Become a Zero Waste Business

We are excited to announce that just before the Christmas break we became a founding member of the U.S. Zero Waste Business Council! The mission of the USZWBC is to educate, inform and document the performance of Zero Waste Businesses using scientific methods to help businesses and communities become more healthy and sustainable. With a shared interest in helping others reduce waste and us as a company working hard to reduce waste it was the perfect fit.

Wanting to assist our customers get closer to becoming a Zero Waste Business, our line of recycling units is constantly growing and evolving to meet their needs. At Classic Displays, we want to ensure that regardless of what kind of business our customer runs, or what type of materials they recycle, we have a unit that suits the environment. From sleek smaller desk side units that can be used to recycle anything from batteries to confidential paper, to larger units for shared spaces, even units designed specifically for the recycling of coffee cups, we have everything to make recycling within an office environment the easy choice. And it’s not just businesses that work from an office that we have recycling solutions for. With a large number of exterior and interior recycling bins we have containers that would benefit large commercial properties, municipalities, warehouses, anything really.

For us it’s not only important to help our customers reduce waste in the work place, but it’s essential for us to practice what we preach. It’s easy enough for us to reduce waste as we manufacture the proper tools to do so, but we don’t stop there. With a strong commitment to sustainability we focus on manufacturing environmentally friendly products through the use of recycled materials. The majority of our site furniture is manufactured from recycled plastic and aluminum, even our holiday displays are manufactured with low power consumption LED lighting and we participate in a banner recycling program which keeps a number of old banners from ending up in landfills. That means all of our divisions are participating in some form of recycling and we are continually looking for ways to further our recycling initiatives.

Working towards becoming a Zero Waste Business is not only important for the environment in helping to reduce litter and pollution and cutting greenhouse gases, but it’s also beneficial to the business itself. Zero waste businesses save money, are more efficient and create jobs and more value for their business and the community. With those kinds of benefits and the tools and resources available to assist you, why not take your first step to becoming a Zero Waste Business today!

For more information on the USZWBC and how to become a Zero Waste Business visit http://www.uszwbc.org/

Curing the Winter Blues

It’s been a cold, cold winter and unfortunately it’s still far from over, causing many to get stuck with the winter blues. As it gets harder to remember what a full day of sun and warmth felt like, it’s important to remember that nicer weather is on its way and preparing for that weather could help shake those blues away.

We may only be a couple of weeks into the new year, and we don’t yet know the outcome of Groundhog Day, however there really is no better time to start preparing for the warmer weather and taking stock of your current outdoor furniture to determine what you may need to add to your park, BIA, municipality or commercial/retail property.

It’s important to understand the benefits of outdoor furniture when you are considering what to order, so to help with this let’s look at a couple of examples of how certain products benefit BIAs and commercial/retail properties.

With BIAs encouraging its surrounding residence to shop local, it’s important to ensure their BIA has what the consumer wants, and that’s not just a variety of shops and amenities. Benches, bike racks and proper waste and recycling units are the most important outdoor furniture to have in a BIA.

Benches automatically make an area more inviting to a consumer. If there is somewhere to sit to just take a break, or enjoy an ice cream cone from a local shop on a sunny day, people are more inclined to visit the area. With biking becoming an even more popular mode of transportation, it’s important to offer proper bike parking so people don’t have to worry about leaving their bikes unattended while inside a store and to ensure your BIA doesn't become a dumping ground, proper waste and recycling receptacles are a must. Small foot print units can ensure proper disposal of waste without interrupting pedestrian flow.

Retail properties such as shopping plazas benefit from site furniture in many of the same ways as BIAs. However, commercial and even residential properties such as corporate office buildings and condominiums can greatly enhance their properties with the use of outdoor furniture.

With large multi-resident buildings, whether it’s residential or commercial, it’s important to maintain a clean exterior. To do this not only are proper waste and recycling receptacles important, but smoking control units are imperative. Cigarette butts are often times the worst culprit for littering a property, so to have set smoking areas with proper disposal units can really help to combat the problem. It’s also important to have a nice break area that includes picnic tables and benches, especially if you’re an office building, so your tenants have somewhere to enjoy the nice weather while eating lunch or taking a quick break from staring at their computer screens. And again, for those that commute using their bikes, it’s important to have bike racks to allow for proper storage.

Depending on your budget, you can stick to the basics or you can further enhance your property with floral planters, pole mounted floral baskets or banners that can assist in branding your BIA, municipality or office building.

Apart from helping clear your winter blues, planning for the spring/summer months can have its financial benefits. We are currently running an early bird promotion that allows you to receive from 10-15% off any products, ordered, produced and invoiced before March 31, 2014. Delivery or installation can be delayed until closer to the time the products are required. Ordering now also means you will beat the spring time rush allowing for shorter lead times.

Bottom line, don’t wait for Wiarton Willie or Punxsutawney Phil to tell you how many weeks of winter may or may not be left, it may not feel like it but spring will be here before you know it and you want to be prepared to enjoy it!

Store your Décor with Classic Displays

For many municipalities and property managers, Christmas décor is a huge investment. It takes a lot of time to decide what displays best suit your environment and how many you require. Another big factor is determining how you will maintain these large pieces and where you will store them.

It’s important to understand that although a number of our Christmas displays are manufactured for outdoor use, and are able to withstand the elements, they should not be stored outdoors when they are not being used. When pieces are stored outside, various elements such as animals and extended exposure to UV rays can affect the lifespan of your displays.

We understand that a number of our customers don’t have room to store their displays indoors so to help alleviate this storage nightmare we will store the décor in our climate controlled, 16,000 square foot facility for them. While in the care of Classic Displays the units are carefully placed on interior racking with more than 2/3 of the items being stored off the ground.

As the displays start to come back to the warehouse as the season begins to come to a close all of the pieces are cleaned by hand and some by power washer to reduce any grime that may bind to the decoration.

If you aren’t totally convinced, maybe this next point will help. All décor stored with us is fully insured. In the event something happens to your displays while it’s in our care, you will be compensated.

Storing your décor with Classic Displays, even if purchased from another company, will help make your seasons bright for years to come.