When the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling platform exploded and sank in April 2010, millions of barrels of oil spilled freely into the Gulf of Mexico over the ensuing weeks. Cleanup crews used a boom made from plastic and other materials to skim the oil off of the ocean’s surface, just like one would with a pool skimmer.

Once BP’s Macondo well was finally sealed, oil no longer bubbled up to float on the water’s surface. But cleanup crews were left wondering what to do with the oil-soaked boom that had helped to contain the spill for so long. You certainly can’t dump that in the trash.

Late last year, General Motors decided that it would develop a process for recycling the used boom into new parts for its extended-range electric vehicle, the Chevy Volt.

To develop the recycling technique, GM partnered with several other companies: Heritage Environmental, which collected the used boom; Mobile Fluid Recovery, which eliminates the absorbed oil and water by spinning the booms at high speeds until they are dry; Lucent Polymers, which makes the material appropriate for plastic die-mold production; and GDC Corporation, which combines the plastic resin with other plastic compounds to make the car components.

The end product is a set of parts (25% boom material and 25% recycled tires) used to deflect air around the Volt’s radiator, according to MSNBC.

GM says that the oil boom recycling program will reuse 227 miles of boom material, saving 212,500 pounds of waste from the landfill. This will provide enough material to make the Volt’s air-deflecting baffles for one production year.

But what are we going to do with all these huge batteries when they start wearing down? Think about how hard it is to recycle the rechargeable batteries in your camera or remote control when they finally die — then multiply that by a thousand.

Thankfully, some automotive companies are already starting to think about this problem and have come up with an environmentally friendly solution.

This Chevy Volt battery could one day help to power homes. Photo by John F. Martin for General Motors.

General Motors (maker of the Chevy Volt) and electric company ABB Group have been working together since September 2010 to research the potential reuse of vehicle batteries for stationary power use. In Raleigh, NC, this past summer, the groups shared their progress in moving the concept from laboratory to pilot testing.

“Our tests so far have shown the viability of the GM-ABB solution in the laboratory, and they have provided valuable experience to overcome the technical challenges,” Pablo Rosenfeld, ABB’s Program Manager for Distributed Energy Storage Medium Voltage Power Products, said in late July. “We are making plans now for the next major step — testing a larger prototype on an actual electric distribution system.”

So far, neither company has provided further test results or an estimate of when these battery storage clusters could make it to the commercial market. One reason is that there simply aren’t enough spent EV batteries on the market to use for testing. The Chevy Volt has only been on the market for a year, and EV batteries last between eight and 10 years.

However, the companies are confident that when they have expired, EV batteries could be reclaimed and set up in clusters to provide energy storage space for the electrical grid. These battery clusters could either hold wind or solar energy during periods of low electric demand for use later or provide backup power in case of a grid disruption.

According to Pablo Valencia, GM’s Senior Manager for Battery Life Cycle Management, 33 used Volt batteries could power 50 houses, with enough storage capacity to keep them all running for about four hours.

In fact, experts feel that recycling could become a lucrative side business for both battery and EV manufacturers, which is why General Electric is exploring the development of a battery leasing program for EV owners. GE could reclaim spent batteries and resell them to utility companies.

If you are aware of such nuances, then the good ol’ boys of the Motor City are doing a great job reinventing the car. They’re pushing environmentalism fringed with patriotism.

A stellar example: General Motors is crafting new rides fraught with recycled ideas, literally. This 103-year-old automaker is championing a newfound ideology with the all-new American car. The irony, of course, is that many parts of brand-new models are not new at all.

GM is finding new ways to use old things when making its next line of automobiles. The headline-grabbing Chevrolet Volt has been discussed, debated and marketed for its revolutionary part-electric, part-gasoline engine system. But GM is trying to prove its sustainable efforts go beyond just a power plug.

The GMC Terrain features a number of recycled materials, making it lighter and more fuel efficient. Photo courtesy of GMC.

In fact, GM took leftovers from one of America’s worst environmental disasters, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and surprised the world by utilizing oil-soaked booms as auto parts for the Volt. According to an article from Wired:

About 100 miles of oil-drenched boom material used to contain the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico is being used to make plastic parts for the Chevrolet Volt. General Motors said it is recycling enough material used off the coast of Alabama and Louisiana to produce more than 100,000 pounds of plastic resin.

