Alan Hoffman - Alan Hoffman Company - UCD-Dallas, TX

 Alan Hoffman, owner of Alan Hoffman Company presented to us on July 2, 2011.
Over his 17 years as a "green" home builder in the Dallas area, Alan has developed a composite system of building homes that makes them highly efficient.  His ancestors are from Europe and when visiting there he made note of the massive 3 feet thick perimeter walls of his relative's home.  The thick walls acted as a thermal mass that allowed the interior temperature to be moderated by the average 60 degree ground temperature.  There was a kiva-style fireplace built into a wall that helped warm the house in the winter but no A/C was necessary even though the house was 400 years old.

Alan's design incorporates insulated concrete forms (ICF) exterior shell walls with a conventional wood framed roof that is insulated with open cell foam insulation.  The houses are tornado-resistant, termite-proof with fire-proof wallls.  The thermal mass of the walls in conjuction with the insulating form allows more temperature benefit from the ground on standard slab-on-grade foundations.  Also because the exterior walls are a monolithic structure air infiltration is very low.

He built the first and second LEED homes in Dallas, both of which are LEED-Platinum.
His latest house is 2,656 s.f. requiring only a 2.5 ton HVAC unit.  He incorporates locally quarried stone features into his homes as well.

Alan uses ICF products manufactured by ARXX ICF which has a manufacturing facility near the Dallas area.

His next venture is a 22-home urban infill deveopment in the Lakewood area of Dallas, TX.  The development will include community greenspace that all the homes will face as well as a rainwater harvesting system that will provide irrigation water for the neighborhood xerascapes.



To find out more about Alan Hoffman Company and ICF check out: http://www.concretehomestore.com/

McKinney Green Gardens at Gabe Nesbitt Park - McKinney, TX

The last stop for our summer session in sustainability was the McKinney Green Gardens at Gabe Nesbitt Park in McKinney, Texas

The City of McKinney and the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Urban Solutions Center have designed and planted the McKinney Green Gardens, a landscape water conservation demonstration at Gabe Nesbitt Park. The McKinney Green Gardens will help educate children, homeowners, developers and landscapers about water conservation practices by illustrating how a water conservation landscape can be beautiful and water-saving at the same time.

The one-acre McKinney Green Gardens will illustrate the practices of planning and design, proper plant selection, irrigation efficiency, new technologies and landscape best management practices.

With this installation, the City of McKinney shows a dedication to conserving our natural resources, to educating the public on conservation practices, and to creating beautiful outdoor spaces for all to enjoy. McKinney Green Gardens is a one-of-a-kind demonstration. This garden leads by example, using resource efficient plants, highly efficient irrigation systems and best garden practices for Texas, while showcasing a garden aesthetic that uses ecologically sensitive green design.

Six landscape areas represent the following landscape concepts: cottage, butterfly, wildlife, rock, serenity moon and native plants. Nine different turfgrasses will separate each landscaped area. These will include: Crowne, Palisades, Cavalier and Zorro Zoysiagrasses, Buffalograss, Premier Bermudagrass, St. Augustinegrass, Tall Fescue and Tifton 10. Each landscaped area is connected by meandering paths, all leading to a central gathering place.(1)

Check out the link to their website at the bottom of this page.  It has an interactive GoogleMaps type map with tags identifying plants, grasses and other features of the garden.  The website also includes listings of plants, grasses and irrigation systems used in its construction and support.

Native plants are identified with labels.

Even with the extreme summer temperatures many of the native plants were flowering and attracting butterflies.

We also saw a small cottontail rabbit running and hiding from us and the hot Texas summer sun.

For more information about the McKinney Green Garden check out their website here: http://mckinneygreengardens.tamu.edu/

(1) all of the preceding is an excerpt taken from mckinneygreengardens.tamu.edu/ website and is wholly attributed to that site.

McKinney Green Building - McKinney, TX

 The McKinney Green Building in McKinney, TX is a  USGBC LEED - Platinum building.  We took a quick look around the outside of the building to observe some of the energy saving features.

The parking lot is paved entirely with permeable hardsuface brick pavers.  They conceal a large underground stormwater storage cistern which helps mitigate stormwater run-off into surrounding tributaries during heavy rains

The southern elevation features deep sunshades that also act as natural light reflectors allowing indirect natural light into the building while still shading interior spaces from direct sunlight.  This saves energy through reducing the need for electric light and cooling during the hot times of the year.

