A fire destroyed 5 million pounds of recycled PET in a warehouse belonging to Image Industries, Inc., makers of Image Carpet, according to the July 31 issue of

Plastics News. No one was injured in the blaze, and the origin is unknown. The burned material represents only a small portion of the company’s stock, and it was insured.

A major shake-up at Louisiana-Pacific Corporation this summer was brought on, in part, by allegations of falsifying pollution emission data. The entire upper management team of L-P, including Chairman and President Harry Merlo (who led the company since its split from Georgia-Pacific in 1973 and who championed L-P’s leadership role in the move to OSB), was ousted by the Board of Directors at a late-July Board meeting, according to the September issue of

Panel World. In addition to claims of fudging pollution data, one of the company’s mills is accused of producing a special grade of OSB for submittal to testing agencies—referred to internally as “APA board” or “test board,” according to the article. Rick Davenport of L-P’s San Diego office told EBN that this shake-up will have no effect on Nature-Guard (L-P’s brand of cellulose insulation) or other recycled-content products the company is moving forward with.

Even as environmental regulations are being widely threatened by Congressional initiatives, a broad new effort to protect the nation’s water is now underway. Sixteen months after it first convened, the National Forum on Nonpoint Source Pollution has released a report that urges new approaches for cleaning up water pollution. The general thrust is to supplement regulatory approaches with educational programs, voluntary initiatives, and economic incentives. Convened by the National Geographic Society and The Conservation Fund, the Forum includes leaders of environmental groups, heads of major corporations, state governors, and federal officials. A summary report, “Water: A Story of Hope,” is available for $5 from the Terrene Institute; the full report should be available in September for $14. For information call 202/833-8317.

The U.S. Department of Energy has published proposed voluntary guidelines for rating home energy performance. The guidelines were drafted by the Home Energy Rating Systems (HERS) Council for DOE and are designed to encourage uniformity among the various methods used to rate the energy efficiency of both new and existing residential buildings. They will benefit consumers by providing them with accurate information about the energy performance of homes they are considering purchasing, according to Christine Taylor, chair of the HERS Council. The guidelines will also help home buyers secure favorable terms on energy-efficient mortgages. For details, see the July 25, 1995

Federal Register. Written comments are being accepted on the draft guidelines until October 23, 1995.

Newsbriefs

Researchers at the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are looking into the idea of producing perlite using concentrated solar energy. Perlite is a natural volcanic rock that is expanded by rapid heating to between 870° and 1100°C. It is used as an insulation material and as a lightweight filler for drywall and other building products. Tests were done using an existing NREL solar furnace, which concentrates solar energy onto a small area. Private-sector partners are being sought, according to USBM mining engineer Doug Ward. For information, call Ward at USBM (303/236-0428 ext. 226), or Kent Scholl at NREL (303/384-7496).

The results of the Boston Society of Architects’ 1995 Sustainable Design Awards were announced on June 17 at the Boston Area Solar Energy Association’s annual Solar Cooker Picnic. The sole award was given to Christopher Grant Kerwan, Bart S. Uchida, and Matthew Urbanski, all of Cambridge, Massachusetts, for the demolition and reconstruction of a courtyard in a community-based social services center in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Jurors were impressed with the participatory design and construction process, and the reuse of nearly all the original materials on site. Four other projects received commendations for specific achievements. For details on the winning projects or the biennial competition, contact the BSA at 617/951-1433,

617/951-0845 (fax).

Amoco Foam Products Company has added the new Amofoam-RCX™ to its existing Amofoam-RCY™ line of recycled-content extruded polystyrene insulation. The RCX products, aimed at residential markets, are laminated on both sides with a polyethylene film to protect them from damage during handling and construction, and they are configured in thinner boards (¹⁄₂” and ³⁄₄” – 12 mm and 18 mm thicknesses) than the RCY line. Both product lines are independently certified to contain 50% recycled content (25% post-consumer) and are distributed only east of the Rockies except by special order.

GreenStone Industries, the nation’s largest producer of cellulose insulation, just announced the acquisition of Pacific Rim Recycling, a curbside recycling business in Benicia, California. Entering the recycling business is an effort to deal with the rapidly rising cost of recycled newspaper. Eric Oganesoff, chairman and CEO of GreenStone Industries said that this move “represents a key component in our comprehensive strategy to manage the rising cost of secondary fibers.”

A potential barrier to cellulose insulation use that was described in the last issue of EBN (Vol. 4, No. 3) has apparently been solved. The May 1995 issue of

Energy Design Update reported that the three model code bodies are removing recently adopted provisions that would have required more stringent fire testing for cellulose. Both ICBO and SBCCI passed emergency measures in April to exempt cellulose from the new requirements, and BOCA was considering such a change. The changes were prompted by the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC), which notified the code organizations that CPSC, not local or state government, has authority to establish safety requirements for cellulose. EDU called this action “a blow to the fiberglass industry’s effort to restrict use of cellulose.”

The National Material Exchange Network is now online. In May the materials exchange, which links generators of industrial “waste” with users of those materials (see EBN

Vol. 2, No. 3), became an interactive, free Web page with participation of 51 regional waste exchanges throughout North America. The Web page address is www.earthcycle.com/nmen/. Contact Bob Smee, Earthcycle/NMEN at 509/466-1532, 509/466-1041 (fax), nmen@earthcycle.com (e-mail).