These booms are estimated to be used on the first year’s supply of 10,000 cars as deflectors that direct air around the radiator. According to Green Diary, the “deflectors constitute 25 percent plastic boom, 25 percent recycled tires, 25 percent packaging plastic and the remaining 25 percent are extracted from polymers and post-consumer recycled plastic.”

Please stop and take a minute to realize how monumental this is. One of America’s most iconic companies, which was all but dead a few years ago, is now fully revived and intensely using recycled material as a new manufacturing strategy — material that was crucial for stopping catastrophic environmental damage, no less!

OK, great, let’s continue.

The Chevy Volt might not be the right car for everyone, in which case GM is further utilizing recycled materials for various other models. The 2010 Buick LaCrosse features components in the headliner made from cardboard. The Chevrolet Equinox of the same year utilizes fibers from the kenaf plant in its headliner.

The GMC Terrain, however, might be the one most popularized for its recycled components, and for good reason. Auto Motto states that the use of recycled materials actually makes the Terrain more energy efficient and cost productive. Recycled materials are lighter, and thus require less fuel to transport. Here is what the article mentions about the Terrain:

Recycled textile insulation and plant fiber-reinforced ceiling liner act as a sound barrier from external noise. The air baffles are made using post-industrial scrap and mixing it with old tires while recycled plastic from bottles is used for the grille frame.

These aren’t your parent’s American-made autos. Today’s carmaker is dancing with conservation and efficiency when designing its new lines.

Gone are the days of “bigger is better,” where gasoline consumption was an afterthought. Today, GM is one car company taking a step in the right direction. The company is taking us down a path that weans consumption of resources and promotes more earth-friendly autos.

After all, you have another 7 billion people on this planet to share with, and companies like GM are starting to realize that.

Want to know more about GM’s sustainability efforts? Michael Robinson, GM’s Vice President of Environment, Energy, and Safety Policy, appeared on the Green is Good radio program in June 2011. Listen to the show here.

If you’re looking for a new ride this year, put the all-new 2012 Range Rover Evoque on the list of vehicles you must see. As the lightest and most fuel-efficient Range Rover ever, the Evoque shows that the company is serious about sustainability, as it addresses the growing consumer trend toward more environmentally friendly vehicles.

The Evoque was also just named 2012 Sport/Utility of the Year by Motor Trend.

“The Range Rover Evoque is a bold move into the fast-growing compact luxury SUV sector,” said Angus MacKenzie, Editor-in-Chief, Motor Trend. “Refined and capable both on and off the road, it artfully combines traditional Range Rover values with stunning state-of-the-moment design and impressive efficiency. The Evoque is a worthy winner of our award, and I have no doubt it will be a worldwide hit for Land Rover.”

Minimizing waste and recycling as much as possible is a key aspect of Land Rover’s commitment to reducing its environmental impact during the manufacturing process. The company recycles scrap metal, wooden packaging and cardboard whenever it can. It also requires its suppliers to use reusable packaging wherever possible.

As part of the efforts to reduce the Evoque’s environmental impact, Land Rover has focused on using more sustainable materials. For example:

• Each vehicle uses approximately 35 pounds (about 1,000 16.9-ounce plastic bottles) of recycled plastic in headliner, seat covers, center console, wheel arch liners, air cleaner, cooling fan and shroud, air ducting, side under trays, parcel shelf, engine cover and subwoofer box.
• There are 46 pounds of natural and renewable materials, such as leather, cotton, cardboard and rubber, in each Evoque. For example, leather is used extensively in the seat covers, instrument panel and door casings.
• There is Morzine trim fabric on the headlining and pillars that is entirely produced from recycled polyester sourced from recycled bottles and fibers. According to Land Rover, using recycled material results in a 66% lower energy demand and 54% reduced carbon footprint during production.
• The metal interior trim on the center console and dashboard is produced from recycled aluminum.
• 85% of the vehicle itself can be recycled, including the vehicle’s air ducting, the engine cover, subwoofer and parcel shelf.

For many people, EVs are still too expensive. Most don’t realize that it’s the advanced rechargeable battery that accounts for this high sticker price.

General Electric recently announced an interesting plan for eliminating this extra cost, and making EVs more accessible to the general public: a battery leasing program.

Not only would this battery leasing concept reduce the overall price of EVs, but it would also help bring down the price of ownership over time by eliminating the need to replace the batteries after eight to 10 years of use.

The largest U.S. conglomerate is just at the “thinking stage” of such a move, GE head of research and development efforts Mark Little recently said at an event at Nissan Motor Company’s research center near Detroit.

