Tenna, a farming village in eastern Switzerland has a population of about 112. As the mayor, Thomas Buchli, told Michele Andina of SwissInfo.ch in a video interview recently, “When it was time to restore the old lift, we thought we could run it on solar power since we already have a lot of solar panels on the roofs our our stables.” Clearly they’re not your average farming community.

The lift, which began operating in mid-December, is named “Small is beautiful” as it stands at a mere 450 meters long. This lift was designed to address a key challenge: There wasn’t enough room on the lift station roof for all the solar panels they needed. To solve this, they designed a suspension bridge of solar panel “wings” above the lift. The panels rotate to follow the sun and can be tilted to release snow if they start to get covered.

Although there were concerns that suspension ropes laden with 82 “wings” would appear abrasive against the snowy mountain landscape, the setup turned out to be fairly subtle with the panels hanging at slight angles.

The lift stays busy, shuttling 800 skiers an hour, writes Adventure Journal’s Michael Frank. On sunny days, the lift produces twice as much power as it consumes, according to Andina. The lift is expected to produce 90,000 kilowatt hours annually — well beyond the 21,000 kilowatt hours needed to run it during the season. In time, this small lift will make up for the initial $1.5 million investment.

Source: Discovery, Solar Lift Tenna

• World’s First Ski Lift Powered by the Sun
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• Nest Labs Introduces World’s First Learning Thermostat
• FedEx Express Hosts Largest “Green Roof” at Any U.S. Airport
• U.S. Green Building Council Announces LEED for Healthcare
• Recycled Rubber Roofing: Euroshield
• The Flexible Kitchen for Supreme Space Utilization
• Carbon Negative Cement: Novacem
• Bio-Floor by Earth Weave Carpet
• Clean Vinyl Technology: A Major Breakthrough in Contract Wallcovering
• The Belles Townhomes
• Pratt Institute’s New LEED-Gold Certified Academic Building
• Robert M. Cain: The RainShine House
• Dow Energy Solutions and Cobblestone Homes Create Affordable Green Residence
• Rockefeller Group Builds Largest LEED Gold Industrial Building in USA for General Mills
• The Greenest Hotel in America: The LEED Platinum Certified Proximity Hotel
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• frameworkdesign: vivienda moderna
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• hanrahanMeyers architects: Holley House
• Snaidero LEEDs to the Kitchen
• Living a Life of Luxury… and Sustainability
• Battery Park Community Center
• Shared Home/Work Space Improves Lifestyle and Lowers Footprint

The only thing stopping your fresh apple from being completely organic is that little white sticker with the gluey residue on the back side. New York-based electrical engineer, Scott Amron has a solution! His Fruitwash stickers, when put under the water faucet, would dissolve into organic fruit soap that removes pesticides, fungicides and that any water-resistant wax.

“I’ve always been discontent with fruit labels and felt they could do more than just display product info and be difficult to peel off,” Amron told Gizmag. “We buy, wash and eat fruit. So, the wash step was the next thing the label should help with.”

Amron isn’t about to reveal the Fruitwash ingredients, but he will confirm they’re designed to “outlast the fruit they label.”

Source: DiscoveryNews, PSFK

• A Dissolving Fruit Sticker Turns Into Organic Soap
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• Method Unveils Breakthrough Bottle Made of Ocean Plastic
• Levi’s® Goes Eco-friendly with Water‹Less Jeans Collection
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• adidas Group Commits to Using 100% Better Cotton by 2018
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• Rolled, Folded or Flattened: Vapur® Anti-bottle
• GE Commissions Yves Behar to Design WattStation
• Pythagoras Solar Creates Photovoltaic Glass Unit
• Bicycle Charger for Nokia Mobile Phones
• Zero-VOC Interior Paint: ECOtrend Collagen

Company Continues Concentrate Revolution to
Help Save Millions of Pounds of Plastic Each Year

SC Johnson announced the expansion of its Mini line of concentrated cleaners, which now includes five of the company’s trusted brands: fantastik®, Pledge®, Scrubbing Bubbles®, Shout® and Windex®. The concentrates, available at www.scjgreenchoices.com, offer an easy way for consumers to make the green choice of refilling, which could save millions of pounds of plastic from ending up in landfills nationwide.

The expansion builds on SC Johnson’s Windex Mini concentrated refill pilot, launched in July 2011, which aimed to create dialogue, engage consumers about the green choice concentrates can offer and kick-start a concentrate revolution. The company’s goal is to create enough consumer demand for concentrated refills to earn them a spot on store shelves right next to pre-mixed products.

