If you are into sustainability, living in NE Ohio and not a member of E4S, then you are missing the boat. Not only is it a great chance to meet with like minded people, but also an opportunity to hear about the things going on in your backyard. This group was started by Holly Harlen, who I am standing behind to run for mayor of Cleveland, or State Senator or something , as she has it going on. She started this group with the idea of bringing business minded people together to support sustainable ideas. Where this group stands apart from other similar groups is it is focused on business. In addition to the monthly networking meetings, they host business round tables from various stages in the business cycle. The advice that can be gleaned from these discussions is enormous. There are events of all sorts throughout the year that help businesses grow and support the goals of furthering sustainability. This group is focused on helping green businesses succeed, because successful green businesses is the real key to growing our green economy in NE Ohio.
I usually stick to our Cleveland meetings, but one month I made the drive to Akron for the Start-up Business Showcase. Since E4S supported us at the Cleveland event, I wanted to be there to support the start ups in Akron. I was so glad that I made the drive. The event had a huge crowd, and I was able to meet some of the great minds that are sure to be shaping Akron’s future. New technologies were represented. A new fuel efficient vehicle was shown. And most exciting to me, the recycle lunatic, was the work around recycling plastics.
One cool idea was the single person, three wheeled vehicle. It was presented by Dana Myers of Myers Motors. It was all electric. One thing that has bothered me was the question of shifting the blame, when it comes to electric vehicles. A plug -in electric car uses the electricity from the grid, which is often created from coal burning power plants. So is it really any better than a gas powered vehicle, as far as emissions go? I found out that yes, it is! The emissions are less from the electricity of the coal plant than from the use of a standard gas powered vehicle. The goal of this company is to produce affordable electric vehicles for a specific purpose. The idea is that for the average housefold, one car could be used for the single person commute, for short trips and basic use and have no emissions. It is cool looking, so check out their site to see it in action!
Jim Garrett spoke about his company,and their goal of creating a synthetic crude from waste oils and natural gas from waste solids. Tony Lammers from Mars Systems talked about his company and its goals to remove heavy metals (like mercury and arsenic) from water. This is a big deal, not just for our water use, but for its implications on the fishing industry, as many types of fish are so mercury polluted that they really shouldn’t be eaten. Along the same lines, Absorbent Materials Company’s Stephen Spoonamiere spoke about how his company was developing new technologies for remediation of contaminated sites. These are unbelievable companies with goals that could change the face of the planet. Imagine using garbage to make oil. All water being free from mercury and other heavy metals. A world without brownfield sites. All right here in NE Ohio.
On the recycling front, there were a few speakers. Jeff Guritza from REDUSA Enterprises is developing a process to connect recyclables. Right now they work with all types of people to haul away their junk and find a home for it that is other than landfill. The goal is to be able to link end users to the ones with recyclable on a large scale. We heard from Legacy Polymers‘ Jim Galvin. They are recycling partners, helping to set up recycling programs, and help companies to make money from the recycling of plastic waste instead of sending it to landfill. Similarly, Polyflow is using new technologies to create new plastics from old ones. Their goal is to create new products by recycling a variety of different plastics and rubber, even what would be considered contaminated. Basically, they break down plastics into the various chemical components that make it up and create things like gasoline, diesel fuel and the basics used to make new plastic polymers. Jay Schabel was very interesting to listen to, and their site is interesting to check out. So imagine being able to collect our plastics and ship them to Polyflow with no tipping fees. How much would that save our trash department?
I am excited to see so much going on outside the Cleveland borders. While Akron is only a short drive away, it isn’t a place that I am well connected to. I am so excited to see so many great minds working so hard on the problems of our region and the planet. With the brains that built the Rubber Capital of the World on board, I am sure that we can expect these new technologies to reinvent the region!
Tags: Akron, E4S, environment, products, recycling
