GLI SYSTEMS IS COMMITTED TO A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

RainTube, manufactured by GLI Systems, is an environmentally friendly product made from 100% post-consumer high-density polystyrene (HDPE) and can be recycled indefinitely. Our goal when we started GLI Systems and began manufacturing the RainTube was to offer our customers a durable product that protects their homes. What we didn't realize is that the RainTube is also a green or sustainable product. We are proud of that.

Here's how RainTube helps the environment:

Materials used means less impact on landfills

The RainTube is made from 100% post-consumer high-density polystyrene (HDPE). Recycled milk jugs, detergent bottles or any plastic bottle with a code #2 on the bottom might find its way into the RainTube. Instead of using petroleum to manufacture the RainTube we use recycled materials, which may have ended up in a landfill. Since it takes over 400 years for a milk jug or a water bottle to degrade recycling plastic is important to us all.

RainTube also allows for environmental efficiency and affordability as our product will last for over 100 years after which the material can be recycled again and again.

Durable homes mean sustainable homes

By providing free-flowing gutters, we help protect our customer's homes against mold, dry rot and water damage at a home's most vulnerable spot-the gutters. Their homes will last longer by preserving original building materials including roofing, siding and foundations. Providing a low maintenance solution is one of RainTube's most attractive features.

Fewer plastics in our landfills

By recycling plastic milk jugs for use in our product, we are making an impact on what goes to our landfills. Recycling plastic also conserves energy and natural resources, creates new businesses and jobs and reduces litter. Here are some compelling facts about recycling plastic materials:

• The energy saved by recycling one plastic bottle will power a computer for 25 minutes.
  
  
• 17 one-gallon milk jugs are reused to make one 13' length of RainTube.
  
  
• 227 one-gallon milk jugs are reused to protect the gutters of an average home with RainTube.
  
  
• There are about 1,000 milk jugs and other bottles in a recycled plastic party bench.
  
  
• If you lined up all the polystyrene cups made in just 1 day they would circle the earth.
  
  
• Americans toss out 14.4 million tons of plastic every year according to the Plastics Museum.
  
  
• Americans go through 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour.
  
  
• Half of all polyester carpet manufactured in the U.S. is made form recycled soda bottles.

Other products created from recycled plastics:

• 14 20-ounce green soda bottles = one extra-large T-shirt
  
  
• 85 20 ounce soda bottles = filling for one sleeping bag
  
  
• 96 one-gallon milk jugs = one 6 foot long piece of 2/4 plastic lumber
  
  
• 1,200 plastic bottles = one 200 pound railroad tie
  
  
• 68,000 milk jugs (reinforced with fiberglass) = one 30 foot long bridge in New Baltimore, NY

Interesting uses

One customer has found an additional use for the RainTube. Since it gathers free-flowing water in an enclosed system, they place rain barrels under their downspouts and collect rainwater, which is then recycled. That's a full circle solution!

Why we think sustainable living is important

GLI believes sustainability isn't just a nice thing to do - it's the smart and right thing to do. In specific industries such as building and remodeling, using sustainable or green products to build with offers significant benefits.

Green building can save money on utility bills, decrease maintenance costs, and help protect the value of real estate. It also impacts everyone in the supply chain: from the workers in the manufacturing plant who make the products to the contractors installing them.

Using sustainable and green products like the RainTube to build homes with also helps minimize waste, preserve natural resources, and protect forests, wildlife, and air and water quality.

In today's competitive market, going green is an essential business strategy. As consumers are demanding it, forward-thinking businesses are responding. Bill Gates, Steve Case (founder of America Online) and Vinod Khosla (founder of Sun Microsystems) are just a few of the chief executives investing hundreds of millions of dollars in green technology.

We believe that by using recycled plastics for a durable and sustainable product like the RainTube, we're committed to the environment in a practical way. We offer a simple solution that assists homeowners in a big way that positively impacts the environment by using renewable resources. Little steps do have a big impact on a sustainable future


We support the following environmental organizations:

CRI-www.container-recycling.org

Founded in 1991, CRI is a nonprofit organization that studies and promotes policies and programs that increase recovery and recycling of beverage containers. Container recycling is stalled. In fact, recycling rates continue to drop each year while beverage container waste is growing. State and local governments around the country are facing budget deficits that could result in funding cuts for municipal recycling programs. There are opportunities, however, to increase recycling of beverage containers and make producers responsible for their packaging waste. If the container deposit systems that have been adopted in 11 states were to spread to all 50 states, we could double the national recycling rate for beverage containers (currently 40%) to 80%.

The Woodlands Association of Jacksonville, Oregon
www.jvwoodlands.org

In 1989, alarmed by the prospect of development destroying the scenic wooded hillsides surrounding their National Historic Landmark City, the citizens of Jacksonville, Oregon rallied to form the non-profit Jacksonville Woodlands Association. During the past decade the Woodlands Association has preserved 20 parcels of forested open space and has constructed eight miles of connecting interpretive and recreational trails surrounding 70% of the town's historic district. The Association's preservation efforts have attracted national attention and have set the standard for community land preservation in Oregon.