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March 13, 2010  |  Login
Green Buildings Are Just Buildings with Recycled Materials
By Eric Corey Freed
 
Although recycled materials are commonly used in green building, recycled stuff alone is not enough. A green building is made up of much more than just recycled materials — it involves water use, energy use, and the indoor air quality.
 
What you recycle is as important as the act of recycling itself. A countertop made from recycled toxic waste is still toxic waste. As manufacturers race to release new products made out of recycled materials, you need to check whether these materials are healthy. For example, natural rubber comes from a rubber tree and is a natural product. Tire rubber, on the other hand, is actually vulcanized rubber (rubber treated with sulfur) and is a toxic material. When a product claims to use recycled rubber, be sure to ask which rubber was used: natural or tire. (The answer you want to hear is natural, of course.)

Don’t be fooled by claims from manufacturers offering recycled content. A material containing just 1 percent recycled content can still call itself “recycled.” Ask the manufacturer for a Material Safety and Data Sheet (MSDS) to know for sure how much of the material is recycled.

 
 

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