Upgrading a Garage with Lighting

Like many older office buildings, the four-story garage at 500 Davis Center in downtown Evanston was in need of some TLC, including a lighting retrofit. Constructed in 1978, it still relied on T12 fluorescent bulbs, which were a huge drain on the building’s energy bill.

Richard Similio, on-site property manager for Circle Realty Advisors which manages the 10-story office building, turned to EverLights as a one-stop shop for a lighting retrofit. EverLights’ first order of business was to recycle all the existing fixtures by safely removing the bulbs and ballasts.

Step number 2 was to upgrade to a newer technology that included the purchase of the best energy-efficient lamps and ballasts available. EverLights’ solution was to provide GE 28-watt T8 fluorescent lamps and energy-efficient ballasts.

Finding the right occupancy sensor was another story. The EverLights team showed him almost a dozen products before he finally settled on Leviton’s PIR fixture mount occupancy sensors. They were installed by Hardt Electric directly above each of the 200 parking stalls. Calibrated to stay on at 15-minute intervals, they automatically turn off unless movement is detected. To ensure driver safety, the lights remain on at all times in the driving lanes.

EverLights also provided GE T8s for hallways, elevators and restrooms. Twenty exiting incandescent EXIT signs were replaced with Surelites LED lamps EXIT signs. The total estimated energy savings is $10,855 a year. With ComEd incentives, the lighting will have paid for itself in 3.3 years.

“We couldn’t be happier with the result,” Richard said. “It is exactly as we envisioned it.”

Think it may be time for a lighting retrofit of your own? Make no mistake: a retrofit with energy-efficient lighting will help you save dramatically on utility costs. Technologies that support dimming will give you the ability to control lighting with additional energy savings. Plus, retrofits reduce pollution given off by the power plants that make all those lights turn on. Why hesitate?

Happy 4th of July From EverLights

Happy 4th of July from your friends at EverLights. Have a safe and wonderful holiday!

EverLights and Alderman John Pope Hold Free E-Waste Recycling Drive

Every May, Alderman John Pope leads his 10^th ward with a handful of green events around the community to encourage residents to go green and help keep our community clean. For three years, we have helped Alderman Pope achieve this goal by offering free electronics recycling to local residents and businesses for the entire month.

During his 13 years as Alderman of Chicago’s 10th ward, Pope has been known for his green initiatives and strong belief in creating a sustainable community. “Our annual green events are important because they help us educate community residents about sustainability programs that we feel are really important,” said Pope. “Residents have had a tremendous response to these programs over the last five years and we’re excited to see how we can make it an even bigger success in the years to come.”

EverLights Team With Alderman John A. Pope

We are happy to announce that the drive has once again been a great success. Thanks to the help of the employees at the Alderman’s office, and the efforts by both parties to spread the word about the drive, we were able to collect nearly 1,400 pounds of e-waste.

Although the month-long e-waste recycling drive has now come to a close, we want to remind all of our community residents that we offer free e-waste recycling at our location in Chicago year-round. Residents are allowed to bring up to 10 pieces of electronic equipment to be recycled at no cost to them. Our recycling process includes data and hard drive destruction, plus 100% recycling.  For more information, call our office at (877) 934-9873.

Kelly Gallagher Graduates from Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program

“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and the lifeblood of our neighborhoods,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel during his   speech to the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses graduates on June 12^th.  I was sitting among the graduates and I found Mayor Emanuel’s words moving and inspirational.  It was a career highlight, to say the least!

During the ceremony and pre-ceremony gathering, we were also given the amazing privilege of meeting, and learning from, Warren Buffett. Yes, the Warren Buffett. This once in a lifetime opportunity to meet one of the most successful, inspiring businessmen the world has ever known is something I will never forget.

Over the past twenty weeks, through the City Colleges of Chicago and Babson University, I studied accounting, human resources, negotiation, marketing, leadership skills and much more alongside 36 other small business owners.  The program, sponsored by Goldman Sachs, was a boutique MBA.  All classes and courses were tailored to the struggles that small business owners face.  What an eye opening experience this was! I walked away looking at my business more critically and have already implemented some changes on our processes and the markets that we are pursuing.

I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity I was given to be part of the inaugural Chicago 10,000 Small Businesses class, and I hope other small business owners are as lucky as I was and get the opportunity to participate in this amazing program.

- Kelly Gallagher

What New E-Waste Recycling Laws Mean for Businesses and Building Managers

We want to start this blog post out with a quick poll. You can choose not to participate, but we’d love it if you did!

