Growstones: Earth-Friendly Products
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Soon to be available in Kansas City, Santa Fe, Albuqurque, Tucson and Tempe.
Reduce • Reuse • Recycle
Growstone’s patented technology takes glass out of the waste stream and puts them to work by creating functional, innovative, and cost-effective horticultural and consumer products. Our earth friendly products range from green technology building materials such as biodiverse green roofs to media for water filtration, soil enhancers for container gardeners, soiless media amendments and hydroponic growing systems.
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In the Albuquerque Journal, October 28, 2008
Written by Jeff Proctor
Copyright © 2008 Albuquerque Journal
Albuquerque's first step toward “complete recycling” of glass — a win-win deal for the city's economy and environment — will be complete in less than a month, according to Mayor Martin Chávez.
The city has entered into an agreement with Santa Fe-based Growstone LLC in which glass generated in Albuquerque will be ground into a fine powder, then processed into pebbles used to retain water in soil, Chávez told the Journal on Monday.
Construction is nearly done on a small building located at the city's West Side landfill where the glass will be ground to dust, he said.
Under the agreement, Growstone will purchase the glass by-product from the city, Chavez said.
For now, that dust will be shipped to Santa Fe, where Growstone has kilns to fire it into pebbles that range in size from a BB to a golf ball.
The smaller pebbles are used in potting soil in place of perlite or vermiculite, according to Growstone's Web site. The larger ones are tilled into soil where — in the case of New Mexico — green chile, alfalfa and other crops are grown.
Eventually, a second building will be constructed at the landfill, according to the mayor. That structure will house kilns like the ones Growstone already has in Santa Fe.
Chávez said the second building will be finished by mid-2010.
Under the agreement, the city will pay for the first building and is still negotiating with Growstone on how to finance the second building, said Leonard Garcia, the director of the city's Solid Waste Management Division. He said the city will recoup the expenditures from Growstone's purchase of the glass by-product. The agreement “will give us the capacity to consume 15,000 tons of glass per year,” the mayor said. “That will (recycle) all of the glass in the city of Albuquerque. The by-product will be sold all around the country (for use in soil.) The glass eventually will be collected in the city's blue recycling bins. It's complete recycling.”
The blue bins are part of what city officials envision as a “three-bin” system: a blue bin for recycled household items, including plastic, paper and glass; a green one for organic matter; and a black one for trash.
A pilot program where most recyclable materials, not including glass, are being collected in blue bins already is under way for about 10,000 homes in Albuquerque.
The mayor said Monday he hopes the whole city is recycling curbside in the blue bins — which will eventually accept glass — in about two years.
Currently, residents have to drop their glass off at one of several locations — including superstores and grocery stores — across the city.
“Right now, the market is really constricted, so we bundle all that glass, then sell it when the market relaxes,” Chávez said.
The water-retention capabilities of Growstone's pebbles will be a welcome bonus to Albuquerque, the mayor said, whose high desert environment has officials struggling to find ways to conserve water for future generations.
“Growstone horticulture products reduce environmental impact at both ends of the production chain,” Growstone's Web site says. “They replace strip-mined materials like pumice, perlite, and stonewool, reducing environmental degradation. At the same time, because the product largely consists of recycled bottles, a large amount of waste material is given a new life, keeping it from the landfill.”
Chávez announced last June that he wants Albuquerque to be “landfill free” by 2030.
Hydroponics and Potting Soil Enhancement
Growstones™ are engineered to be used as part of advanced hydroponic growing systems or as potting soil enhancer/amendment. Wether you are a commercial grower or a hobbyist, learn how your plants will benefit from Growstones.
Growstones are available online or thru local retailer in:
- 1.25 cubic foot bags for hobby hydroponic growers.
- 10 quart bags for gardeners and container gardeners.
Dare to Imagine what Growstone can do for you or your company!
*Learn how recycled products can benefit you as well as the environment.
*Learn how Growstones can be an intrigal component in your orchid mix.
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