According to an upcoming report from EV Update, GE’s decision to dabble in EV battery leasing is part of a two-year collaborative research project between GE and Nissan that will help both companies gain a better understand of the energy demands of EVs and their owners, and to develop smart charging infrastructure for EVs.

Better Place

Per The Wall Street Journal, Nissan has already formed a venture with Japan-based trading house Sumitomo to recycle lithium-ion batteries from electric cars into energy storage devices for backup grid power. Of course, GE and Nissan aren’t the only companies to realize that the batteries themselves could be a roadblock to EV adoption.

Better Place, a Palo Alto, CA-based company, works with leading EV battery manufacturers to develop lithium-ion batteries that are high-performing, recyclable, environmentally friendly and safe. At the core of the company’s business model is the development of “battery switching stations” that employ an ingenious robotic system that switches fresh batteries for depleted ones, cools and charges batteries in inventory and ensures that each EV driver gets a fully charged battery each time the vehicle arrives at a Better Place station.

According to Better Place spokesperson Julie Mullins, the company is “evaluating both second-life applications for used batteries” and working with automakers, battery vendors and recyclers on “emerging technologies” for recovering and recycling most (95%) of the materials in batteries that are “no longer operational.”

The idea of battery leasing and swapping feels very similar to the car- and bike-sharing concepts that are sweeping the nation right now. Collaborative consumption is a great principle upon which to base new efforts in transportation, because it highlights access over ownership. When people know they can save money or eliminate waste by “borrowing” something instead of buying it, everyone wins.

You can see the step-by-step process for recycling EV batteries on the Tesla blog.

If you love showing off your healthy, green lawn or bountiful garden, chances are you use fertilizers on a regular basis.

There are several different kinds of fertilizers now available on the market: traditional chemical fertilizers that contain nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium compounds; organic fertilizers that contain plant matter, animal waste or minerals that make nutrients more readily available in the soil; and biosolids, which are actually treated sewage sludge.

Certified organic fertilizers are usually safe for use on lawns and gardens, and pose little environmental risk. Chemical and biosolid fertilizers are considered hazardous waste, and should never be tossed in the trash or down the drain because they can contaminate local water supplies.

Phosphorus, a main ingredient in synthetic fertilizers, encourages the growth of algae, which sucks the oxygen out of lakes, rivers and streams, killing fish and other creatures that live there.

Fertilizers cannot be recycled, but you can follow these simple tips for proper disposal:

1. Look for neighbors or friends that might be able to use your leftover fertilizer. This eliminates the need for disposal all together.
2. Keep fertilizer stored in a cool, dry place out of the reach of children and pets until a household hazardous waste facility is located. Keep fertilizer in its original container or bag, and never mix two types of fertilizer together, as this could result in a dangerous chemical reaction. When dealing with liquid fertilizer, it’s helpful to place the container in a plastic bag to prevent the product from leaking on the ground or your skin.
3. Search for a local household hazardous waste facility that accepts fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides on 1-800-RECYCLING.com. If none exists in your area, contact local garden supply stores to see if they will accept your unused fertilizer for proper disposal.
4. When in doubt, always follow the directions on the package!

If a chemical is toxic enough to destroy unwanted pests, it is often toxic to harm people also, especially children. Prevention is the first line of defense if you don’t want uninvited guests flying and scurrying around your home. And, if that doesn’t work, here are some great (and safer) alternatives to toxic chemicals from the experts at BeyondPesticides.org:

• Indoor ants:
  • Caulk or screen all entry points. Drawing a solid line with regular chalkboard chalk, putting down lines of cayenne and black pepper as repellants, or using toothpaste, petroleum jelly or duct tape as sealants will work temporarily. For permanent sealing, use silicone caulking.
  • Clean up and remove food sources. Keep kitchen counters, stovetops and floors clean, put garbage in tightly sealed containers and empty it daily, and thoroughly rinse recyclables.
  • Store sugars, grains and pet food in glass jars with seals or gaskets and plastic containers with tight-fitting lids. Ants can climb up the threads of screw-top jars and get in if there is no gasket or liner.
• Outdoor ants: Ants outdoors are normally not a problem. These ants actually benefit us by preying on flea and fly larvae, recycling organic matter and aerating soil.
  • Soapy water can be used to drench outside nests, killing some ants and forcing the others to relocate.
• Elm leaf beetle: Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot of information regarding alternatives to pesticides for elm leaf beetle control.
  • Use a sprayer to spray a narrow band of pesticides around the trunk of susceptible trees instead of broadly spraying the whole tree. Only take such action when the population is high enough to warrant it.

