In addition to our previous post on the sustainable practices we follow at Trade Winds Dental, we also wanted to mention that Dr. Hennington and his wife, Xenia, have been recycling, reducing and reusing personally in their homes since the early 90s. They have been using natural cleaning products, gardening organically and eating organically since the late 90s.
They remodeled our home in 2004 using green building techniques before going green became more prevalent in our society’s consciousness. They found such value in conserving the earth’s resources and reducing waste that they decided to reflect that personal endeavor in our office, as well, recycling cardboard and paper materials since the late 90s. As the movement towards going green becomes more widespread, we, too, continue to find ways to incorporate more earth-conscious ideology into our dental practice. In 2006, we replaced our old carpeting with Cool Carpet by InterfaceFLOR™ which mitigates the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the lifecycle of carpet products. The Cool Carpet program has been certified by the Climate Neutral Network that is an independent non-profit organization committed to developing products, services, and enterprises that eliminate their impact on the earth’s climate. As a result of this purchase, 1 ton of certified carbon dioxide credits have been permanently retired. For more information on InterfaceFLOR™, you can go to their website.
More recently, you will also find that all of our paper cups have been replaced with ecotainer® cups, made from renewable sources and commercially compostable. “They meet the ASTM D6400 standard for compostability and are certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute. ecotainer® products are also made from renewable resources including trees sourced from responsibly managed forests as certified to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative standard. Rather than use a petroleum-based liner, ecotainer® products are coated with a plant-based moisture barrier made from Ingeo by NatureWorks. Because of this unique lining, ecotainer® products can be commercially composted with food.” (taken from http://partner.rescoonline.com/program.aspx?pgmid=170, or www.javastock.com.) We are committed to making continued changes in our dental office that reflect our respect for this earth, so stay tuned as we continue to evolve into a greener, more earth-friendly environment for all.