If you answered “throw it away,” you could be in big trouble come January 1.

Businesses (and homeowners) in Illinois will be prohibited from sending old electronic equipment to landfills. While there is currently a law in effect that requires some of that electronic material to be recycled, the new regulation adds more equipment to the list, and creates bigger penalties for businesses that do not comply.

How big are these penalties? Currently the fine for violating the Illinois e-waste recycling law is $1,000 per incident. Once January rolls around, however, the fines will be increased to $7,000 for each violation. You may be thinking to yourself, “$7,000 isn’t much money in the grand scheme of things.” While that may be true, it seems pointless to accept a penalty when it’s so simple to safely and lawfully dispose of your material.

Because these laws require manufacturers to recycle a certain percentage of the equipment they sell, most will have a program in place for you to return used equipment. Since businesses and buildings go through electronic equipment more often, and in greater numbers than a homeowner does, these programs aren’t always ideal for them. Luckily, there are recycling companies (like EverLights) that make recycling e-waste safe and easy for businesses.

Our e-waste recycling process guarantees all of your information is safely disposed of. Before materials are shredded, all the information is wiped from your hard drives, ensuring nobody will ever get their hands on it. Once your information is removed, the materials go through a shredding and smelting process to break them down into their original forms. The “new” material is then sent off to manufacturers who use it to create new equipment, including electronics. Once the process is complete, we’ll send you a certificate of recycling, proving that your materials were recycled following all regulations.

If you’re not recycling electronic equipment at your office or building, you should be. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it’s also required by law. Plus it’s really easy.

We’re more than happy to answer any questions you might have about this topic. Feel free to give us a call any time at (877) 934-9873 or send an email to info@everlights.com and we’ll help you out.

EverLights Now Sells GE Energy-Efficient Products

Recycling lamps – and doing it well – has been a passion for EverLights since we opened in 1995.  We have found the greatest joy in servicing our clients, especially when we can offer them a program or product that helps them become more efficient, green and truly help them do their job better.

Earlier this year, a number of our clients started to ask us our opinion on the incandescent and fluorescent bulb phase outs.  We educated them and gave resources to the best of our ability.  But we wondered if there was a way we could do more.  After putting our heads together, we decided to approach General Electric to see if they would be willing to bring EverLights on as a lamp distributor.  We were thrilled when they said yes!  By the end of the month, EverLights will become the first GE distributor that also recycles their products.  Did I mention how excited we are?

As we prepare for the official launch date (please stay tuned) all of us are busy learning more about lighting so we can be the EverLights experts that you are accustomed to working with. We want our customers to know that they can come to us for all of their lighting and recycling needs, and learning as much as we can about the industry is the best way to make that happen. Soon you’ll start to see new lighting added to quotes, and we’ll run specials on bulbs that we think are particularly efficient, or just plain cool.

If you’re interested in learning more about the GE products we’ll be offering, or our recycling services, please give us a call anytime at (877) 934-9873. We’re always happy to help!

3 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day

With Earth Day fast approaching (April 22), we’re getting really excited to see what some other businesses and organizations around the country have in store for us. The Earth Day Network has a campaign called “A Billion Acts of Green.” The program is designed to encourage people and businesses around the world to take the pledge to go green and help celebrate Earth Day. There are only 12 days left until Earth Day, and the Earth Day Network has almost reached its goal of 1 billion pledges. We encourage you to log on to www.earthday.org and take the pledge today. Once you’ve done that, consider participating in one of the following Earth Day events. Even doing one small thing can make a huge difference.

Earth Day on the National Mall

If you’re in the Washington, D.C. area, this event is the place to be. From noon until 7 p.m. a rally will be held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Tens of thousands of environmentally-conscious people from all walks of life and all parts of the country are expected to participate and they will be joined by civic leaders and celebrities for this incredible Earth Day event.

A few highlights of the event:

•   Free and open to the public
•   Top musical talent (Sting and John Legend performed in 2011)
•   Prominent speakers and celebrities
•   Youth rally and voter registration
•   Live news coverage, global webcast
•   Renewable energy demonstrations
•   Non-profit and embassy booths
•   Interactive exhibits

For more information visit the event page.

5K For Earth Day

Here’s a fun event that those of you in the Chicago area might be interested in.

