Having chain-of-custody certification in place, however, does not mean that a lot of certified product is going out the door. At Temple-Inland’s plant in Pembroke, Ontario, there isn’t even FSC-certified wood fiber going in! There are no sources of certified wood fiber near the plant, but once certified wood becomes available, Temple-Inland will be able to inventory and track that fiber in accordance with chain-of-custody certification requirements and produce FSC-certified MDF. At the Pennsylvania plants in Mt. Jewett and Clarion, the quantity of FSC-certified product produced will depend on demand.

The primary driver for this move by Temple-Inland is Home Depot. “We do a lot of business with Home Depot,” said MDF product manager Trey Golden, “and that’s the way they were leaning.” He also said that the move reflects Temple-Inland’s commitment to environmental stewardship. “It enabled us to show our customers how committed we are to demonstrating sustainable forest practices,” Golden told

Urinals from Falcon Waterfree and Waterless Co. (see

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Its new XLerator hand dryer gets hands dry in one-third the time, and uses about one-third the energy, of conventional dryers. We were skeptical at first, too. Read on.

When Denis and Nancy Gagnon bought Excel Dryer four years ago, they entered an industry that hadn’t seen significant innovation, aside from automatic sensor controls, in decades. Determined to create a better mousetrap, they commissioned some research and learned that wet hands have water in two forms: loose droplets and an adherent film. They realized that by blowing the droplets off with a high-velocity air stream, they could eliminate most of the water in just a few seconds. Providing this air at a higher temperature than that of standard dryers 135°F (57°C) results in quicker removal of the water film as well, so hands are dried in 12 to 15 seconds—about the same amount of time it takes to use a paper towel. The Gagnons’ claim, which we have verified, is that conventional dryers take 30 to 45 seconds.

It was also recognized with a 2001 Good Design™ Award from The Chicago Athenaeum in the fabric/textiles category. Why has it garnered such attention? A rare combination of eye-catching design and a radically different construction that offers both functional and environmental advantages.

Metafloor is substantially different from most carpet, a product—not unlike Solenium from Interface Flooring (see EBN

Gypsum Construction Handbook (see page 145 in the 90th anniversary edition), there is a completely impractical detail for depressing and subsequently hiding wallboard butt joints. But in the head and hands of a craftsman, this detail has been transformed into the ButtHanger, an elegant (despite the name) materials and labor-saving innovation.

While green roofs can be created using a wide range of components and configurations, nearly all involve an integral relationship between the roof membrane and the growing medium—typically through an intermediate drainage layer. Often, green roof systems are sold as part of a new roofing package. Introduced in August, GreenGrid™ takes a markedly different approach. Roy F. Weston, Inc. has teamed up with ABC Supply to develop a

modular green roof system that simplifies the installation process.

The top-loading Calypso washers feature Whirlpool’s unique Calypso Wash Motion. In place of the agitator found in most top-loading (vertical-axis) washers, there is a special “wash plate,” which cleans fabrics using 50% less water and 66% less energy than conventional top-loading washers. The absence of an agitator allows large loads to be washed with minimal wear-and-tear on the fabrics, according to the company. The suggested retail price on these washers is about $1,200.

The Duet washer is manufactured at one of Whirlpool’s European factories and relies on horizontal-axis technology—the route taken by most manufacturers to achieve Energy Star® compliance with clothes washers (see

Arsenic has taken a big hit recently—from studies showing elevated levels in school playgrounds in Florida to public outcry about President Bush’s decision to relax drinking water standards for the element. Not surprisingly, product manufacturers are getting the message. In the July/August issue of

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Vol. 10, No. 6). We are pleased to report that we were off by at least one! E-Crete, whose plant is located in Casa Grande, Arizona (near Phoenix), has been producing AAC blocks since December 2000. The company name was selected to signify the environmental benefits of using mine tailings for the silica content of its AAC blocks. A supply of high-quality copper mine tailings, representing 25% of the AAC dry weight content, is literally in the company’s back yard—E-Crete buys the tailings from Asarco, the firm that owns the closed copper mine on the land E-Crete leases (see photo).

E-Crete has been aggressively marketing its blocks throughout the Southwest, initially targeting the residential and light commercial building sectors. The southwestern climate, with lots of sunshine and high temperature swings, gives E-Crete a significant thermal mass benefit. For their most common block—density of 31 lbs/ft3 (497 kg/m3)— a steady state insulating value of approximately R-1.2 per inch is effectively boosted by a factor of two or more. For a 10”-thick block, the company reports an R-equivalent value of 31 for Phoenix, Arizona, using modeling and calculations per the

EnvIRONtread II is made out of recycled airplane or truck tires and recycled aluminum. Unlike steel-reinforced car tires, airplane and truck tires are reinforced with nylon fibers. By cutting these tires into strips and buffing away about 1⁄8” (3 mm) of the surfaces perpendicular to the fibers, the nylon fibers are exposed. According to Lisa Turner of the company, the matting is extremely long-lasting and will not shed fibers. These strips are sandwiched between aluminum extrusions. The company prefers airplane tires over truck tires because they are less worn when taken out of use.

EnvIRONtread II is a slight modification of the original EnvIRONtread matting, which is made from