The western elevation features a different type of sunshade and natural light reflector.  Upper story windows are shaded by a trellis.  In the far right side of this photo you see part of one of the giant cisterns that is part of the rainwater harvesting system for this building.

The building has lots of bike racks for those who chose to use bicycles as an alternative form of transportation.  It is also a way to score an extra point toward LEED certification.

For more information this building check out the following links:
http://www.igreenbuild.com/cd_2876.aspx
http://www.hdrinc.com/portfolio/mckinney-green-building
http://www.andresconstruction.com/features/commercial/leed.swf

Pat Lobb Toyota of McKinney - McKinney, TX - LEED CERTIFIED

 Pat Lobb Toyota of McKinney is the first "green" auto dealership in the U.S. and a model for other dealerships.  They earned USGBC's LEED - Silver in 2007.  Their motivation was two-fold: save money and it was the right thing to do.  The project architect was Gensler and the general contractor was Turner Construction.

The building at first glance looks like any other dealership but look around and you'll notice some not-so-subtle differences.  One of the main ones is the water cistern on the south side of the building.  It captures rainwater from the roof as well as the condesation from all of the buildings air conditioning units.  The water is used to irrigate the native Texas and drought resistant landscaping. 

Once inside the dealership you may notice several display boards (left and below) that help educate customers to some of the energy saving features incorporated into the building around them.  Some of these features include, Low-E glass fascade, starch-based carpeting, waterless urinals, low-VOC paints, recycled glass wall tiles and many more.

The roof is a reflective "sandwich" type insulated roof which helps to reduce the heat island effect caused by dark roofs.  This helps maintain a more comfortable temperature inside the building without using addional energy.  The concrete paving around the build has fly-ash, a waste by-product from coal buring, as an additive that increases the reflectivity of the concrete also reducing the heat island effect.  (left) the north and west walls are planted with a creeping green ivy which helps to keep those walls cooler during hot Texas days.

(right) In winter some of the waste oil that is recovered during oil changes on vehichles is used to heat the maintenance bays at the dealership.

The dealership has two areas used to wash customer's cars.  The floor drains in these areas capture the wash water and cycle it through a ionizing filtering system which cleans the water and allows it to be re-used to wash other cars.  The water is so clean that it runs off faster and requires less water to do the same amount of cleaning and also requires less hand drying after the wash.

To learn more about Pat Lobb Toyota of McKinney and their efforts to go green click the following:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMwZDs6YQ5I&feature=player_detailpage
http://green.autoblog.com/2008/05/16/toyota-pushing-dealerships-to-go-green-with-leed-certification/
http://patlobbtoyota.com/Eco-Friendly-Dealer/
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=sb_success.sb_successstories_mckinney07

Lee Hall, President - Sustainable Structures of Texas/ Montgomery Farm - Allen, TX

On August 6th we met with Lee Hall of Sustainable Structures of Texas and toured one of his homes at Montgomery Farms, TERRAcourt, the first LEED Gold home in Collin County.



TERRcourt as viewed from atop the earth berm to it's north



TERRAcourt evokes the style of an old German-Texas barn but is really a high-efficiency modern home.  The 5,000 s.f. house is clad with thick limestone walls and a combination of raised-seam metal roof and fiber-reinforced concrete tiles that look like aged slate but are much more durable.



Fiber-reinforced concrete "slate" roof tiles over the garage

Leuders Limestone in a random-course pattern provides an old-world style charm to this modern home.  The garage roof (right) is covered with what looks like conventional slate roofing but is actually a fiber-reinforced concrete tile that is much more durable and less prone to break than natural slate roof tiles.  These were sourced locally in Garland, TX which helped add to the LEED points the house was able to receive.  The raised-seam metal roof is Solar Panel ready.


(left) Native Texas trees were rescued from nearby developments and transplanted here to provide shade from the western Texas sun.  Montgomery Farms maintains a large supply of rescued trees for native landscaping.  Native trees are better aclimated to Texas' weather conditions and rescuing them saves them from being waste in a landfill.

(right) Galvanized steel lintel "eyebrows" protect south-facing high efficiency windows from some of the hot Texas sun's rays.  They are a simple and cost effective way to incorporate a feature into the stone work that creates a drip for rainfall and shade for the sun.

(left) The main stair opens into the living area.