Find more nontoxic alternatives at BeyondPesticides.org, “Least Toxic Control of Pests In the Home and Garden.”

But what do you do if you already have some bottles of the toxic stuff lying around your house? Here is some advice from the EPA:

• If all the remaining pesticide cannot be properly used, check with your local solid waste management authority, environmental agency or health department to find out whether your community has a household hazardous waste collection program or a similar program for getting rid of unwanted, leftover pesticides. These authorities can also inform you of any local requirements for pesticide waste disposal.
• To identify your local solid waste agency, look in the government section of your phone book under categories such as solid waste, public works or garbage, trash or refuse collection. Or, you can call 1-800-CLEANUP.
• State and local laws regarding pesticide disposal may be stricter than the federal requirements on the label. Be sure to check with your state or local agencies before disposing of your pesticide containers.
• If the container is empty, do not reuse it. Place it in your garbage, unless the label specifies a different procedure.
• Do not pour leftover pesticides down the sink, into the toilet or down a sewer or street drain. Municipal systems are not equipped to remove all pesticide residues. If pesticides reach waterways, they may harm fish, plants and other living things.

And, food for thought: Scientific studies find that touching surfaces where pesticides have been applied, eating foods with pesticide residue and breathing the fumes from sprays and dusts and can cause nerve and immune system damage, respiratory illness, reproductive problems, cancer and affect behavior and the ability to concentrate. Children, people with compromised immune systems, pregnant women and the elderly are especially susceptible to pesticide-induced illness.

Photo courtesy of Organic Bouquet

Whether they are out-of-towners staying for a while or just visiting for the feast, we like to have our homes clean, tidy and festive. With the prepping tips below, it’s a great time to reflect on what local and sustainable mean to you, not to mention a great conversation piece at the dinner table.

• Decorate the front door with a natural wreath and your table with fresh cut flowers. To be festive, also gather dried leaves, acorns and pinecones that have fallen from the trees. A clear bowl full of the season’s harvest, like pears, apples and clementines, also makes a colorful centerpiece. Channel your creativity!
• We love personalized place cards so guests know where to sit. Tie together sprigs of fresh, fragrant herbs like rosemary, sage and thyme and tuck in a paper leaf-shaped place card with your guest’s name on it.
• Typically, a tablecloth needs to be dry-cleaned or ironed. And how many times does it get stained with red wine? Take a simpler approach by using a table runner instead. There are lots of options out there, like organic cotton, linen and other natural fibers. We like this festive one from Pottery Barn made from ramie, a woody fiber that resembles flax.
• Avoid paper, single-use napkins and opt for cloth ones instead. There is already so much waste headed to the landfill during the holidays, why add to it when you can simply wash your napkins?
• Turn down the lights! Create a festive dining room with candles (without adding to your electricity bill). Avoid paraffin candles, as they are made from petroleum and emit nasty fumes. We love these pure beeswax candles from Littlefield Bee Farm on Block Island, RI. Not only do they have a delicious smell, but they are also all-natural.
• Whether you’re the one cleaning prior to the big day or you have help, stock up on green cleaning products. There are plenty of options available in just about every grocery store and local food market across the U.S. And, if everyone pitches in to help with the cleanup, you want to make sure they’re reaching for the green goods, too.

Lastly, if you have guests that are traveling to your house for Thanksgiving, encourage them to offset their carbon emissions through programs such as TerraPass, which fund carbon reduction initiatives.

Remember to keep it simple! Your guests will be happy celebrating with you and giving thanks. Enjoy it with them.

I’m a firm believe that you shouldn’t decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving, so here are some creative ideas for recycled decorations that celebrate abundance and a spirit of thankfulness for blessings great and small.

Pumpkins made from old books: just one of several recycled Thanksgiving decorations you can easily make at home. Photo courtesy of Crafting Mom.

Recycled book pumpkins

All books, as long as they’re still readable, should be donated to a library or school where they can continue to be used. But occasionally, a book will be water damaged or so dog-eared that it can’t be shared in this way. In these cases, I can’t think of a more adorable way to recycle them than by making these whimsical paper pumpkins by Crafting Mom. Once the cutting is done, this is a great craft for all the little cousins, nieces and nephews that appear over the holidays as well!

