Green Sky Thinking

New England Company Creates
Travel Health Accessory From Recycled Plastic Bottles

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  - New Hampshire, March 2012 ˆ A New England based product development company has developed an environmentally friendly antimicrobial tray table cover for personal use on airplanes, trains and buses. trayGUARD˙+ uses fabric made from 100% non-BPA PET recycled plastic bottles and addresses travelers‚ growing concerns of dirty and germy shared surfaces on airplanes, while taking advantage of an existing material source that may otherwise be wasted.

According to the Container Recycling Institute, only a small percentage of the 60 million plastic bottles used daily in the United States are recycled.  Of those bottles that are recycled, most are made into new bottles. A small percentage of the recycled material is alternately turned into new products for consumer use. Utilizing recycled materials rather than virgin plastic for new products reduces the negative environmental impacts associated with extraction and preprocessing, such as greenhouse gas emissions.  Using recycled materials also reduces the amount of material that ends up in landfills.  Further, the more consumer demand there is for products with recycled materials, the more incentive there is for recycling. 

trayGUARD˙+ was born from company co-founders, Jason Drebitko and Alexys Wilbur‚s desire to have an antimicrobial cover that could slip over and be fastened onto an airline tray table, cover it completely, and ideally be recycled when leaving the airplane. According to Drebitko who holds a graduate degree in environmental studies, and industrial designer Alexys Wilbur, „it was important to us to not only source a fabric that had high efficacy, but also find a fabric that was made from recycled material.‰  For every 3 plastic bottles recycled, 4 trayGUARD˙+s can be made.   Not only does each trayGUARD˙+ made divert plastic bottles that might otherwise end up in a  landfill, it is also a continuously effective alternative to disposable wipes.  

The fabric from which the product is made incorporates a patented natural silver and copper ion technology by Foss Manufacturing that has been proven effective against a wide spectrum of microbes including bacteria, mold & fungi commonly found in aircraft interiors.  Furthermore,  the antimicrobial technology is integrated into the fabric and will not leach into the environment, as do some antimicrobial solutions. trayGUARD˙+ uses the same technology as an FDA approved facemask used by health-care professionals to protect against microorganisms, body fluids and particulate materials during a medical emergency. The fabric used to make trayGUARD˙+ was recently awarded the New Hampshire High Technology Council product of the year.  

Now in production, trayGUARD˙+ is available for direct and wholesale purchase via the websites - trayguard.com, amazon.com, buy.com and at select retailers. „The great thing about this product ‰ says Wilbur, „is that unlike wipes or gels that provide one-time, short-term protection and must be reapplied frequently, trayGUARD˙+, provides a constant hygienic surface for the duration of your trip.  Most importantly, trayGUARD˙+ provides peace of mind that you have at least one clean surface in your personal travel space.‰    trayGUARD˙+ is an easy-to-use, economical solution to combat germy tray table surfaces, and best of all, the product blends antimicrobial performance with environmental consciousness.


About trayGUARD˙+
trayGUARD˙+ by Zing Things, LLC is the antimicrobial tray table cover that provides an instant hygienic surface while traveling on airplanes, trains and buses. It is food contact safe and incorporates a chemical-free antimicrobial technology that is effective for the duration of your trip. trayGUARD˙+ is the first in a series of travel health related products that will be launched by Zing Things, LLC, an early stage product development company.  For more information about trayGUARD˙+ contact info@trayguard.com, visit www.trayguard.com and follow us on Facebook.