Please join Green Dot Environmental as they celebrate their 3rd Annual 5K for Earth Day presented by Merchants Banc on Saturday, April 21, 2012. Beginning with a family friend 5K run/walk, the race will culminate at the Humboldt Park boat house with a free Green Living Expo including great music, family entertainment, delicious food, exciting vendors and shopping, environmental education and fun for the whole family. Stop by this fun event if you’re in the area on Saturday, April 21 and learn about a number of ways to “go green.” Race participants will each receive a free t-shirt and recyclable tote bag.

For more information, visit www.earthday5kchicago.com.

Earth Day E-Waste Recycling Drives

After participating in the Earth Day celebration by hosting events in our own community the last few years, EverLights decided to expand its reach. This year, EverLights will celebrate Earth Day by hosting a number of E-Waste recycling drives across the city. We wanted to take the things we’ve been doing well in our own community, and make an impact on a larger audience by doing something similar in downtown Chicago. By setting up shop in the lobby of our partner buildings, we will be providing the tenants and visitors with a convenient location to bring old electronics, while also giving them a forum to ask any questions they might have about e-waste or fluorescent lamp recycling. Listed below is our calendar of events from April 16 – April 23.

Date: Monday, April 16, 2012

Time: 9 a.m. – Noon

Address: 70 E. Lake Street

Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Time: 9 a.m. – Noon

Address: 815 W. Van Buren

Date: Thursday, April 19, 2012

Time: 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Address: 303 E. Wacker

Date: Friday, April 20, 2012

Time: 9 a.m. – Noon

Address: North Shore Hospitals (Evanston, Glenbrook, Highland Park, Skokie)

Date: Monday, April 23, 2012

Time: 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Address: 111 S. Wacker

Please direct any questions about the e-waste recycling drives to EverLights by calling (877) 934-9873.

Celebrate Earth Day by Recycling Your E-Waste! (Update)

On April 22, 2012, people across the globe will be participating in the 42nd annual Earth Day celebration. Earth Day was originally created to generate awareness and appreciation of our natural environment. In 1970, Earth Day was celebrated for the first time in San Francisco and a few other cities around that area. Since then, it has gained international recognition and is celebrated by more than 500 million people in 175 countries each year.

In years past, EverLights has participated in Earth Day events in our local community, such as 5k walks, e-waste recycling drives and local park clean-ups. While we are very proud of our past efforts to help improve the environment, we decided it was time to take it one step further. This year, EverLights will celebrate Earth Day by hosting a number of E-Waste recycling drives across the city. We wanted to take the things we’ve been doing well in our own community, and make an impact on a larger group by doing something similar in downtown Chicago. By setting up shop in the lobby of our partner buildings, we will be providing the tenants with a convenient location to bring old electronics, while also giving them a forum to ask any questions they might have about e-waste recycling.

We were very fortunate to find two buildings to help us hold our inaugural e-waste recycling Earth Day program. Our great partners at Lowe Construction & Management Company will help us celebrate by allowing us to collect e-waste in their lobby on two separate days during the week leading up to Earth Day.

Calendar of Events

Date: Monday, April 16, 2012

Time: 9 a.m. – Noon

Address: 70 E. Lake Street

Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Time: 9 a.m. – Noon

Address: 815 W. Van Buren

Date: Thursday, April 19, 2012

Time: 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Address: 303 E. Wacker

Date: Friday, April 20, 2012

Time: 9 a.m. – Noon

Address: North Shore Hospitals (Evanston, Glenbrook, Highland Park, Skokie)

Date: Monday, April 23, 2012

Time: 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Address: 111 S. Wacker

On each of these days you will find EverLights in the lobby of the building listed. We will be on hand with a box to place the e-waste in, informational materials about e-waste recycling laws and other recycling regulations, and a free Earth-friendly giveaway for all participants.

The cost of recycling will be covered by the buildings, so tenants can recycle as much as they would like at no cost to them.

Come on out and help EverLights celebrate Earth Day by recycling your old electronics. Not only will you be helping the environment by recycling, but we’ll also give you a free gift to take home. Want to know what it is? Stop by our event and find out!

For more information about the Earth Day events, or for lamp and ballast recycling information, contact us at (877) 934-9873 or by email at info@everlights.com.

The Case For a Federal Lamp Recycling Law

Fluorescent lamp recycling laws already exist at the state level, and there are federal laws that include certain restrictions about how mercury-containing materials may be handled. What the United States is lacking, however, is a federal law that streamlines the recycling of fluorescent lamps and provides the same requirements for all businesses and institutions throughout the U.S.

