Sellers have picked up on this heightened public awareness and have flooded the market with everything from beer to cars labeled as green, carbon neutral or environmentally friendly.

However the influx of “green” products has left some consumers confused by the different terms used and questioning just how valid some of those claims are.

The ACCC is concerned at some of the claims and are now taking steps to ensure consumers are not misled by marketing spin.

As a result the ACCC has released a fact sheet outlining consumers’ rights in relation to environmental claims. It has also released a green marketing guide for businesses and will be releasing specific guidance for business and consumers relating to the selling of carbon offset credits.

As the trade practices act protects consumers form misleading and deceptive conduct this means those making environmental claims need to be able to substantiate then with hard scientific evidence.

Consumers are not in a position to verify all the green marketing claims they are presented with and therefore have the right to expect they won’t be deceived by labeling or advertising.

That said there are steps shoppers can take to ensure they are getting what they are paying for.

For example be wary of ambiguous claims. Products that claim to be environmentally friendly, green, carbon neutral or otherwise, but fail to explain how and why can be misleading.

That’s not to say these terms cannot be used but they need to be qualified. A label on a washing machine that claims a four star rating on the government recognised WELS system provides much more information than a label that simply claims the machine is energy efficient or environmentally friendly.

One use for the carbon beads is as a soil improver. The beads can be added to the soil, in gardens and fields, and serve as a water and nutrient container. The beads are porous and are absorbent. Using the beads in the soil will help with the growth of plants by keeping the soil moist and aerating the dirt to allow water to filter to the roots. The application in soil reduces the need and expense of extra water and fertilizers that may be needed if not using the beads.

The carbon beads can also be used as a fuel bead for use in barbecue cooking. The beads are all made from organic raw materials and not timber or coal. Once again, the beads are non-toxic and safe for cooking. Our tests have shown that the fuel beads are 30% reusable and possess a faster cooking time, with a higher range of temperature.

In addition to the soil improvement, other popular uses for the carbon bead include the following:

Water purification and filtration

• Gas purification and filtration
• Dry painting
• Extraction of gold
• Various applications in the food industry
• De-colorization

Carbon beads produced for organic raw materials also has the potential to go beyond what we are already capable of doing. Current concerns about the gas emissions from cattle and pigs adversely affecting the environment may also be positively impacted by the use of the non-toxic carbon beads. The beads can also be produced in powdered form and introducing the bead material into the animal feed will allow the absorption qualities of the bead to absorb the gases within the stomach of the animal.

While not all of the technologies are there yet for renewable alternative energy sources, there is a strong future in the success of using organic raw materials and carbon beads to produce environmentally sound resources that will help to sustain and promote a cleaner, greener environment.

The plant that processes the organic materials, can be an asset to the community in which it is located by providing jobs and giving farmers more resources for income. In continuing with the self-sustaining theme, the electricity that is harvested can be channeled into a grid and used to provide the power the other equipment in the plant. A plant produces no noise pollution or ground pollution. Any smoke that is produced is captured in what we call scrubbers, which acts as a filter, to keep contaminants out of the air and environment in general.

Being able to use waste products as a renewable source of materials and energies benefits the environment firstly by not adding pollution into the air, ground and water; and secondly, the process negates the need to cut down trees, mining the earth for resources, and avoiding the need for using chemicals on a regular basis.

The products that are produced are environmentally and people-friendly and have such a variety of uses in domestic and industrial settings. Additionally, because the process uses recycled resources to product the products, the cost of the resulting products are extremely competitively priced.
Creating and maintaining a greener, more sustainable environment is a key to our own self-preservation. Advancing technologies are continuing to be researched and recycling organic materials into other products is likely to expand greatly. Processing organic materials to produce carbon is a science all of its own.

By having a technology, such as Eco Carbons does, to process organic, raw materials into re-usable materials used for building and other applications, not only reduces the amount of waste products in the environment, it also allows new construction to remain greener, safer, and overall environmentally-friendly. The technologies can be related and adequately used by the public, private companies, and the network of farmers around the world.

The materials used are all raw waste materials such as fruit stems, vegetable peels, nutshells, sawdust, and animal bone. The materials are processed under controlled conditions and can be manipulated into different sizes, weights, and shapes to meet the needs of its intended application. Using the raw goods will not only keep new structures more environmentally-friendly, it will also help the consumers and companies keep building costs low and reduces the costs of handling the supplies because the weight of the supplies has decreased as opposed to the traditional building supplies.

In addition to the positive environmental impact the recycling of organic waste has on the planet, the other important factor is the amount of local jobs the processing of materials creates. This is especially true in rural areas, where farmers are in need of more financial gain and where communities lack good jobs. One organic waste processing plant in a rural community could create between 14 and 16 key jobs. Farmers can relate to the process of converting organic materials and the money essentially staying within the community, where it is needed the most.

Introducing such technologies into a community also allows old skills to be reinvented and the community can make a profit out of materials that would otherwise be disposed of and forgotten. Local people would be able to capitalize on materials that would regain importance and economic value. Using organic waste is definitely a positive for all.

I also had prior knowledge and experience with fertilizers, organic spraying, and soil improvement. I began to investigate the use of cement as a soil binder and the concrete construction of farming buildings. I became a specialist in area involving cement, especially in the research and development in the strengths and development of concrete. Through my involvement with a West Australian technology group called APACE, which involved themselves with low-cost, low capital intensive concepts. Their belief, based on the Schumacher’s principles, is small is beautiful and small is possible when it came to producing low energy input buildings and other technologies and create jobs in the local community.

Through the various missions I have been involved with over the years, helping underdeveloped regions learn how to use their skills and local materials to improve their lives, I took a lot of knowledge with me about using recycled goods. Eventually, I heard about and met with several wheat and grain farmers from Canada. Together we ventured to combine Canadian know-how with Australian technology which led up to our current, patented process. Basically, we take raw materials that do not hold any nutritional value, such as nutshells, fruit stems, vegetable peels, and rejected grain, process it and produce carbon, like a charcoal under controlled conditions. We can then alter the size, shape, and weight of the raw material after it is burned at a certain temperature to suit a particular application. The process is completely non-toxic and safe to handle and use for any reason. The process also allows for more convenience in building by reducing the weight and the cost of the supplies.

We also produce a porous bead that helps to harvest water and nutients from the soil. The beads are also non-toxic and do not break down. The beads acts as an aerator, and insulator, a filter, and a retainer for water and nutrients, improving the quality of soil.

Eco Carbons is a product of my years of involvement in several different industries ad explorations of different application. Being able to positively contribute to the sustainability of our environment has always been a recurring theme in my life, my career, and my company. I think that the organic waste business will become a booming one and I am very excited to be a part of it.