This month, Valcucine was selected for inclusion in the Industrial Research section of the Italian ADI Design Index 2010. The company was chosen in part for efforts to produce products with less raw materials and energy, use recyclable materials, reduce toxic emissions and polluting chemical substances, and consider the life cycle of products.
Alex Wilson, this year's winner of the Hanley Award for Vision and Leadership in Sustainable Housing, selected EnGuard Insulation by Vita Nonwovens as the BuildingGreen Product of the Week following Greenbuild in Chicago. The 100% polyester insulation product is made with recycled plastic bottles, or, more specifically, 15% post-consumer and 35% pre-consumer recycled content.
A new company operating out of the Pacific Northwest, Environite Building Products, recently introduced its signature solid-surface product, Environite. It's a cast-to-size material made with roughly 90% recycled content -- recycled glass and discarded post-consumer and post-industrial materials -- and both VOC- and styrene-free, according to the company. Environite is available in several colors, though the white countertop pictured may be hard to beat.
Nashville-based musician Matt Glassmeyer sent us photos of this adaptive use roof built with unplayable old vinyl records. Glassmeyer said in an email that he used his own collection and records collected via Craigslist. After designing the patio roof, he put a dab of caulk in the record hole and nailed each disc down in an overlapping pattern using large washers and roofing nails. And there's been no leakage even in heavy rains or melted records because the roof is not directly exposed to sunlight. How about that!
When looking for an eco-friendly countertop, there are various factors to consider and literally hundreds of options. Here's another one to consider: Rivers' Edge Countertops, Inc., an Oklahoma company that makes concrete and recycled glass surfaces. The company sources post-consumer recycled glass -- bottles, dinnerware, windows, safety glass, and light bulbs -- from a local recycling center, making surfaces with 75-80% recycled content and a cement base bolstered with crushed granite.
Austin-based Reclaimed Space built this modular prefab with roughly 80% reclaimed materials and presented it at Dwell on Design 2010. With interior design by Zem Joaquin, founder of Ecofabulous, the 400-square-foot home has Electrolux appliances, a vertical living wall from Fyto Wall, CaesarStone countertops, Mythic zero-VOC paints, Solatube daylighting, LED lighting, and Caroma water-efficient bathroom fixtures. If you didn't get a chance to see it, watch this five-part video series embedded below:
North Carolina-based Meld USA, maker of ecoX and Micro, launched a new paver called Plus Plus. The cement paver is available in six standard colors, as well as nearly limitless custom colors, and made with up to 74% recycled content. Also, to minimize the environmental impact of manufacturing, Plus Plus is "wet cast, air cured, and form finished," according to Architect Magazine. Meld's paver can be used in any garden, driveway, or patio.
Interior Design just closed voting on this year's BoY Awards, and the Eco Products category has some excellent entries. Of which, I noticed this 3D tile called Buzziskin from Buzzispace. It's made of ecofelt, or a 100% recycled PET material, in a variety of colors. Buzziskin is offered in both rectangular and cubic sizes with a self-adhesive backing. Each tile runs about $150.
Environment Furniture recently unveiled a new shelving system called the Topanga Collection. The system was designed by creative director Jean-Marie Massaud and is made with a recycled-content, honeycomb cardboard that's strong and lightweight.
Today, the GreenCycler is making its debut at West Coast Green 2010. This is a "small-footprint" countertop or cabinet appliance that shreds organic kitchen waste and deposits it in a storage and transfer container. In other words, GreenCycler is helpful in pre-composting waste into a size that's just right for quick composting.
