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Green Zone

Green Zone - Green Printing Products
Graig Mosher
June 28, 2010

 

I’d like to let you know about a couple green products that we found for the printing division of Zone 5. We had a specific need to find solutions for temporary and one time use signs. Event signs and banners make up a significant portion of our printing revenue. The fact that these signs we were making were being used for a few hours and then being tossed in the garbage was making me cringe. So far I have found two alternative products that are working well.

We produce a lot of vinyl banners. Graduation parties, running races, golf outings, charity events and everything else. Vinyl is great because you don’t have to kill trees to make it. It’s waterproof and durable which is exactly what you need for creating an outdoor banner. However the same properties that make it a great banner product make it terrible for landfills. The solution is a truly biodegradable vinyl banner material called BIOflex. It’s just as thick and tough as non-biodegradable banner material except it will break down in 3-5 years in landfill conditions. This is perfect for temporary banners and I have been promoting it heavily whenever a client asks me for them. 

All those events I mentioned need welcome signs and directional signs and we make a lot of those as well. Usually you print on paper, adhere the print to a board and let the mounted poster sit on an artist easel. The problem here is that the boards used are made out of paper so I went on the hunt for a substrate made from recycled content. Joe Pompei, Zone 5’s assistant production manager, found a really nice product called Bioboard. While the name isn’t particularly creative the product itself seems to be terrific. It’s strong and lightweight and made from a high percentage of post consumer content.

I’m constantly asking my vendors for green printing solutions. What started out as sort of a fad or trend seems to have become standard practice in the printing industry, which is good to see. There are new green products coming out often and I’ll be here to determine how I can incorporate them into our daily practices. If you have something that’s been working for you at your place, please let me know about it by commenting below.

 

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Green Zone - Maintain Your Ride
Graig Mosher
May 27, 2010

 

At Zone 5 we have a Honda Odyssey company van. It gets a 0 for sex appeal but a 10 for usefulness. It’s great for deliveries, pickups and general business logistics. We keep the oil changed and throw some new tires on every few years. It’s always been very reliable. However, a couple months ago IT happened. The dreaded check engine light came on. If you have any car experience you know that this seemingly harmless little light has the potential to be a major pain. It could mean anything from a loose gas cap to complete engine failure. The mechanic wants to charge you eighty dollars just to diagnose it, nevermind the money it will cost if there’s actually something wrong with your car. Luckily Matt has the solution. He bought a code reader that you can plug into any modern car and it will decipher the codes. Our van threw two codes including the EGR valve and catalytic converter. Both are very important parts when it comes the environment. The EGR valve recirculates gas that didn’t get fully burned back into the airstream of your engine’s intake to give these noxious fumes a second chance at being ignited. Further down the line the catalytic converter neutralizes carbon monoxide and other toxic compounds in your vehicle’s exhaust as it passes through the converter. Both of these items are crucial to keeping your vehicle performing well and minimizing the emissions coming out of your tailpipe.

After diagnosing the problem the next steps were to get part quotes and mechanic quotes. Honda wanted $800 for the cat. The mechanic wanted hundreds just for the installation. Both of these were a complete joke and I wasn’t about to waste that kind of company coin on a couple easy installs. I hopped on ebay and found a brand name aftermarket converter new-in-the-box for $170 and got a factory EGR valve for $140. Next, break out the torch, impact driver, ramps and rust bust spray and man up! A couple hours of rolling around in the driveway and victory! The van was back to it’s original cargo hauling glory. 

As always, a little extra effort and determination can make the difference to the environment and your wallet. Total savings was $1000+ and I got the personal satisfaction of carving another notch in my mechanic’s belt. Everything better all the time, even if better only equates to getting back to where you were once before. 

 

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Green Zone - Recycling Your Electronics
Graig Mosher
May 13, 2010

We have always been big fans of new technology at Zone 5. New computers, software and phones are all required to keep your business up to date with the rest of the world. There’s just one problem with that. What do you do with your obsolete technology? 

It turns out that nearly all of your old electronics are recycleable. Most are made using valuable metals including gold, copper, and aluminum. Recyclers are becoming increasingly adept at extracting these materials which is what creates a market for this type of recycling. Some items you can sell, other items you can donate. Some things you have to pay to get rid of properly. It’s a small price to pay to avoid the landfill.

First computers. We like eLot. They are a local electronics recycler. They’ll take pretty much anything computer related and they know where to send these items to be dealt with in a responsible manner. We save up our old computers, monitors, keyboards and mice and drop them off when we happen to be going that direction. 

Obsolete Cell PhonesNext, cell phones. It’s really easy to start a cell phone collection for charity. I sent out an internal email to my coworkers asking them to bring in their old phones they had laying around at home. I also grabbed some obsolete phones that Zone 5 had. Working or not working, cell phones can be donated on behalf of a large variety of charitable organizations and causes. I chose NCADV as my charity and sent the phones to ReCellular. Remove your SIM cards and toss the phones in a box. They provide the mailing label to you at no charge. 

