McDonald’s Testing NewGrass Against Sod
December 6, 2009
The golden arches are going green and NewGrass is helping out – at least at one McDonald’s in Southern California.
Along with testing solar technology to generate its electricity needs, a McDonald’s restaurant in Pacific Beach, near drought-stricken San Diego, will be installing a strip of NewGrass artificial grass to see how the synthetic lawn performs over time, evaluate customer reaction, and compare the costs of installation, watering and maintenance against sod grass, said NewGrass president Greg Goehner.
As part of its landscaping when it installed the solar panels, the McDonald’s franchise also laid down sod grass and a watering system that side of the building. At the suggestion of Goehner, the restaurant in early December will install a similarly sized strip of NewGrass on the opposite side of the building.
“I saw those solar panels, and I thought, holy cow, how can they be so environmentally conscious regarding their electricity and be planting turf grass right under those panels when this area is in a drought,” Goehner said. “And you add in the costs and potential environmental hazards of pesticides and herbicides, and it just doesn’t make sense. NewGrass is an environmentally aware alternative.”
The City of San Diego declared a Level 2 Drought Alert on June 1, limiting landscape irrigation for homes and business to three times a week, for no more than 10 minutes for each watering from November 1 through May 31, and no more than seven minutes for each watering between June 1 and October 31.
The McDonald’s, on Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach, recently became the first restaurant in the nationwide fast food chain to be powered by solar energy, according to news reports. The restaurant installed “solar panel trees” – solar panels that can be removed and relocated – on the roof of its parking shade. The 14-kilowatt system will help McDonald’s reduce its carbon emissions by 16 metric tons annually, the company reported.
Goehner personally approached the manager of the McDonald’s and suggested they replace the turf grass with NewGrass. Having already paid for the newly planted sod, the restaurant agreed to let NewGrass instead install a test strip on the opposite side of the building.
“We’re confident they’ll see the difference in a pretty short amount of time,” Goehner said.
The solar tree panels also include charging stations, where customers can charge electric vehicles while enjoying a Happy Meal. The project will serve as a case study for the restaurant chain to determine whether the technology should be widely implemented, according to The San Diego Source, an online news publication.
No CommentsNewGrass on the Runway: Helping Fashion & Design Show Go Green
November 25, 2009
NewGrass is proving that in addition to being highly adaptable for various landscaping needs, it is also very fashionable.
NewGrass artificial grass will border the runway of the upcoming Thread Show, a major two-day fashion and design show in San Diego that is taking a turn toward being green, even including an “Eco/Green/Good” section for exhibitors.
“As the leading supplier of quality synthetic lawn in Southern California, which we all know has been hard-hit by drought and faces serious water restrictions, we’re excited to be a part of Thread,” said NewGrass President Greg Goehner. “NewGrass is truly a green product, is recyclable and we donate to the Carbon Fund.”
Thread will be at the San Diego Wonderhaus Dec. 5-6. NewGrass will “definitely be a centerpiece of the show,” said Carlye Wund, a green events planner in her first year with Elle Communications, which promotes and helps stage the Thread show. NewGrass synthetic lawn will be used at least to border the fashion show’s runway and may in fact be used for the runway itself, and possibly for an entrance area to the show, Wund said.
“There’s such a negative perception of ‘being green’ in design and fashion, and we’re trying to break down that perception and show that green can be fashionable, it can be organic,” Wund said. NewGrass is also is 100% polyethylene (no nylon), lead safe and recyclable.
Wund is an events planner who encourages, plans and designs events to embody green concepts - reducing waste, promoting re-use and reducing the carbon footprint, for all kinds of events, from weddings to bar mitzvahs, and now, fashion and design shows. In addition to looking natural and lush with next to no maintenance, and not requiring watering, NewGrass can be easily removed and stored for later use.
Although NewGrass is new on the fashion circuit, it has a history of being a safe, removable and long-lived set application for designers and photographers. Professional photographers and stylists including those for Neiman Marcus and JC Penney have chosen NewGrass artificial lawn as an easy-to-use, no muss, no fuss, natural-looking outdoor setting in the studio year-round.
NewGrass was also the perfect solution for a unique landscape challenge for the TBS television show Movie & A Makeover. NewGrass was selected to help transform a barren downtown rooftop into an attractive outdoor living space.
