Coke is moving toward bottles made entirely from plant waste material. Plant bottles in bottling plants!

What may be the greenest material around? Steel. More is recycled than paper, plastic, glass, copper and aluminum combined. Steel is recycled from automobiles at a rate of 106% (because newer cars are lighter and use high-strength steel). See other impressive info here (opens a PDF).

Man trucks 400 miles with cardboard windshield.

Click here to see a TV clip in which a box of PIG® Wipers appears TWICE! Watch at least the first 38 seconds  : ) The video also gives interesting information on environmental efforts by NASCAR.

This appearance happened with the help of a friend from Safety-Kleen. Thanks, (name).

By the way, we also sell the type of  used oil storage tank being poured into below (in a screen shot from the video).

I’m here to question a USA Today story that says that the DOT has inadequate info on haz-mat spills.

We’re told that “federal records” show that “nearly half of all ‘serious’ hazardous materials spills on roads, rails, airstrips and waterways go unreported to the government, leaving investigators without data used to identify unsafe carriers and containers.” What “federal records” are they looking at? The National Response Center (NRC) pretty much tracks this info by the minute.

The story could leave the impression that haz-mat carriers in America are blatantly polluting. But if you read very closely, it doesn’t say that they’re not responding to spills, it says that they’re  not always doing the paperwork afterward, and the Department of (DOT) isn’t cracking down on them for that.

Here are the numbers given: “From 2006 through 2008, hazmat carriers failed to report 1,199 ’serious’ incidents, such as larger spills that cause substantial evacuations, major road closures, serious injuries, or releases of especially dangerous materials. The number of serious incidents that were reported: 1,403.”

Okay, but all of this is reported to the NRC by federal, state and local agencies. The DOT can access the info from NRC’s website the same way that you and I can.

Haz-mat carriers are indeed required to report spills to DOT, but it’s an exaggeration to think that having this data will enable DOT to eliminate all hazards of haz-mat transportation. Icy roads … drivers who fall asleep at the wheel: Things will still happen.

In USA Today’s article, the Chairman of the House Transportation Committee paints this picture: Without data on haz-mat spills, DOT “cannot put together a strategic plan for reducing hazardous materials transportation incidents, fatalities, and injuries.” He’s leading a hearing about this today.

If DOT wants accurate data, why not get it from the NRC? They can give you about 20 years of data almost instantly. There are already requirements that haz-mat carriers be “properly trained.” If DOT feels that something is lacking, why not revisit those regulations and revise them to be a little more specific? You don’t need a whole new strategic plan.

The article quotes Rich Moskowitz, VP of the American Trucking Association, as saying that many haz-mat carriers already know reporting requirements. “There needs to be better outreach to the industry and if that fails, then … stepped up enforcement.”

Hello! A voice of reason. Bless you, Rich Moskowitz! Education. Maybe the DOT can work THAT into their “strategic plan.” If they need some help, maybe they can ask their neighbors at OSHA and EPA. Both have created many, many programs to help walk people through a wide variety of regulatory topics.

Image © EyeMark - Fotolia.com

For those transportation companies that find themselves in need of response products, New Pig has spill response products to help protect people, animals and the environment and meet environmental regulations such as 40 CFR 263.30(a) and 40 CFR 263.31. These include:

Spill Kits
Pop-Up Containment Pools
Emergency Response Guidebook

For questions related to hazmat shipping, call the DOT Hazardous Materials info line at 1-800-467-4922.

To report a spill, call the National Response Center at 1-800-424-8802

For more information on reporting haz-mat incidents, click here.

Here’s news that involves material handling, green technology and New Pig’s home state of Pennsylvania.

Wegmans Food Markets will use $1 million from the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority (PEDA) to convert from electric pallet jacks and reach trucks to hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles at its Pottsville, Pennsylvania service center. The grant will help with installing an outdoor hydrogen storage tank and indoor fueling dispensers.

Wegmans will use 50 pallet trucks and 9 stand-up reach trucks from Lift Inc. in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Lift Inc. will install fuel cells in the vehicles. Wegman will expand use of hydrogen fuel cells at Pottsville through 2012.

Interestingly, another company, GENCO Supply Chain Solutions, is buying the fuel cells for Wegmans using federal stimulus money, because the economy derailed a number of GENCO’s own projects.

Image © Studiotouch - Fotolia.com

Many New Pig customers are going green without changing a thing. That’s because PIG® Universal Mat now contains 50% recycled content.

Believe me, it feels good when you can improve your best-known product behind the scenes in a way that helps customers reach environmental initiatives—and still deliver the same performance and value.

