Nature’s Broom is Made from Recycled, Bio-based Products
■ The raw materials are from recycled agricultural and forestry products, mixed with our proprietary and patented blend.
■ Nature’s Broom has been tested by the USDA, using the ASTM method D 6686, to report a 97% Bio-based content.
Nature’s Broom is a USDA BioPreferredSM Product
■ Federal agencies are required by White House Executive Order 13423 to acquire bio-based, environmentally-preferable and recycled content products as of January 24, 2007.
Lower Environmental Costs Than Clay
■ To manufacture a bag of clay, strip mining is the method used to obtain the raw material.
■ Wildlife habitat is destroyed.
■ Bulldozers, track hoes and trucks consume large amounts of fossil fuels during mining.
■ Significant amounts of fossil fuels are required to operate the kilns to dry the clay.
■ Workers are monitored for lung damage from clay airborne silica.
■ Warning labels are on the clay bag for consumer silica exposure as well.
■ In an estimated 400 million dollar absorbent market over 160 twenty ton trucks are dumped into landfills to dispose of the clay each day! That’s 2.3 billion tons of hazardous waste dumped into our landfills every year!
■ In comparison, Nature’s Broom recycles biomass waste into raw material to produce a superior absorbent. Nature’s Broom can also be burned as a bio-fuel after use, or simply bioremediate the encapsulated spill. Clay has none of these characteristics or abilities.
MSDS, TCLP and Landfills
■ Many states allow Nature’s Broom to be disposed of in the landfill after reviewing the MSDS that indicates the biobased composition of the absorbent. But also required is the TCLP test by Argus Analytical, Inc., showing that after Nature’s Broom absorbs oil, the sample is below EPA minimums allowed for landfill disposal. (View the MSDS)
Storm Water Runoff
■ It is estimated that over 30% of water pollution is from storm water runoff.
■ A large percentage of polluted storm water runoff is from parking lots. Oil, grease and coolants leak from vehicles, then contaminate water ultimately used by fish, wildlife and humans.
■ A one-inch rain on a one-acre parking lot deposits 27,000 gallons of water into storm drains.
■ Clay adsorbents allow pollutants to escape into the storm drain, due to clay’s low and slow sorbency rate.
■ In contrast, Nature’s Broom can be applied to those parking lots to remove the oily residue. By using Nature’s Broom, the contamination cycle is broken by removing the pollutants before the next rain event.
Biofuel Option
■ Nature’s Broom can be used as a biofuel in “waste-to-energy” programs, after testing.
■ Over 8,600 BTUs of energy can be generated from one pound of Nature’s Broom.
■ Clay is not considered an energy-efficient option.
Bioremediation
■ Nature’s Broom contains a high level of micro-organisms that break down petroleum hydrocarbons.
■ The bioremediation process usually takes about 12 weeks (when moisture content and temperature allow optimal multiplication of the micro-organisms).
■ The micro-organisms turn hydrocarbons into non-toxic compounds (water and carbon dioxide). This unique ability gives Nature’s Broom another advantage of which clay just cannot compare! (More on Bioremediation)
Summary
All of the Nature’s Broom’s traits combine to make this biobased absorbent one of the most economical and environmentally responsible products on the market today. These traits will help more consumer, government and corporate accounts reach their goal of reducing costs and becoming more efficient in their operations. So, why continue to cover up a spill with clay? Clean it up with the natural choice in absorbents — Nature’s Broom.