider how if these plastic garbages are thown away in the ocean or not been collected into the usual disposal stram, such as inciniration, landfill and recycle. The solution is, we need to make sure they will decompose and leave no harmful residue in our environment - and most importantly, they have to be priced right and affordable, because no one is going to use expensive disposable plastics every day.

recycled plastic bag and LEED

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 07:15:00 GMT

After reading this, we now have a better understanding why it is important to include post consumer recycled contents to our plastic bag making. It is kind of tricky because actually the more recycled content we put in the plastic bag, the thickner we have to make the bag due to the recycled plastic is not as stong as virgin plastic resin. So, worth to read this article to understand how it works and what really benefit the environment and eligible for get the LEED award.

Recycled-Content Plastic Trashcan Liners

Specify the procurement of plastic trash can liners that meet the recycled-content requirements of the EPA guidelines, which require that liners have a minimum 10% postconsumer recycled content. Where possible, purchase locally manufactured recycled content liners to support the local recycling market and reduce transportation costs. When selecting trashcan liners, ensure that the liner is the correct size for the receptacle and of appropriate thickness. Consider using trashcan liners made from bio-based or renewable materials, or completely eliminate the use of trashcan liners to reduce plastic consumption and waste. If biodegradable or compostable liners are used, working with local recycling and waste-handling services will help ensure that bags are composted or disposed of so that they biodegrade in the landfill.

how to implement green initiatives and using eco friendly bags?

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 03:56:00 GMT

Actually it is not so easy as we thought to "GO GREEN", we have some customer inquiry from hotel and hospitality, restaurants, small designer studios, small business, and also small shopping malls - but seems the add-on cost is sometimes higher than they thought, not just 20%, do you know why? I have to disclose it and let everyone knows why, and hope we can all work together to improve our supply chain and service model, and also market acceptance.

quantity of demand: with conventional plastics, the factory doesn't need to change the process for custom made items, but with our biodegradable bags, factory does need to seperate the production line from the conventional plastic bags, so the wastage of material during production cannot be evenly shared by all the conventional quantities - unless the order is big enough
what is the definition of "big enough": big enough in commercial production, means minimum order 1MT. That'll be 20,000 pcs garbage bags, or 50,000 pcs shipping bags, or 200,000 pcs dog waste bags. Sometimes it is not so easy for a small business to order this amount at the very beginning.
solution: for customers that wish to start the green initiatives and join the GO GREEN Program, firstly please try to approximate your demand quantity for a longer period of time, for examples, you usually place order every month, please extend to 3~6 months since our products have safe service life of 12 month in standard storage, so that'll be good enough to cover the 3~6 month demand, or if you have warehousing space, the period can be longer. Secondly, please try your best to order our standard items or our ready to go items that doesn'y require a MOQ, so you can start earlier and easier. Thirdly, with time being, when we are able to consolidate different customer small orders together to a medium or big orders, then the price will go down, and we will definately provide more discount and compensation for those customers that start with us from the very beginning. suggested products for this month

are biodegradable plastic bags more expensive? any way to cost down?

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 06:19:00 GMT

A frequently asked question about " biodegradable plastics and green products ", is it really so expensive, can't someone just invent something that is affordable for everyday use - this may quite reflects what a lot of eco consumers's mind, come'on, I rather use a reusable bag tote, recycled plastics, resuable shopping bags, instead buying something that claims " biodegradable ", " corn starch ", " oxo biodegradable", or anything too green to be true. 3R is about reuse, reduce, recycle, why do I need a " biodegradable " bag, which is much more expensive, and less strength, and smells funny? By the way, I need to explain to you something you may not know, reuse is certainly better than recycle, because recycling needs:

Transportation to a recycling centre (burning fuel)
Energy, water and chemicals to reprocess it
The quality of the recycled plastic at times may be of lower quality due to contamination with different plastics

I used to have the similiar mindset, like I always carry a green reusable tote when I shop is costco or BJ's since they do not offer a bag and carton boxes just not going to help me much if I am going to shop alone and no one helps me to move the carton up to the car - so heavy, I rather just bring a few reusable and strong bags that can help me to seperate and organize stuffs apart... but things are changing now, I see a lot of " biodegradable 13G tall kitchen bag ", " biodegradable cutleries", and " biodegradable dog waste bags " on the market, and some of them are really really expensive, twice more expensive than ordinary plastic bags, can I really afford it? They are definately not an affordable and conscious choice for everyday, because people may choose to use them in special occassions, like world environmental day, earther day... but not every household will be bothered to pay such high premium for the bags that they use everyday disposable (a waste of money) and these bags go to landfill, but not compost (I'll share with everyone about "compostable bags", but you can check here if this is not too technical for you).