Living area with view of the backyard/outdoor living area

Lee Hall the owner of Sustatinable Structures of Texas explained the design that went into the construction of the walls (what he refered to as, "the bone") of TERRAcourt.  His design was unconventional in that he was able to greatly reduce the amount of heat bridging or thermal bypassing by eliminating unnecessary wall framing.  Rather than a conventional 16" on center spacing he was able to increase the spacing to 24" by adding some special bracing.  This one change resulted in a 60% reduction in in surfaces that could allow thermal bypass.  The walls were also built with 2x6's instead of 2x4's creaing stiffer walls with a deeper cavity for insulation.

Lee determined that he wanted to meet the EPA's Indoor Air+ specifications for indoor air quality.  This required a tight exterior skin with very low leakage.  This house measured at a .09 tightness factor.  All openings are poly-sealed and spray foam was incorporated in an upstairs floor that shared the ceiling of a garage space on the ground floor.  All exterior walls were insulated with a spray-on cellulose based insulation and wall framing was oriented at intersections with exterior walls to avoid dead spaces where insulation could not be applied.  90% of the interior finishes are required to be no-V.O.C.  The house smell fresh when you walk in.  The inside air is conditioned with only 9 tons of HVAC, about half what you would expect for a house this side.  The units are 16 SEER with dual speed motors to maintain airflow even when not cooling or heating.

(left) The house has an additional 1,600 s.f. of extended outdoor living area that incorporates a trellis that is covered with translucent panels that allow dispursed natural light into the house but protects it from direct sunlight.

(right) The backyard incorporates a bio-swale that captures stormwater runoff from the houses roof and allows it to natural absorb back into the ground rather than running into a storm drain.

(left) A large earth berm protects the north side of the house from traffic noise on Bethany Road.  The berm is so high that the roadway is not even visible from the second story of the house.  When standing in the backyard you would never even know there is a busy road just over the hill.  The berm is landscaped with flowering drought-resistent native plants.

For more information about Sustainable Structures of Texas click here:

http://www.ssotx.com/index.html

Synergyfish - Aquaponics - Dave Pennington - UCD-Dallas, TX

Our final Tuesday night presentation for the summer was provided by Dave Pennington of SynergyFish and was regarding the field of aquaponics and system design.  He also introduced us to "papercrete" a glass-reinforced paper, styrofoam, cement product used to build small domed structures.

We are the only animals on the planet that create waste that does not go back into the natural cycle.  We currently use 85% of water for planted agriculture.  Dave claimed that nutrients in food have declined by 40%.  I wasn't sure what the timeline was or the accuracy of the figure so I did a little checking.  Since 1975, based on USDA records there have been a 50% drop in the amount of calcium in broccoli. Watercress down 88% in iron content and cauliflower down 40% in vitamin C content.  Click here for more information.

Aquaponics eliminates the concept of waste and elininates the use of chemical fertilizers.

The University of the Virgin Islands, St. Croix offers an intensive course on Aquaponics.  Click here for more information.

Aquaponics can be used to produce the following fish:

• Talapia (Mozambique variety)
• Goldfish (easy to grow, size self-regulating)
• Koi (easy to grow, grow throughout lifespan)
• Catfish
• Trout (high temperature sensitive)
• Bass
• Freshwater prawns
• Barramundi/Jade Perch (Australia)

Talapia are the prefered species because they are omnivorous, hearty, easily bred, fast growing and have a mild flavor.  The only drawback is that they are sensitive to cold temperatures because they are tropical fish.

Fish:Tank size ratio = 1pound / gallon in rearing tank
Recommended density = 0.25 pounds fish / gallon of water max.

Dave feeds his talapia a combination of organic pelletized fish food, black soldier fly larvae, vegetable scraps, duckweed and other "weeds".  He grows his on black soldier fly larvae which are common to Texas.  They lay their eggs in waste material, the adults do not eat, sting or bite and it is not a disease vector.  They essentially convert garbage into larvae (fish food).  When the larvae reach a certain size they stop eating and move away from the food source to pupate into adults.  Dave collects them at this time and feeds them to his fish.


For more information on Dave Pennington and Synergy Fish visit:  http://synergyfish.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRfNw64kP2A&feature=player_detailpage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=k2UzJ9tn0OU

BC Workshop - Brent Brown and Benji Feehan - UCD-Dallas, TX

Brent Brown and Benji Feehan of BC Workshop presented to us on July 2, 2011.