Junk mail turkey place cards

Speaking of extended family, the biggest challenge of any Thanksgiving holiday is finding a table big enough to fit them all. Keep the chaos to a minimum with these delightful turkey place cards made with junk mail and recycled cereal boxes.

Upcycled autumn buntings and garlands

Bunting and garland are arguably some of the most versatile holiday decorations. Use them to bring the Thanksgiving spirit to porch railings, staircases, fences, mailboxes, mantels, lampposts and more. Check out Crafting a Green World’s guide to not one, but five different upcycled garlands you can make yourself.

Got an idea for a recycled Thanksgiving decoration? Share it in a comment!

Regular oil changes keep cars and trucks running efficiently, saving you money on both gas and repairs. But regular oil changes also mean that you’ll be stuck with several quarts of dirty motor oil with nowhere to put it.

Used oil contains additives, contaminants, potentially carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic compounds and/or glycol from the cooling system, all of which are extremely toxic to the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that about 185 million gallons of used motor oil are improperly disposed of by consumers each year.

Under no circumstances should motor oil ever be dumped on the ground or down the drain! Just 1 gallon of used oil can contaminate 1 million gallons of groundwater. Although it can’t be put back into automobiles, used motor oil can be re-refined and then used to make heating oil, asphalt and other lubricants.

If you perform your oil changes at home, follow these steps to ensure that that your old oil gets recycled properly.

1. During the oil change, collect the used motor oil in a clean container with a tight-fitting lid.
2. Keep it out of reach of children and pets while waiting to take it to a recycling facility. Always clearly label the container as “used motor oil” so it is not accidentally used in lawn mowers or other vehicles.
3. Search for local motor oil recycling facilities on 1-800-RECYCLING.com. Pay attention to special times or requirements for hazardous waste recycling at your local facility.
4. Keep in mind that some oil-change businesses, such as Jiffy Lube, act as designated used-oil collection center. If no municipal motor oil recycling program exists in your area, check with one of these businesses to see if they’ll accept it.

So Congress has devised a new plan to deal with its waste: Convert it to energy.

Although composting is good in theory, it hasn’t worked in practice, said Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Calif. And with a waste-to-energy program, the rest of Congress’ waste won’t have to be landfilled, as was done in recent years.

“There was really no win-win-win on it,” Lungren said. “We were looking for ways to save money, but also do a more efficient job of reducing landfill à and we thought this showed real promise.”

One reason composting failed, Lungren said, was it cost too much. Congress was spending nearly $500,000 a year to ship food scraps about 70 miles away, and higher fuel prices made the effort untenable.

The new program will save about $60,000 annually, he said.

Under a deal which begins in November, about 5,300 tons of Congress’ annual trash will be sent to waste-to-energy (WTE) facilities in Virginia. The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) agency has entered into a contract that will divert up to 90% of the U.S. Capitol Complex’s solid waste from landfills.

The waste will be shipped to nearby incinerators and used to fuel generators that will produce electricity for the Capitol’s power grid, which the AOC said will generate enough electricity to power an office building the size of the Dirksen Senate Office Building or the Longworth House Office Building for several months.

The decision to send waste from congressional facilities to waste-to-energy plants instead of landfills was based on an analysis conducted by the AOC’s Office of Energy and Sustainability, with direction from the Committee on House Administration (CHA).

“We had a report that showed the failure of the composting program that had been utilized, and that had been recognized on a bipartisan basis,” said Lungren, who oversees the AOC as CHA chairman.

When the Republicans took control of the House of Representatives in January, Lungren said they asked the Democrats what changes they would make.

“And one of the subsequent recommendations they made was to get rid of the composting program because it had failed, despite all good intentions,” he said.

Because composting only dealt with about 10% of the Capitol’s waste — about 535 tons a year — Congress sought a more comprehensive waste program.

“We thought we’d expand it beyond [composting] and see if we could come to some alternative,” Lungren said. “One of the things that came on our radar screen was the waste-to-energy program that, when you do a little research on it, actually is being recommended by the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. EPA and a number of different government agencies when they look at it objectively.”

Under the new contract, Washington-based Urban Service Systems will be collecting the waste and will transport it to Covanta Energy Corp.’s WTE plants in Virginia, said Eva Malecki, communications officer for the AOC.