EverLights, along with a handful of other companies across the U.S., is currently working toward creating that law. In order to develop the most effective law possible, we have been researching regulations in individual states, choosing the best aspects of each to combine into one federal law. So what is the reasoning behind our recent push for a federal lamp recycling law?

Health Issues

As an essential part of most energy-efficient lighting, mercury is found in large quantities around the world. It’s also found in batteries, thermostats, thermometers, electric switches, batteries and other measuring devices. While most of these products no longer require mercury to produce, there are plenty of older products that are still in need of disposal.

Mercury is highly toxic to humans, ecosystems and wildlife. It is easily absorbed and can cause a handful of serious health problems. If mercury-containing products are disposed of properly, these potential health effects would not be an issue. Creating a law that mandates the proper disposal of mercury-containing products, including fluorescent lamps, would eliminate the worry of contamination and health concerns.

Rare Earth Metals

Yttrium, lanthanum, cerium, europium and terbium. All common household names, right? Probably not.

The shortage of rare earth metals like these is an issue that does not receive the attention it should. Found in new energy-efficient lighting, the value of these rare earth elements makes it a priority to recover them from recycled lighting. Their recovery will help alleviate potential supply restrictions that have been identified by the U.S. Department of Energy. Without proper regulation, mercury and rare earth elements found in fluorescent lamps can be released into the environment and lost forever.

Energy Efficient Lighting Regulations

Thanks to the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, incandescent lighting will slowly be phased out and eventually become almost non-existent. In order to fill the need for replacement lighting, more fluorescent lamps will need to be purchased. This will have a significant impact on the number of lamps that will need to be recycled.

Via EMCCHawaii.com

What Will the New Law Do?

Enough about why there needs to be a federal law in place. Let’s talk about what this lamp recycling law will have to do in order to benefit the country as a whole.

1. Disposal – As a result of this new act, no business will be allowed to knowingly or intentionally dispose of a mercury-containing lamp unless it is sent to a certified lamp recycling facility.
2. Lamp Management – Requirements for the handling of fluorescent lamps will include waste management and storage, labeling and marking, accumulation time limits, employee training, response to releases, shipments to collectors or destination facilities, tracking shipments and reporting by collectors and destination facilities.
3. Penalties – If enacted, failure to comply with this law can result in a civil penalty up to $10,000, an order requiring immediate compliance or a civil action in the U.S. district court in the district in which the violation occurred.

While work on this lamp recycling legislation is still in the early stages, we believe the law can gain a lot of traction and fully expect to see it unfold in the coming years. A federal law would make lamp recycling easier to control and would make the process more efficient.

If you’re interested in setting up a program to recycle your fluorescent lamps, EverLights can help you get started. Give us a call at (877) 934-9873, visit our website or read our post detailing 7 easy steps to create a lamp recycling program.

What EverLights is Doing to Give Back

EverLights has always made it a top priority to get involved and give back to the community we’re so lucky to be a part of. One of the best ways we’ve found to do that is by working with local organizations such as the Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago (BOMA/Chicago).

BOMA/Chicago offers a variety of opportunities to participate, including committees, fundraising events and networking events. I recently decided to get in on the action by joining the Diversity and Social Responsibility Committee (DSRC).

The main goal of the DSRC is to promote diversity as a solid business practice. As a female owner of a small business, I understand the challenges that a minority owned business has to overcome. With over 16 years of experience running a business, working with a committee to promote diversity was an easy choice.

Simply joining a committee is great, but the only way to truly accomplish something is to be as active as possible within that committee. So I took it upon myself to join the Civic & Charitable Initiatives (CCI) Task Force as well. What better way to show the people of Chicago we appreciate them than to help design and improve programs that are directed at providing assistance for those in need. This year, the CCI Task Force is taking on two major projects and working to make them more successful.

We will be working with the Greater Chicago Food Depository (GCFD) Holiday Food Drive, which provides over 30,000 meals to hungry Chicagoans each year. With a task force as capable as this, and the support of so many business around Chicago already, there is no doubt we can make the 2012 GCFD Holiday Food Drive the most successful yet.

We will also be working with LifeSource on its “Skyscrapers For Life” blood donation campaign. The goal of this project is to save as many lives as possible by collecting blood from donors around the city. It’s been a huge success in past years, and we’re looking forward to being a part of it this year.

I am truly excited about the opportunity to work with a committee and task force that are so passionate about working with the community and improving the lives of others. This is a great time to be a member of BOMA/Chicago, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us.

- Kelly Aaron, President, EverLights