Building Community Workshop is a 501c3 non-profit established in 2005 in Dallas, TX.  They currently have about 18 people on staff, 6 employees and 10-12 volunteers.  They have a direct design side like a conventional architecture studio except they typically work only for non-profit organizations.  They also self-generate projects (initiatives)

They have a bent toward social responsibility.

They create what may be considered: Unity Design, Do-gooder Design or Public Interest Design.  They refer to it as SEED, Social Equinomic Environmental Design.

They feel the basis of sustainability is ethics.

BC Workshop is about people.  We took ourselves our of nature and we now live in spaces that don't have to have sunlight or wind.

BC Workshop strives to help stakeholders have a voice in the built environment.
They see a fundamental flaw with the system and strive for Design Justice.  They have recognized that doing LEED buildings does not change our behavior.

Brent and Benji provided a presentation on their Congo Street Project.  Congo St. was a part of S. Carrol Dr. in Dallas that was renamed when the World's Fair came to Dallas to warn visitors to stay away from that part of Dallas.  The street had been virtuall forgotten.  It was a 19' wide street with homes that averaged ab out 650 s.f. each.  The streets at both ends of Congo Street had been repaved and Congo had been ignored.  They redesigned the neighborhood and recreated the existing homes into LEED rated homes for the families still living on the street.  The areas along the street have been landscaped with native plants that require less frequent water and attention.

BC Workshop offers lunch and learn events every other Friday in their facility at 2814 Main St. in Deep Elum.

"Design justice through community engagement"

For more information on Building Community Workshop visit:  www.bcworkshop.org

Methane Gas Harvesting at the McCommas Landfill - Dallas, TX

Enhanced Leachate Recirculation

at the McCommas Bluff Landfill - Dallas, TX

Eco Park - Training Center

 The City of Dallas is undertaking a new project that the McCommas Bluff Landfill in south Dallas.  In conjunction with CP&Y they have started an Enhanced Leachate Recirculation Project (ELR).  Basically water is circulated through a series of pipes into the landfill at various elevations to enhance the work of micro-organisms in decomposing waste material.  As waste decomposes it takes up less space thus reducing the amount of total volume in the landfill.  The City is expecting to recover approximately 30% of airspace within the landfill.  One of the by-products of organic waste decomposition is methane gas which is captured, filtered and transfered by pipelines to be used as a fuel gas.  They are expecting about 5 million cubic feet per day of methane production.  Enough to power up to 30,000 homes. (above) A view of the Downtown Dallas skyline from atop the McCommas Bluff Landfill.

(left) One of the tanks that holds stormwater to be pumped though the black pipes in the foreground up to the top of the landfill where it is distributed by a series of perforated pipes.  As the water filters down through the landfill it enhances decomposition of organic matter but also picks up chemicals that are present within the landfill.  The water that filters out of the bottom of the landfill is called leachate.  The recovered leachate is taken to a wastewater treatment plant to be cleaned before it is released back into nature.

The landfill uses crushed glass as a media to distribute the stormwater within the the leach field.  The perforated distribution pipes run through a layer of crushed glass that is spread over the area to be treated.

 (left) Pump station number 2 has to holding tanks for water that is collected from stormwater holding ponds on the landfill property.  These pumps feed to other leach fields in the landfill.  the leach fields are created in "lifts".  A layer of garbage is covered with broken glass on top of which the perforated distribution pipes are laid.  The pipes are then covered with more crushed glass which is followed by a 2-3' layer of "soft" household garbage.  Other harder waste can crush the water pipes so the soft trash acts as a buffer.  More waste is added on top of the soft trash layer and then the process is repeated.

One of our former classmates manages this project for the city.  (right) John shows us one of the pump stations that pumps water from the stormwater retention ponds up the the holding tanks which then distribute the water into the landfill.

Dump Dudes

Landfill Ladies

What's that smell???

River Legacy Living Science Center - Arlington, TX

RIVER LEGACY PARK & LIVING SCIENCE CENTER

River Legacy Living Science Center - Main Gallery

Sustainable Design

The following information is taken from River Legacy's website:

"A simple fortress of fallen leaves and broken tree limbs, crafted by the creative hands of children, served as the inspiration for the Living Science Center.

We developed the 12,000-square-foot center with the specific objective of minimizing the impact on the environment. To that end, the Center itself is a fascinating study of architecture, conservation and sustainable design.

