November 2010 – LIGHTBULB GIVEAWAY ON NOVEMBER 19TH!  – Trade your old light bulbs for new, Compact Fluorescent bulbs.  CFLs last longer and take a lot less energy to run…saving you money every month on your electric bill!  All employees will be receive a new (5) pack of CFLs on Friday, November 19^th, 2010. 

October 2010 – NMG will be distributing bins to all employees to make it easier to collect your papers and magazines at home and bring them to work for recycling. They will probably look very familiar to you…because we will be reusing the black, plastic crates our bulbs are shipped in! They are the perfect size for newspapers, magazines and other recyclable paper and the handles make it easy to carry. Each crate will be cleaned and marked with a sticker. A reminder will go out just prior to the distribution date. If we have leftovers, we will make them available to all employees to give to family and friends, to help with their recycling efforts.

June 2010 – Paper Recycling – The next major step in our Project GREENHOUSE plan is to implement a company wide recycling program for paper. The types of paper that can be recycled in a “mixed paper” container are: office paper, copy paper, newspaper, magazines and junk mail. Basically, any paper…but no cardboard. We will be placing containers inside the offices and in various places in the greenhouse. Employees may bring their newspapers, junk mail and magazines from home as well.  These containers will be clearly marked and conveniently located.

April 2010 – Junk Mail Relief— Are you tired of all the junk mail you receive?  Do you ever think about all the trees, paper, time and energy being wasted on the “mail” we usually throw away? Consider how much junk mail you throw away in one week. Now X that by 52 weeks X 170 employees! In the next few weeks every employee will receive information pre-addressed post cards to mail to request removing your name from junk mailing lists.  If we all make a little effort it can add up to a big impact.

March – 2010 – Cleaning the Air with Plants – Houseplants are often overlooked helpers in ridding the air of pollutants and toxins, and balancing internal humidity. It is suggested that you have 1 plant for every 10 sq. yards of floor space or 2 or 3 plants in the average living room. Research has shown that these plants are the most effective:  Areca Palm, Reed Palm, Dwarf Date Palm, Boston Fern, Janet Craig Dracaena, English Ivy, Weeping Fig, Australian  Sword Fern, Peace Lily & Rubber Plant. Although many plants like light, they do not all have to be near windows. Many plants originated in the dense shade of tropical forests.  These are ideal for the home and can be placed in darker corners. We will be placing plants through out the NMG facilities in the coming weeks and posting information about them. Please see your supervisor if you would like to volunteer to help take care of them.

February 2010 – BUY/SELL/ TRADE! – The B/S/T Bulletin Boards have been installed in the break rooms at each location. Please feel free to post your own items (cars, appliances, furniture, computers, etc.) that you would like to sell or trade. Are you looking for something? Place a “Want to Buy” note. Every item that is used by someone else, is one less item going to our community landfills.

November 2009 – Starting with a give and give-back initiative. We’ve all seen the reusable grocery bags being sold and Meijers, Walmart and other local stores. Using these bags instead of plastic reduces the number of bags that end up in dumps and landfills, they are stronger, hold more and are easier to carry. Each employee will receive two of these green, reusable bags with our name and Project GREEN House logo imprinted in white. We will also have additional bags available to buy for only $1.00 each. All money collected on the sale of these bags will go to The Mel Trotter Mission to help feed those in need this Thanksgiving holiday. It’s an easy first step to something good for the environment as well helping out people in our own community.