Cherry Hill Coffee, based out of Kelowna is turning a deeper shade of green.

Cherry Hill is offering certified fair-trade (allows the growers to compete globally by offering better trading conditions), organic coffee (which is grown without using pesticides and chemicals). They have 3 delicious organic blends available for the holidays - Jack Frost, Gingerbread and Christmas Blend.

Cherry Hill also introduced a take-out coffee cup made from sustainable materials. The Ecotainer is made from a bio-plastic that is created from corn. These cups are 100% compostable and can decompose into water, organic matter and carbon dioxide.

Finally, they have partnered with a local compost and recycling company to establish a waste management program that takes care of the pickup of your compost. Every week, coffee grounds, ecotainer cups and other organic material can be picked up and converted into nutritious topsoil for local farms.

Source: Article by Natalia Hahn titled "Heard of Green Tea? How about Green Coffee?"

The 3rd annual Organic Okanagan Festival takes place this Sunday September 21st at the Summerhill Pyramid Winery located at 4870 Chute Lake Road from 11 AM to 4 PM.

It's being called the Okanagan's Finest Green Living Expo and is organized by the Okanagan Green Society. There will be over 40 exhibitors talking about natural health and healing, sustainable energy, alternative education, recycling and composting. Samples of locally grown organic food will be given out as well.

Entertainment includes films such as The Story Of Stuff and Table Land and music by The Raging Grannies, The Treelight Room and Daybeats.

There will be kids activities, blind taste tests of organic versus non-organic foods (put on by Nature's Fare, a new sponsor). Nature's Fare will be handing out a goody bag filled with coupons, a green guide and organic food items.

Attendees will be given Taterware plates made from potato starch to sample some of the foods and after the event the plates will be composted. Solar power will be used to provide Vendors at the event with power.

Admission is $5 plus a Kelowna Food Bank donation. Funds raised at the event will support the Okanagan Green Society's projects including Local Food for Local Schools and the Kelowna Food Bank.

Source: Article by Lori-Anne Charlton in the Event Magazine titled "Keen on Green"

Sysco volunteers to keep the garbage heap small

During a May 14th Food show at Prospera Place, Sysco took the initiative on a green approach for waste removal. The Regional Waste Reduction Office along with volunteers and Lindsay Keller of Tigress Ventures sorted the garbage destined for the landfill into 3 piles: compost, recycling and landfill.

Here are some of the results of the sorting:

• 800 lbs of compostable food waste and biodegradable plates and cutlery were collected by Russ's Recycle and Compost Removal Services
• 500 litres of recyclables were diverted
• alot more cardboard was kept out of the garbage than at previous shows

As you can see, if the volunteers didn't take the initiative, the garbage heap would be alot larger today. We should do our part in helping the environment by simply sorting the thrash before dumping in the garbage bin.

Source: Kelowna Capital News Article titled "Sysco food festival joins recycling spirit"

Yard Waste Collection Schedule for May

Here's the Yard Waste pickup schedule for Kelowna in the month of May:

Kelowna A and Westside A and B
May 12 -16

Kelowna B and Peachland
May 19 - 23

Lake Country and Joe Rich/Ellison
May 26 - May 30 

• 7 AM set out time
• use clear bags or reusable containers
• residential yard waste only
• 23 kg per item
• bundled prunings must be less than 1 metre long and 1/2 metre across

For more information: Visit RegionalDistrict.com  (Departments -> Regional Waste Reduction Office)

E-friendly renovation tips that can increase the value of your investment

• Windows - switch to triple-glazed that are installed properly
• Lighting - use sensor lights, skylights, compact-flourescent bulbs
• Heating - get high-efficiency furnaces, radiant heating, solar panels, solar heated hot water tanks (hot water tanks are 25% of your gas bill)
• Insulation - pack insulation in the walls, basement, attic, around pipes
• Water - install low flow toilets and showerheads, install on-demand hot water heaters
• Paint - use paint that has no VOCs (these cause breathing problems)
• Carpet - install wool carpets that don't pollute the air and are renewable,
• Floors - use renewable resources such as bamboo or cork or recycle old materials
• Surfaces - use products such as PaperStone that is made from recycled paper instead of non-renewable stone

Tips gathered from Joanna Pachner's article titled "Green renos increase a home's value".

By June, Asus will have eco-friendly laptops

To promote environmentally friendly products, Asustek will introduce the 11-inch S6 and 12-inch U6 laptops which have bamboo coverings. The units are priced around $1600 USD.

Asus is also working on the same bamboo concept for desktop PCs and monitors. My next PC and laptop will be definately have components that are easily renewable and can be recycled quicker.

Digitimes has the story.