Recycled Materials

Environmental Mission > LEED Gold Welcoming Center > Eco-Friendly Construction

There are two types of recycled content found in the materials used in our Welcome Center:

• Post-consumer—Material that comes from a material or finished product that has served its intended use and has completed its life as a consumer item
• Post-industrial—Material generated in manufacturing and converting processes, such as manufacturing scrap and trimmings/cuttings. In both cases, recycling the content extends the life of the material and diverts it from landfill

By using recycled content, we also avoid the need for fresh resources. In the end, 13.1% of the materials found in the Welcome Center came from recycled content.

Here is a rundown of materials with recycled content found throughout or Welcome Center:

Post-Consumer

Plastic Countertop (100%): The countertops (photo left) in the bathrooms and in the employee break room are made from recycled plastic containers such as milk cartons, but contain many other types of plastics as well. Because it contains a mix of plastics, there was no need to go through the lengthy separation process usually required to recycle plastics. This process also creates a unique visual texture in which you can sometimes actually read the original cartons.

Ceramic Tile (55%): This tile (photo right) is found on the floors and the walls of our bathrooms and kitchen, and it contains recycled glass.

Cellulose Insulation (70%): The ceilings in the building that are not made from Meadowboard are made from recycled newspapers and cardboard that were liquefied and blown in. In many cases, this would simply serve as insulation and would then be covered in some manner. However, we chose not to “finish” the ceiling, leaving the recycled cellulose insulation in full view. The architect chose to do this for aesthetic reasons and to showcase the insulation alternative, but it has the practical benefit of being a good sound absorber, which helps the acoustics of the building.

Post-Industrial

Cement Flooring (30%): The floors in the Welcome Center are a 70% Portland Cement 30% fly ash mix. Fly ash is one of several Coal Combustion Products (or CCPs); it is an inorganic, noncombustible by-product of coal-burning power plants. While coal power plants are an industry that we should move away from for a variety of reasons, this nevertheless diverts waste material from landfill, where it can pollute groundwater with heavy metals. In addition, cement production puts massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere (about a ton of CO2 for every ton of cement produced), with the total industry constituting about 6-8% of global human-generated carbon emissions. The production process is also quite energy-intensive. So, for every ton of fly ash used to replace cement:

• Enough energy is saved to provide electricity to an average American home for 24 days.
• The landfill space conserved equals 455 days of solid waste produced by the average American.
• The reduction in CO2 emissions equals 2 months of emissions from an automobile.

For more information about this subject, see Making Better Concrete by Bruce King, P.E. The cement floors of our building also provide excellent thermal mass, an integral part of the passive solar design of the building that is discussed here.

Cotton Fiber Insulation (85%): The interior walls of the building are insulated with cotton fiber insulation that came from 85% recycled blue jean material. Because this is post-industrial, this material was waste product from the blue jean manufacturing industry, as opposed to jeans that have been worn by consumers. This insulation is an alternative for fiberglass insulation, which carries various health risks (particularly during instillation and removal), is a possible carcinogen, and typically uses formaldehyde-based binders. In addition, the 15% of the insulation that does not come from recycled material is nonetheless cotton and is considered a rapidly renewable resource.

Metal Roof, Doors, and Rebar (~65%): About sixty-five percent of the metal used throughout the building came from post-industrial recycled content. These materials are also recyclable at the end of their useful lives.

Fiberboard (100%): Sierra Pine Medite II medium density fiberboard panels were used for the bookcases and display shelves in the bookstore/gift shop. These panels are one hundred percent post-industrial recycled wood fiber and are also EPP (1) and SCS (2) certified for no-added formaldehyde.