Off-Season Trash

With the kids not having an on ice schedule that involves 6 days of each week and some down time between NHL playoff games, we get to spend more time cleaning our yards, basements and garages.

Already, I've seen two roadside trash dumpings this week.  One was on the curb of a main road leading to a large shopping centre.  Someone obviously went out of their way (I'm assuming at night) to drop off household waste.  The other incident happened right in front of me.  A man was returning to his vehicle after walking his dog in a local park.  He got into his van, turned the vehicle around, drove a few yards, stopped, got out, opened the back hatch, pulled out large cardboard boxes, threw them into the woods, got back in the van and drove off.

How convenient.  These two incidents occurred minutes away from a local waste depot.  Meanwhile, hundreds of other hockey families have taken the time to properly dispose of their household waste.  The Green Hockey initiative now applies at home too.  Don't be one of those people.  Most waste depots don't charge for dumping certain items.  In some cases, you will drive your vehicle on a weigh scale and have to pay anywhere from $7 to $20.

Take a moment to go online and search for waste depots or hazardous waste depots near you.  Have a look at their hours of operation and map their location.  You'll feel good about getting rid of the junk properly and you will be setting a great example for others.

The Hockey Season magazine

Our first issue of The Hockey Season magazine is out.   You won't see it on the newstands or in your local arena though.  We've made it really easy for you to access it...from anywhere.

If you have an iPad, simply use the MagCloud app and search for The Hockey Season.  Within seconds you'll have access to great articles.

From your Mac, PC or mobile device, download the PDF version  and enjoy.

The print version is a nice touch for your coffee table, skill centre or skate shop for your customers to read.  You can purchase the print version online.

Feedback is always welcome.

Think Recycle has joined the Green Hockey initiative

Think Recycle is a 100% cost and hassle-free environmental fundraising program offered to schools, non-profit organizations, charities, teams and clubs across Canada and the United States. They currently work with over 20,000 organizations!

Members earn up to $100 for every cell phone, inkjet, toner cartridge and digital camera collected for recycling.  To-date they've awarded over $5 million dollars in funding!  They provide you with everything you need to launch and run the program including pre-made marketing materials and pre-paid shipping labels.  Fundraising has never been so simple!

It's good for the environment and good for you.  They even donate funds to have trees planted for every 24 qualifying electronics that members collect.  Members have contributed to the planting of over 50,000 trees.

By participating in the Think Recycle program, members help to divert thousands of pounds of electronic waste from entering local and international landfills.  E-Waste is the fastest growing waste stream world-wide and the majority of people do not know how to safely and responsible dispose of their products.

By collecting electronics for recycling, refurbishment and reuse, Think Recycle is effectively reducing potential contamination of land, water and soil from product decomposition in landfills.  The company is ISO 14001 certified and follows a strict zero-landfill policy which ensures no products sent to their facility end up in a land fill.

The Green Hockey initiative is designed to help reduce hockey related damage to the environment during the hockey season.

Skate Anywhere USA

The Green Hockey initiative welcomes Skate Anywhere USA distributors of Super-Glide synthetic ice.


Synthetic ice itself is green because running a standard ice rink takes a big toll on the environment. The synthetic panels are recyclable and last 10-20 years. Their fleet of trucks will all be highly efficient as well as the logistics planning.  Some profits will be donated toward environmental causes.

The more backyard rinks people have, the less they have to travel to practice their skills.  Less travel=less emissions.  Synthetic ice requires no emission heavy ice resurfacers.

Fresh Gear

The Green Hockey initiative welcomes Fresh Gear.

Fresh Gear has been disinfecting sports equipment since 2005 and is so effective that it is used by NHL teams. They have 120+ locations across North America.  Headquarters located at 3393 County Rd 42 Windsor, Ontario, Canada.



Mission:
Good health shouldn't be a luxury. That is why we have created an affordable method to disinfect and freshen your nasty sports gear.  Using Fresh Gear services regularly helps: (1) eliminate odour-causing bacteria (2) reduce the risk of infection and (3) prolong the life of your sports gear. It's one of the best decisions an athlete can make.  In as little as 20 minutes, sports gear can be properly sanitized using a patent-pending process that does not require any special oils, detergents or chemicals.

Products:
The Fresh Gear C40 and Cyclone: Kills bacteria 3,000 times faster than bleach and leaves gear smelling great!

How does Fresh Gear help the environment?
They provide all natural, organic, disinfection and odor reduction of sports equipment and many other items. No water, chemicals, detergents, etc... AND it only requires approximately 2 cents of electricity to operate! Utilizes the naturally occurring power of ozone to destroy bacteria and leave your hockey gear smelling great!

Green Hockey initiative welcomes PowerSkatingCoach.com

• encourage all players to recycle their waters rather than just throw them in the trash.
• encourage all players to reuse their water bottles several times not just once.
• encourage the use of velcro straps on shin pads as compared to using tape.
• encourage the use of wax on the stick blade to prolong the life of a taped stick.
• encourage the rinks not to do an ice cut if the ice surface is not in too bad a condition before you start.
• encourage players to commute to practice and games to conserve gas.

The result:

• Fewer plastic bottles in land fills.
• Less tape waste in landfills.
• Water and electricity conservation by doing less ice cuts.
• Fuel conservation.

Visit PowerSkatingCoach.com

Green Hockey initiative welcomes Michigan Sani Sport

Michigan Sani Sport uses ozone to sanitize your hockey gear. While ozone doesn't sound very environmentally friendly, Michigan Sani Sport's equipment causes the ozone to convert to oxygen before it is released into the environment. The entire process kills 99 percent of the bacteria living in your gear without the use of harsh chemicals. In short, we are able to make hockey gear healthier and safer with a minimal impact on our environment. Oh, and it smells better when we are done!

No soaps or artificial chemicals are used so there is no release of pollutants into our water supply. Oxygen is converted to ozone, pumped into the gear, and allowed to convert back to oxygen meaning that there is almost no ozone released when the machine is opened.

Visit Michigan Sani Sport

Green Hockey initiative

We have launched the Green Hockey initiative to help reduce hockey related damage to the environment.  Visit www.greenhockey.ca for more details.  Become a Green Hockey initiative member for $29.95.  Follow the Green Hockey initiative on Twitter.