Where there are electronics there are sure to be batteries. We already had a need for battery recycling as a company and it’s so inexpensive that we extended the offer to our employees. My coworkers were ecstatic because several of them had their own box of dead AA and Dead BatteriesAAA batteries at home waiting patiently for an environmentally conscious solution. Again, like everything else I’ve been talking about it just couldn’t be more simple. Safety-Kleen drops off a 5 gallon bucket. Tape the contacts of your batteries(so they don’t start a fire). When the bucket is full they take it away and drop off an empty one. 

Finally, ink cartridges. We’re printers! We use a LOT of ink cartridges. All the major players have a solution for ink cartridge and toner recycling. HP and Xerox for us. They print the info right on the box. You log onto their site and print out your shipping label for free. 

As usual, all of these are easy and nearly free. If you are interested in doing this at your place but just need a little help, send me an email and I’ll walk you through it. I promise it’s highly satisfying and a great way to do something positive.

Empty Ink CartridgesNext I think I’ll show you how a little vehicle maintenance can go a long way in the green department.

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Green Zone - Something From Nothing
Graig Mosher
April 22, 2010

 

First, happy Earth Day.  Any of my posts will work for the occasion but I thought reminding the world that there’s always a way to reuse seemingly useless materials would be a good fit for today.

I work in production. We create finished products from raw materials. Posters and banners from paper and vinyl? Check. Custom trade show accessories from aluminum & wood? Absolutely. And when we're not creating something for our clients? You guessed it. We're making something for ourselves. Prove to me that you are a craftsman and you've got my respect. Show me that you can create something beautiful and functional out of mismatched leftovers and now you've really got my attention. 

Whenever you are tasked with building something, one of the most important pieces of the puzzle is planning. It's what makes or breaks any project. In production, it's all about having enough material to complete your masterpiece without running out of supplies halfway through. In order to deliver on deadline successfully time after time you need insurance in the form of "a couple extra." Experience has taught me that trying to get exactly the correct amount of materials needed to build any given item will almost always end in failure. Need eight more 2x4s to finish that home improvement project? You better believe that you are going to need nine. When you build as many things as we do you quickly end up with a pile of leftovers, especially if you didn’t make any errors along the way. The trick is keeping these unused materials from landing in the dumpster. Combine a little imagination with some extra dedication and the end result can truly be something from nothing.

Here is a gallery of some of our scrap creations. All of these items are made almost entirely from leftovers. Got something you want us to make but didn’t realize we do that type of work? Just email us. info@zone5.com 

Check out the pics on our Flickr page if you want descriptions of how these were made. 

Planter2Planter1Matt's Coffee Table2Matt's Coffee Table1Joe's Cat PostGraig's Coffee TableFlip Calendar1Deck BarAnthony's Mantle RawAnthony's Mantle Finished
To view this gallery on Flickr, click here.

 

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Green Zone - 85 MPG Ruckus
Graig Mosher
April 10, 2010

 

That’s right people! I am the proud owner of a new Honda Ruckus Scooter. Why a scooter, you say? Style, fuel economy, convenient urban transportation and the same feeling of freedom you get from anything else with two wheels.

Quick specs- $2149 MSRP. 43 MPH top speed (not for long). 85 MPG.

85 MPG! If that isn’t impressive enough for you there are several internet claims of people getting over 100 MPG! Talk about reducing your carbon footprint. Also, it’s only April but you can feel the gas prices starting to creep up. My prediction is that by summer we’ll be paying some high gas prices again. This scooter has enabled me to become completely indifferent about the price of gasoline and it’s environmental impact is barely measurable.

A lot of people asked me why I didn’t get a motorcycle instead of a scooter and it’s a legitimate question. The answer is simple. This year called for something new. I have always ridden motorcycles so being on two wheels wasn’t news to me. In the past there have been some times when the only vehicle to my name was a motorcycle. Every day I would ride, rain or shine, and I’ve pretty much done everything you can do on a motorcycle short of race on a track. Also, if you have been following along, you know that I only live a couple miles from the office. The Ruckus is really going to be about commuting back and forth to work and buzzing around the city. It’s the epitome of convenience. I drive it right in the door and park it in my office! 

Don’t forget about the aftermarket. YOU MUST MOD. There is an entire scene devoted to this particular model with endless customizing options. Engines, exhausts, variators, frame extensions, rims and accessories galore. You can be sure I’m going to drop some cash to make my scoot look cooler and go faster. There’s something highly satisfying about tightening the last bolt on a brand new upgrade. So far, I made my number plates and decals here at work and hacked off some useless plastic. This will hold me over until I can get some real parts lined up.

The Ruckus has enabled me to further enjoy the satisfaction of cruising on two wheels. I have freed myself from the tyranny of the gas pump and I have a new toy to customize.

That’s about it. I’m currently accepting applications to join my scooter posse if you think you have what it takes. Other than that, if you see me out around town don’t be surprised if you get a "beep beep!"

 

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