MY PERSONAL OPINION:

biodegradable and compostable bags are more expensive - they are good for industrial compost, but other than that, they will not degrade when they were thrown to the ocean by someone (maybe he/she doesn't mean it, just the little baby does it)
oxo biodegradable/controll life bags can be self constructed after the safe service life - they are not good for compost, but other than that, they will degrade as long as there is oxygen, means in the river, ocean, school, roads, on the tree, they will be 100% degrade to water, CO2, and biomass.
cost, biodegradable compostable bags are twice more expensive and oxo biodegradable controlled life bags are only 15~20% more - commercially affordable, just like an insurance premium for our environment, why not? And the cost should be paid by the brands, retailer, manufacturer, not consumers.

how we test our biodegradable plastic products

Thu, 09 Sep 2010 11:01:00 GMT

To test oxo biodegradable plastic products is not an easy job because when its been made, you can not tell any difference from ordinary plastics, so it is important to have standard operation process to prepare for the testing process.

Firstly, we start the small scale trial production of around 100~500KG conventional plastics finished goods, and at the end of this production run, we add oxo biodegradable additives which is specially formulated and designed that tailors to the product application we wish to produce. By doing conventional and degradable samples in the same production run, we will make sure all factors have been controlled, so we have "controlled samples" and "degradable samples".

Secondly, we do some simple sampling process and collect the equivalent amount of samples of each type(usually 500g~1000g) depend on the production type, and then send to lab for testing to see whether the physical properties have been affected and whether the degradation start as planned (ASTM D6954-04)

Finally, usually we need to wait for around 30~60 working days for the aging test (QUV and thermal), so here you go the summary of our test reports. Generally, every application trial takes 3~6 months to develop, and so far we have more than 100 application trials.

our latest green bag video sharing on YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook

Thu, 09 Sep 2010 04:31:00 GMT

This is our newst video sharing posted on YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. We wish to share with our customers about how we started this green business. We wish to provide an alternative and solution to the plastics that get into the environment, such as ocean, roads, rivers, and forest. Has anyone thought of even if you make the bag "biodegradable", it is not going to resolve the plastic pollution. Reason 1, the plastic bags that were thrown into the ocean and leaving in the environment uncollected will just be there; Reason 2, biodegradable or the compostable bags will not self construct naturally, they have to be moved to the compost facilities which is irrelevant to the disposable items leaving and flowing on the ocean.

Making the plastic self construct to protect our environment and anaimals, this concept is quite self-explainatory, because it is like getting an insurance for the disposable bags, containers, and cups we use. How if, how if, they do not get into the conventional disposal stream, such as recycling, inciniration, compost, and landfill - they will still break down into small fragments, and then become a totally different structure that can be bio-assimilated. Some of my friends and family concern about will they be still strong and durable to use. Definately yes, before they start to decompose, they are just as strong as ordinary plastics you use everyday and you see in every type of products that require packaging.

innovative Green Show Room: cost no carbon footprint to visit

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 08:01:00 GMT

Green nowadays becomes a “ME TOO” word that confuses consumers. Here, we nominate our show room as GREEN SHOW ROOM because we are implementing a GREEN STRATEGY that truly replaces the traditional business process by an innovative and creative real product re-presentation. People ask us what is the difference?

Actually, there is no difference, we are just operating much greener, more effective and efficient to deliver an affordable green value worth beyond product value.

Enter Green Show Room Now!

Visit our green show room by product category
2D and 3D detail drawing and provide you an idea how your product can be presented
The best visual aid for comminication of project coordination

We have spent three months time having our multimedia team to work on this project dedicately. It take time but we worth it - jtrend-systems Green Show Room is the first green show room that is promoting "green" products (green grocery bags, poop bags, recycling plastics) and reduce your carbon footprint of doing international business. Of course, if anyone wishes to visit our green show room or you happen to come close to our office, welcome everyone to join our green program and say hello to us. BRAVO~

Enter Green Show Room Now!