More source reduction... By working with resin producers and equipment manufacturers to minimize the use of natural resources and air and water emissions, EPS processors are able to make packaging parts with less virgin material, white maintaining the same high level of performance. By improving the design of a single product line, one polystyrene manufacturer, for example, diverted more than 28,000 tons of waste from disposal in 1994. This is the equivalent of the amount of municipal solid waste a typical town of 35,000 - like Annapolis, MD - generates in an entire year. 
During the first 20 years of focus (between 1974 and 1994) the amount of polystyrene packaging and disposables diverted from the waste stream through source reduction increased more than 20-fold, eliminating more than 800,000 tons of polystyrene. The amount of polystyrene source reduced in 1994 had an energy savings equivalent of having recycled 24% of polystyrene packaging and disposables produced in that year. Over the past 10 years this trend has not only continued, right through 2004, but it also increased! Solid Waste/Landfills: - All polystyrene packaging comprises only about 0.4% of the total municipal solid waste disposed in the US.
- Paper and paperboard products make up the largest category of material disposed in our landfills ... approximately 37 percent!*

Safe and efficient...Source reduction can take many forms... Mother Earth News is supporting the use of eps - to help preserve our earth! Yes you read that right (it's a little tongue-in-cheek, but read on...). One of the oldest and most respected pro-environment organizations says "I chose a perimeter foundation wall of insulated concrete forms (ICF). These large, hollow, environmentally friendly [molded eps] blocks are filled with rebar (a type of metal rod for reinforcement) and concrete, which leaves you with a high-performance foundation wall that is structurally sound and superinsulated" To read the full article follow this link http://www.motherearthnews.com/Whole_Foods_and_cooking/2005_August_September/A_Blueprint_for_Better_Building 
Why does Mother Earth News like eps? "Two inches of expanded polystyrene (eps) foam underneath the concrete slab retain the warmth transmitted to the concrete by the radiant-heat tubing that’s cast right into the concrete." Or in other words, molded eps is environmentally friendly and it saves energy (natural resources). How about the walls... "SIPs [also made with eps] are three times stronger than similar stud-frame walls. And the fourth reason is the clincher for me: SIPs structures are 75 percent more energy efficient than typical walls in a stud-frame structure built to code with an identical floor plan. To learn more about ICF's ICF link To learn about SIP's http://www.pbspanels.com Do you need more help? Just choose: email us, call us or find us (after following any of these links just click the "back" button on your browser to return here).
|