• Three enormous red oak trees provide structural support for the roof of the building. The trees were salvaged from a city of Arlington street-widening project.
• The entrance drive was carefully routed to avoid trees and to minimize paving and vegetative disturbance.
• The parking lot is constructed of porous pavers that allow air and water to recharge the soil.
• Walkways are made of decomposed granite with an organic resin that makes them firm yet pervious to air and water.
• Restroom walls consist of tiles made from recycled crushed windshields.
• The building’s carpet is woven of fibers that may be continually recycled.
• The Center uses a gray-water system of plumbing. The underground system captures the runoff from drinking fountains and sink materials; then stores, treats and recycles it for use in the landscaped areas complementing the structure.
• Agrosoke, a naturally occurring moisture retention gel, acts as a water reservoir when added to bed and lawn soils."

Anne Alderfer - Naturalist

Our tour began with an introduction to the Living Science Center by our guide and Naturalist, Anne Alderfer.  The center has displays that discuss the vision of the architect who designed the building (Edward M. Jones) as well as samples of the materials and methods incorporated into it's construction.

(left) Anne provided us information about the local native plants along the path.  We stopped here to look at an American Elm tree that was riddled with holes created by Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers.  A native bird that pecks holes in the bark of the trees to cause sap to flow.  The bird returns later to consume the sap along with any unsuspecting insects that might have been trapped by the sticky substance.  The large number of holes indicated that the tree, however large, was under stress or diseased.

We learned about how non-indigenous plants like the Chinese Privet (right) are invading natural areas and pushing out native plant species like Virginia Wild Rice and Inland Sea Oats.  Notice how droopy plant's leaves are.  We saw a lot of this due to the extended drought conditions and high heat in this area.  Many plants in the park are being streessed by the lack of water.

 (left) A Cooper's Hawk's nest sits empty.  The pair of hawks that migrate here annually have raised their chicks and have headed to other hunting grounds  This nest is a short walk from the Living Science Center and a great place to bird watch when the hawks are here.  River Legacy Parks are home to more than 225 bird species.

(right) Anne points out a spot on the base of a large oak tree that has started to decay.  This scar was caused by heavy equipment striking the tree during the creation of the park.  It takes years for damage like this to become apparent.  This majestic tree will not last many more years before it falls and it added to the decomposing matter on the forest floor.  It will become food for future generations of plants and animals.

For more information about River Legacy Parks or the Living Science Center click here:
http://www.riverlegacy.org/

Korwall Industries - Arlington, TX

KORWALL INDUSTRIES

Korwall Industries' manufacturing facility in Arlington, TX

 On July 30th we toured Korwall Industries in Arlington, TX and met one of the founders and owner Mr. Stan Demmick.  Korwall Industries produces Structural Insulated Panel Systems (SIPS) which are an engineered "sandwich" of expanded polystyrene foam between two sheets of oriented strand board (OSB).  The properties of this pressure-bonded panel create a structure known as a monocoque.  Mr. Demmick told us that he got this design idea from the manufacture of airplanes which are built using similar design processes.

Korwall began as a manufacturer of mobile home with paper honeycomb core floor panels and styrofoam core walls.  Even though their product was of much higher quality than the competition they were 30% higher in cost which made it difficult to sell their product.  In 1962 they moved to their current location and began marketing their panels as an alternative to stick-built homes.  Mr. Demmick said, "the lack of studs was mind-boggling to building inspectors" and they frequently had to educate officials about the integrity of their product.

Mr. Stan Demmick explains the history of Korwall Industries



The beauty of SIPS built homes is their air-tightness.  Mr. Demmick explained how a "door blower" air leakage test is done to simulate 15mph winds striking a house from all four sides at the same time.  Standard stick-built construction normally tests at 4 air changes per hour where SIPS construction tests out at 0.5 air changes per hour or a factor of 8 times less.  Because there is less air leakage there is less outside air that has to be conditioned to meet the thermostat setting inside the house.  This allows air handling units to be sized much smaller on SIPS buildings, frequently by half.  Even though SIPS cost about 5% more than conventional stick-built construction, erection time and labor is cut dramatically not to mention the savings in a much smaller HVAC unit for the same size house.  Korwall is also not limited by rainy weather the way conventional home building is because the panels are constructed in a factory not on a jobsite.  Erection of a 2000 s.f. home can be accomplished in about 2 days as opposed to weeks for stick built construction.