In metropolitan Washington, there are three Covanta WTE facilities that can process a combined 3,000 tons of waste per day and can generate up to 23 megawatts of energy that is sold to Dominion Virginia Power Co.

“We were looking at what we need to do to maintain the [Capitol] campus and take care of the needs here, and one of those things is waste disposal,” Malecki said. “We look at the various options and look at what makes the most sense for our customer and the taxpayer.”

The contract stipulates that the waste must be burned within 50 miles of the Capitol complex, which also puts forthcoming facilities in Maryland as possible destinations for Congress’ trash. Maryland has three WTE projects under development or already permitted for construction, according to the Washington-based Environmental Integrity Project (EIP).

“Maryland does not want Congress’ trash,” Mike Tidwell, director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, said during a conference call. “Maryland doesn’t generate enough trash, really, to sustain all these plants. They’re being developed and considered as a regional center for trash combustion. We would just prefer … that Congress do better at recycling and that we not get trash from the District of Columbia or surrounding areas.”

Malecki said Capitol Hill already has a “very robust recycling program.”

According to the AOC’s 2010 Sustainability, Energy and Water Conservation Management Report, 738 tons of waste was recycled in fiscal year 2008, a 45% increase from fiscal year 2005.

“This doesn’t remove any of that from this process; it just takes the waste that we can’t recycle and takes it to the waste-to-energy facility,” Malecki said.

Source: Waste & Recycling News
By Shawn Wright

Shawn Turner's Seattle home renovation includes eco-minded products such as (l-r) Teragren bamboo flooring, Bedrock Industries recycled glass tiles, Yolo no-VOC paints and Classic Metal Roofing Systems shingles.

Since 2008, the global economy has sputtered along. Jobs are scarce, cost of living is rising and millions of people are left to figure out how to maintain their quality of life.

This task becomes particularly difficult if one is a believer in the green movement. In the presence of such tricky circumstances, Shawn Turner, owner of Able Home Performance, a small business specializing in energy efficiency and weatherization, chose to incorporate sustainable elements on his own home renovation in Seattle.

A few years of recession can turn many into do-it-yourselfers. And, when it comes to green renovations in the home, a hands-on experience from a professional in the field is certainly an interesting project to follow.

Wheat board cabinets were recently installed.

While the home is still very much a work in progress, Turner was kind enough to offer a list of eco-friendly products that he installed in his home.

In the “recycled materials” department, Turner used Bedrock Industries glass tiles in the bathrooms. Bedrock’s tiles are pigment-free and 100% recycled. In fact, for Turner, there couldn’t have been a more eco-friendly option, since Bedrock is also based in Seattle.

Bedrock goes further, too — as any truly sustainable business should — by not just using green-themed materials, but by heavily investing in the community as well. The company website offers the following:

We have established and continue to operate several community-based programs including a bottle drive, student tours of our plant and a special bottle drive for the parents and students of a local elementary school. Earnings from the school drive have helped to pay for student field trips and other educational activities.

Turner installed soy foam insulation to combat Seattle's weather.

In the coming months, weatherization is key in the notoriously drippy Pacific Northwest, so it seems a no-brainer that Turner would support housing features that both protect from the elements and save energy (and money) in the process. In this manner, Turner decided to install an aluminum roof from Classic Metal Roofing Systems. Sure, that’s not wildly innovative in anyone’s book, but much of the green wave is actually founded on old, reliable technologies that promote efficiency and longevity.

I have touched on the boundless environmental benefits of aluminum before, and yet again, this endlessly recyclable metal has made its way into the spotlight. Due to its malleability, aluminum can be stamped, shaped or cut to look like almost anything else. For Turner, this came in handy in making it looking like wooden shakes. The sustainability of a long-lasting aluminum roof is even addressed in Classic Metal Roofing Systems’ Frequently Asked Questions. See FAQ #9.

Bamboo flooring has now been completed.

In addition to the recycled tiles and aluminum roof, Turner applied a host of other ecologically sensitive materials — too many to detail, in fact. As an abbreviated list, he also utilized formaldehyde-free molding, low- or no-volatile organic compound paints, structurally insulated panels, soy-based foam insulation, renewable bamboo flooring and more. All in all, Turner decidedly practiced what he preached when remodeling his home.

For many, the “green” option when making purchases is cost prohibitive. Fortunately, though, many companies are recognizing the growing importance (and market interest) of products and technologies that help, rather than hurt, the natural environment.

Recycled glass and ceramic tile accents