A Change Worth Making

American consumers buy 320 million cleaning products in trigger bottles each year, and millions of them end up in landfills. By comparison, concentrated refills use less packaging, decrease shipping impacts and reduce waste. In fact, if just 20% of those 320 million bottles were refilled rather than discarded, it could save seven million pounds of plastic, the weight of 1,170 minivans, in just one year.

More importantly, SC Johnson also has reason to believe that with the right products, consumers will consider the change. The company recently funded a study with GfK Roper, as part of the 20th Anniversary Green Gauge® survey, to examine green attitudes and behaviors. Among the results: 75% of American consumers say they feel good when they take steps to help the environment.

Better Products, Recyclable Packaging

The key to making concentrated refills a viable option is making them appeal to consumers. That’s why SC Johnson gathered consumer input received online and from focus groups during its initial Windex Mini pilot.

And the company listened. Feedback about pourability and the importance of recyclable packaging have both been addressed. The new, expanded line of concentrated refills comes in small, easy-to-pour bottles made of the same recyclable plastic as a milk jug. The products also address a wide array of cleaning needs – from bathroom to kitchen, cleaning wood to marble to carpet – fulfilling another consumer request.

The concentrated refills are an easy and green choice to everyday cleaning. Consumers simply combine one bottle of concentrate with regular tap water in a reusable trigger bottle.
The product lineup includes:

• fantastik Mini concentrated kitchen cleaner
• Pledge Mini concentrated furniture cleaner
• Scrubbing Bubbles Mini concentrated bathroom cleaner
• Shout Carpet Mini concentrated carpet stain remover
• Windex Mini concentrated glass & surface cleaner

Small Change, Big Difference

Trigger bottles for almost all the concentrate brands – fantastik, Pledge, Shout and Windex – are already produced with 50% post-consumer-recycled content. The Scrubbing Bubbles trigger bottle is made with 30% post-consumer-recycled-content. Choosing to refill has an even greater positive impact:

• Requires 79% less plastic than the standard bottles
• Avoids transporting 19 to 23 fl. oz. of water, depending on the formula
• The refill bottle can be recycled in most community recycling programs

But that’s just the beginning. If just 20% of the 320 million cleaning products sold in trigger bottles were refilled each year, it could avoid using 3.5 million pounds of virgin plastic and avoid transporting nearly 11.5 million gallons of water, which is about 17 Olympic-size swimming pools’ worth.

Source: SC Johnson

• A Dissolving Fruit Sticker Turns Into Organic Soap
• SC Johnson Concentrates on Change with New, Low-Waste Cleaning Options
• Schick® Xtreme3® Debuts Eco-Friendly Razor Designed to Keep Plastic Out of Landfills
• Hand in Hand’s Sustainable Suds Support Healthy Hygiene Around The World
• Continuum Show and Textile Exchange Create Partnership to Deliver Sustainable Textiles Tradeshow
• Method Unveils Breakthrough Bottle Made of Ocean Plastic
• Levi’s® Goes Eco-friendly with Water‹Less Jeans Collection
• Green, Affordable Solar Phone Charger by Nokero
• Vapur® Launches Exclusive “Anti-Bottle” Artist Series
• Method and Dwell Host “Methodology”; An Upcycling Competition
• Calling All Green Designers
• Tee Off With a Biodegradable Ball Made of Lobster Shells
• adidas Group Commits to Using 100% Better Cotton by 2018
• Add Flair to Your Morning Coffee with Shadow Mug Coasters
• EGO: The World’s First Compact Semi-Submarine is Powered by Electricity
• LED CELL Carpeting Lights the Way to Stylish and Eco-friendly Interiors
• Yves Behar and GE Do it Again: The Residential Wattstation EV Charger
• Eco-Consultant, Green Irene, Creates a Line of Household Enzyme Cleaners
• Solar Cells Thinner Than Wavelengths of Light Hold Huge Power Potential
• Method Launches Its First EPA-Registered Antibacterial Cleaning Line
• Rolled, Folded or Flattened: Vapur® Anti-bottle
• GE Commissions Yves Behar to Design WattStation
• Pythagoras Solar Creates Photovoltaic Glass Unit
• Bicycle Charger for Nokia Mobile Phones
• Zero-VOC Interior Paint: ECOtrend Collagen

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