Mr. Demmick's grandson adds framing members to a panel

Their panels are currently constructed of a 1# density polystyrene foam core pressure bonded with a catelyzed glue to 7/16" think oriented strand board on both sides. Panels are 8' wide by 24' long in nominal thicknesses of 4", 6" and 8" standard. They will make thicker custom panels up to 10" or 12" for walk-in refrigerators with short spans.  Eight inch thick panels will clear span 16 feet without deflection under a 27 pound per square foot load.



8' x 24' x 8" thick blank panels waiting to be used

The polystyrene foam can be purchased with a 1.5" square groove at 18 inches from one side to correspond with the standard height of electrical outlets.  The groove becomes a wire race once the panels are assembled.  Korwall will install non-standard height outlet boxes and provide raceways in panels as needed.  All electrical outlets and wireways are integrated into the panels at the factor so all the electricians have to do on the jobsite is pull wires and connect terminal devices.

Glue applying machine

Korwall has tried using treated lumber in lieu of standard lumber but the panel strength was reduced by 23%.  SIPS panels are typically used just for the shell of the building (walls and roof) with the interior walls being standard construction and concrete slab on grade floors.  They can be used for floors in pier and beam construction but must be overlayed with a hard surface flooring to avoid puncturing the OSB skin.

Korwall panels carry a limited lifetime warranty.

You can find out more about Korwall here:  http://www.korwall.com/SIPs/PanelHomes/Default.htm

EnviroGlas

EnviroGLAS



EnviroGLAS tabletop in their office building lobby

Today we met with EnviroGLAS founder, Tim Whaley, and enjoyed a presentation provided by him and Esteban Diaz.  Tim describes EnviroGLAS as a "boutique" player in the hardsurface manufacturing industry.  Whaley has a background in Terrazzo and has applied his knowledge to this new type of material for use as counter tops, floors and shower surrounds.

Tim Whaley, Founder welcomes UTA graduate students

EnviroGLAS is a combination of glass and/or procelain and epoxy resin.  The high cost of the resin and short working (pot) life have made it difficult for other businesses to compete against EnviroGLAS.  Whaley has also filed for a product patent to protect his design and further exclude competition.

Terrazzo is made up of large aggregate, crushed marble or granite; small aggregate, sand; and a binder, typically portland cement.  In the EnviroGLAS product these are replaced by crush, washed and tubled glass for the large aggregate, smaller bits of this same glass replace the sand and the portland cement is replaced with a no-V.O.C. polymer-based epoxy resin which is dense, structurally strong and has high adhesion qualities.

The sources for their glass is a highly guarded company secret.  Originally their crush glass came from the Plano landfill.  Now it is sourced through glass recyclers who, tumble, sanitize, sort and bag the product that they use.  For EnviroGLAS to be able to turn out a consistent high quality product they have strict size, shape and density requirements their suppliers must meet.

Tim Whaley explains characteristics of EnviroGLAS products

They produce polished slabs (EnviroSLAB) in a standard 7' x 8' panel in various thicknesses to meet their customer's needs.  The fabrication process consists of dry mixing the aggregates and then adding the dry ingredients to the resin.  The combined materials are then poured and troweled into a wooden frame that has been treated with a release agent so the resin does not stick to it.  Once the slab has set up it goes through a multi-step process of grinding and polishing.  The slabs are sold to outside vendors that fabricate and install the finished countertops or shower surrounds.  It can be worked just like a natural stone material.  Because it has an 80% glass content it is resistent to scratches and heat and carries a Class A fire rating.

EnviroGLAS product sample display

EnviroGLAS has an expected lifespan of 75 years and is guaranteed by the manufacturer for the life of the building.  It has a higher density and hardness than marble and is easily repaired on-site, extending it's potential lifespan even longer.  EnviroGLAS costs about the same as high-end natural granite but has a lower cost of maintenance and ownership which makes it a less expensive product to use over it's installed life.

EnviroGLAS also produces EnviroMODE, a similar product that uses recycled porcelain from tubs, sinks and toilets.  The porcelain is a pre-consumer waste that is obtained as rejects from bath fixture manufacturer's quality control efforts.

EnviroSCAPE is a landscaping alternative to mulch and can be provided in a wide range of colors.  It does not absorb water, is resistent to being blown or washed away in storms and has been tumbled to reduce possible injury from sharp edges.

EnviroGLAS captures waste streams of materials from several sources and keeps them from ending up in the landfill while providing a high end, durable and beautiful product.  A classic example of using one processes' waste as feed stock for a different product.

For more information about EnviroGLAS: http://www.enviroglasproducts.com/