Stencil Ease Goes Green with Storm Drain Stencils

April 10, 2008 - PRLog -- GONE GREEN…Stencil Ease, the environment and Storm Drain Stenciling
Stencil Ease has been manufacturing stencils for 27 years. In recent years, we have taken several steps to become a more environmentally conservative company. The biggest step has been our decision to purchase recycled plastic in “raw material” form to manufacture 95% of our stencils. This decision makes a huge impact on the environment by reducing our overall carbon footprint indefinitely. Here are some other ways we help the environment:

PLASTIC: Manufacturing stencils in all shapes and sizes from recycled polyester plastic film.

LIGHTING: We recently partnered with our local utility company to install energy saving, compact fluorescent bulbs in all of our warehouse, office and LED lighting fixtures.

PACKAGING MATERIALS: Employees use boxes and packaging materials over and over again. Many bring boxes, air pillows, papers, packing peanuts and foam inserts from home to be reused here at work. Many times the order you receive will contain recycled material which we hope you in turn can use again rather than dispose in a landfill.

RECYCLING: Our office and manufacturing facility recycles everything it can: office paper, cardboard, paper towels and more. All of our office paper has recycled content, most of it 100% post consumer recycled.
Our latest “Help the environment” project is to manufacture a collection of STORM DRAIN STENCILS. Storm drain stenciling consists of stenciling a message next to a street drain reminding people "Dump No Waste - Drains to River" with the image of a fish, wetland creature or other marine life. (Stencils are also available for lake, stream, bay, groundwater, ocean or simply "protect your water" with the image of a glass and faucet.) Projects like this are ideal to create community awareness about underground piping areas that actually flow to streams, rivers, lakes, oceans or even public water supplies. A storm drain is usually a network of underground pipes designed to control flooding by transporting stormwater from urban areas to a waterbody. A storm drain may also be known as a curb, gutter, channel, ditch, pipe or culvert.

Many people assume that these drains or gutters flow into “treatment” facilities. In reality, storm drains can flow directly into rivers, lakes, streams, sounds, or oceans. Stenciling messages next to storm drains is the best way to alert people that NOTHING should be dumped into these (storm) drains.
Even if your’re not directly dumping anything into a storm drain non-point source., pollution can occur. Rainwater washes soil, street litter, oil, leaves, grass clippings, pet wastes and fertilizers into storm drains. Material flowing into storm drains does not get treated before emptying into streams, rivers, lakes and oceans. This untreated material can pollute the waterways in your community. Although individual storm drains may contribute small amounts of pollutants, the combination of many storm drains can cause a negative impact on water quality. For more information on these issues visit the EPA web site.

Funding and Support for Storm Drain Stenciling:
Local: Contact your local town officials, businesses, civic organizations and neighborhood associations to let them know how you will be helping the environment by stenciling storm drains. Request their support through donations of money, supplies and volunteers.
Media: Storm drain stenciling makes a great story for the media to report on environmental issues. Promote how children, adults and community organizations can come together for a good cause. Invite you local newspaper, radio, television or bloggers to publicize your volunteer event.

For help with outreach materials visit the EPA web site and search for non-point pollution

Here are some simple steps and instructions for storm drain stenciling:
1) Get permission from your city public works office, town officials or business owners in private parking lots before stenciling storm drains.

2) Gather all supplies needed for the project including:
a. Your choice of Stencil Ease storm drain stencil templates
b. Marking paints or a good non-spray alternative like our one-shot ink rollers. (Inks come in black, white, red, orange, yellow, green and blue cartridges) Marking paints should be fast-drying, acrylic and used inverted (spray with can upside down) Some brands are Krylon, Rust-Oleum, Emedco
c. Tools to clean the drain area before stenciling like wire brushes, brooms, etc.
d. Map of storm drain areas from public works department or town water company
e. Stencil Adhesive Spray to keep stencil securely in place while using ink roller or spray can. If it is windy, you may want additional tape to hold the stencil in place while applying paint.
f. Pieces of cardboard to practice stenciling on before application. (cardboard can also be used to transport a wet stencil) This will ensure that you are applying the right amount of paint. Many first time stencilers will use too much ink or paint on the roller (the same with spray paints). Less paint/ink is better and will look better overall. You are much better off with one light coat, let it dry and then apply a second coat to darken paint or ink if needed.

3) Make sure you do the stenciling project on a sunny, dry day between 40 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure the surface you are stenciling has been swept clean with a brush or broom or even cleaned with a wire brush for hard to remove dirts, oils, tars, etc. Pick up any trash in the area around the drain.

4) Place stencil on surface (you may want to use the stencil adhesive spray on the back of the stencil first) and make sure this is where you want the lettering and image to go. Apply spray paint or ink roller. Remember Less paint/ink is better and will look better overall. You are much better off with one light coat, let it dry and then apply a second coat to darken paint or ink if needed.

5) After storm drain stencil is completed, lift stencil off surface and place wet stencil in between two sheets of cardboard to carry to next drain. It is OK to let the paint or ink dry completely on the stencil. Most paints can flake off by rolling the stencil after they have completely dried. The inks will not build up on the stencil as thick as acrylic paints and can handle more applications. If you still wish to clean the stencil after multiple ink applications, try anything from simple green to solvent-based cleaners.

All of the Stencil Ease (http://stencilease.com/stormdrainstencils.htm) storm drain stencils can be made from 10 mil mylar plastic or our new 40 mil Ultra Flex plastic. 10 mil is our standard heavy duty reusable plastic and 40 mil Ultra Flex is our new industrial grade, super-duty reusable material.

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Stencil Ease International is one of the leading manufactures of stencils in the world. In 1980 the company started as a manufacturer and distributor of home decorating stencils. Since then it has grown to become a global supplier of stencils, paints, brushes, tools and accessories for a variety of industries. From hardware & craft retail chain stores to industrial supply sources, the Stencil Ease brand is well known for innovative designs, excellent quality of product and quick turn around time