We’ve prepared for questions with the information below. Feel free to ask anything else with a comment here on the blog or by calling New Pig Customer Service at 1-800-HOT-HOGS® (468-4647).

What should I expect from PIG® Mat with 50% recycled content?

You can expect the same great performance you have always known. The recycled content in PIG® Mat is still 100% polypropylene. The color is the same and all of the features you love about PIG® Mat are completely unchanged.

What is the recycled content?

The raw materials used to produce PIG® Mat are comprised of over 50% post-industrial recycled polypropylene fibers generated from sources outside our absorbent manufacturing process. These fibers could otherwise be destined for a landfill, but instead we recycle them into our gray Mat products. This simple change cuts our consumption of new polypropylene in half—and that’s good for the environment.

How do I know it’s still the best Mat on the market?

We’ve developed a process that uses only recycled materials that meet our rigorous standards. Then we perform extensive testing on finished PIG® Mat samples to confirm that critical characteristics such as absorbency, durability, strength, wicking, floor grip, flame resistance and chemical compatibility meet our expectations—
and yours.

Is it still as strong? Will I still be able to walk on it?

Absolutely. We’ve RAT-tested (reciprocal abrasion tested) PIG® Mat to make sure that it still holds up to foot traffic. It still has eight thermally-bonded layers that stay together—even when the Mat is fully saturated.

Will it still be as absorbent?

Yes. Absorbency and liquid retention are unchanged.

Will it still be as chemically resistant?

Yes. It is still 100% polypropylene, so you can use PIG® Mat with confidence to absorb anything that you’ve used it for in the past.

Will it still last all day/week/month?

Since durability, absorbency and chemical resistance are the same, it will have exactly the same longevity as the PIG® Mat you purchased from us last week, last month or last year.

Will the price go up?

No. Unlike some green products that come with a higher price tag, the price of PIG® Mat will remain the same.

Why would we mess with a good thing?

New Pig wants to help protect the environment. We’ve developed a way to incorporate recycled content into
PIG® Mat and still maintain the same performance. Using recycled fibers in our Mat keeps a large amount of process scrap material out of landfills and significantly lowers our consumption of new polypropylene. It’s a simple change that has a positive environmental impact for us—and for you.

Congratulations and Happy Anniversary (or as we say around here, HAMiversary!) to Pollution Engineering Magazine.

40 years says it all. As the editor, Roy Bigham, points out in his outstanding historical editorial, “The company mission is to serve industry professionals by delivering useful, timely and accurate information through its magazines, websites, conferences and events. In 40 years of publishing the magazine, that commitment has never wavered.” BRAVO! They have persevered and served their readers well..

Despite the dramatic changes in industry, as well as in publishing, somehow Pollution Engineering has managed to keep up with it all and excel. Needless to say, they have been a reliable resource on safety, environmental, compliance and health issues for New Pig since we began in 1985. They’ve treated us right for 24 years.

Best wishes for another 40!

Balloon image © James Steidl - Fotolia.com

In this economy, a job opening is a job opening, even when it involves a storm drain opening.

You’ll know what I mean when you see our new video below, starring a PIG® Drive-Over DRAINBLOCKER™ Drain Cover. This is just the worker you need for long-term drain protection where liquid transfers, washdowns or other leak- and spill-prone jobs are common.

• No more need to frequently pull up and put down a temporary cover
• Patented-rubber HogHyde™ Skin top layer stands up to puncture, tearing and abrasion, even under heavy vehicle traffic from tankers, trucks or forklifts
• Top layer also protects the flexible, tacky urethane bottom layer, which molds to uneven surfaces and tightly seals drain openings to block liquid
• Polyurethane and rubber materials resist water, oil and many chemicals
• Withstands UV rays, infrared light and all weather conditions; leave it outdoors as long as you need
• Never whines

It was a low moment for Cleveland and for industry. The Cuyahoga River, largely polluted by manufacturers, caught fire on June 22, 1969—forty years ago this week.

How does a river catch fire? When it’s coated with oil and clogged with trash. That was the state of the Cuyahoga back then. Time magazine described it as brown and bubbling with gases.

The fire helped bring about water pollution control measures including the Clean Water Act and the creation of the federal Environmental Protection Agency. So at newpig.com, the references to EPA’s SPCC rules and many other regulations flow back to the Cuyahoga.

Interesting trivia: According to the EPA, there are no news photos of the fire. It only burned for half an hour, and no news outlet responded quickly enough. It’s much nicer to look at a picture of the Cuyahoga today, anyway (below).

Image © Bob Daveant - Fotolia.com

Click here to see some of the PIG® products
that help keep waterways clean