5 Innovative Home Products Made of Recycled Materials
The recent Greenbuild expo showcased items made of reclaimed materials, including wood boards, carpeting and countertops
Last week thousands of green building professionals came together in Atlanta for the 2019 Greenbuild International Convention and Expo. The purpose of the Nov. 19-22 conference was to showcase cutting-edge solutions to improving resiliency, sustainability and health in buildings, cities and communities. On the expo floor, products included 100 percent recycled and recyclable building materials. Here are five great products and materials with recycled content spotted there.
Some of the boards were upcycled into siding for this Colorado home designed by Allen-Guerra Architecture. “After about 10 years, this wood is weathered to perfection. It develops a nice rich patina,” Tyson Cartwright of Centennial Woods says. The product is FSC-certified, which means it was sustainably harvested, as well as Greenguard Gold-certified, which means it meets strict chemical emissions limits for indoor use and has been tested for more than 10,000 chemicals.
2. Carpet Made From Plastic Bottles
One of the cool things about a show like Greenbuild is being able to see displays like this one by Mohawk. The company has the world’s largest integrated facility for upcycling plastic bottles into carpet fibers. The display shows the stages of this process.
Another way the company is reducing waste is with a new virtual reality system that replaces the need for showrooms to carry physical carpet samples. Such samples eventually wind up as trash. It also has a program called ReCover, through which it coordinates the pickup and recycling of used carpeting nationwide.
One of the cool things about a show like Greenbuild is being able to see displays like this one by Mohawk. The company has the world’s largest integrated facility for upcycling plastic bottles into carpet fibers. The display shows the stages of this process.
Another way the company is reducing waste is with a new virtual reality system that replaces the need for showrooms to carry physical carpet samples. Such samples eventually wind up as trash. It also has a program called ReCover, through which it coordinates the pickup and recycling of used carpeting nationwide.
3. No-Formaldehyde-Added MDF Composed of Rice Straw
When its plant in Willows, California, is completed this winter, Calplant will be the world’s first commercial-scale producer of rice straw-based medium density fiberboard. The company will supply about 140 million square feet of no-added-formaldehyde MDF to the building industry each year.
This photo shows the final product complete with veneers by Columbia Forest Products.
When its plant in Willows, California, is completed this winter, Calplant will be the world’s first commercial-scale producer of rice straw-based medium density fiberboard. The company will supply about 140 million square feet of no-added-formaldehyde MDF to the building industry each year.
This photo shows the final product complete with veneers by Columbia Forest Products.
This is the rice straw used in the MDF. The company eliminated formaldehyde in the bonding, using a soy-based technology instead.
There are a lot of great things about using rice straw. For one, rice straw is an agricultural byproduct. In a state that desperately needs to conserve water, the fields are flooded after the annual harvest to decompose the straw. Removing the straw for new uses eliminates the need to waste this water. The rice straw will be procured within a 15- to 25-mile radius of the plant, which will keep the carbon footprint of transporting it there light.
There are a lot of great things about using rice straw. For one, rice straw is an agricultural byproduct. In a state that desperately needs to conserve water, the fields are flooded after the annual harvest to decompose the straw. Removing the straw for new uses eliminates the need to waste this water. The rice straw will be procured within a 15- to 25-mile radius of the plant, which will keep the carbon footprint of transporting it there light.
4. Solid Surfaces Made of Recycled Postindustrial Plastics
CaraGreen, a curator and distributor of healthy and sustainable materials, showed a range of beautiful products made with recycled content. One of the most eye-catching and useful materials it presented in its booth is Durat.
Durat is a solid-surface material that can take the form of countertops, sinks, bathtubs, shelves and more. Its content includes postindustrial plastics, and the material itself is 100 percent recyclable. It comes in more than 300 colors but also can be customized to match any color. There are also speckled options that work well with midcentury modern and contemporary aesthetics.
CaraGreen, a curator and distributor of healthy and sustainable materials, showed a range of beautiful products made with recycled content. One of the most eye-catching and useful materials it presented in its booth is Durat.
Durat is a solid-surface material that can take the form of countertops, sinks, bathtubs, shelves and more. Its content includes postindustrial plastics, and the material itself is 100 percent recyclable. It comes in more than 300 colors but also can be customized to match any color. There are also speckled options that work well with midcentury modern and contemporary aesthetics.
5. Countertops Made of Recycled Glass and Cement
It is also important to note the small things that can make a difference, like improving an existing green product to make it more desirable to homeowners. IceStone, which is composed of recycled glass, Portland cement and nontoxic pigments, has been catching attention for a while. But this year the manufacturer introduced a change that makes it more appealing to homeowners from a practical standpoint.
In the past the surface had to be sealed on-site and then resealed annually. Now it arrives presealed with no need to reseal. The sealant is stainproof and heatproof, and makes the product more UV-stable.
More on Houzz
Read more stories about sustainable design
Find a local green-building pro
Shop for your home
It is also important to note the small things that can make a difference, like improving an existing green product to make it more desirable to homeowners. IceStone, which is composed of recycled glass, Portland cement and nontoxic pigments, has been catching attention for a while. But this year the manufacturer introduced a change that makes it more appealing to homeowners from a practical standpoint.
In the past the surface had to be sealed on-site and then resealed annually. Now it arrives presealed with no need to reseal. The sealant is stainproof and heatproof, and makes the product more UV-stable.
More on Houzz
Read more stories about sustainable design
Find a local green-building pro
Shop for your home
Wyoming has more than 50 million feet of snow fencing. The 12-foot-tall fences are crafted of high-altitude pine and stand up to winds to prevent snow drifts on the state’s highways. About 3 million feet are replaced each year, and when that happens, reclaimed-wood company Centennial Woods harvests the boards to be turned into house siding, flooring, accent wall materials, backsplashes and more. The wood has a nice tight grain that makes it durable, and the company adds a water sealant to make it even more so for homebuilding uses.