Alice took the task to find alternatives to the materials that we waste and currently cannot recycle-- such as coffee cups, plastic food containers, and packaging materials.
Research was based on the collection from Materials Connection as well as the book TransMaterials.
Dapple is a material that used post consumer recycled content (of which coffee cups is an item). The material itself takes a waste product and renders it into a building material, however, since it is combined with plastics, the new material is a composite that will not have a recycled life beyond its current one. This illustrates the complications with 'Sustainable Materials'.
The terms Sustainable and Green are too broad a definition to distinguish meaning when thinking and selecting materials. There needs be a clear understanding of the commonly used terms before one could select alternate materials.
A trip to the Materials Connection Library introduced a whole set of questions about how new materials could be introduced into the practices of ITP.
There are a lot of materials at Materials Connexion -- most of the materials are skewed towards commercial level Architecture and Industrial Design. Further research and work should be conducted to compile a list that fits with the prototyping projects we do here at ITP.
Before new materials can be of practical use for students, the following issues must be addressed:
- Cost -- Many materials are still considered leading edge and thus expensive
- Exposure -- Many materials are not well known beyond professional circles
- We need access to samples in order in order to begin to familiarize ourselves with new materials
- Instructors need to be educated as well as students
- Clear definitions need to be available. How do you define 'Sustainable' or ‘Green’?
- There are many different standards and descriptions for materials (Biodegradable, Non-Toxic, Natural, Recycled Content, Renewable Resources, LEED Certified, Organic, Green, Low Emissions)
- Often two different descriptions for materials have competing interests. For example, a biodegradable product is often not low emissive, and vice versa (an issue of stability and thus low off gassing, is at times chemically at odds with ability for a material to biodegrade or breaking down)
- LEED is a clear standard in place, however mostly applies to building materials
- We need to understand the bigger process – Being told that something is ‘Green’ does very little to inform consumer decisions and to create confidence that will lead to alternative practices.
- We need reliable information on the production that goes into materials, their impact on the environment as well as human health
Some Information on commonly used terms for 'Sustainable Materials':
LEED Certified:
Biodegradable:
anaerobic biodegrading vs. aerobic biodegrading
Renewable Resources:
Non-Toxic, Low Emissions, Formaldehyde Free:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volatile_organic_compound
- http://www.epa.gov/iaq/voc.html
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formaldehyde
- from wikipedia entry: "Most formaldehyde is used in the production of polymers and other chemicals. When combined with phenol, urea, or melamine, formaldehyde produces a hard thermoset resin. These resins are commonly used in permanent adhesives, such as those used in plywood or carpeting. It is used as the wet-strength resin added to sanitary paper products such as (listed in increasing concentrations injected into the paper machine headstock chest) facial tissue, table napkins, and roll towels. They are also foamed to make insulation, or cast into molded products. Production of formaldehyde resins accounts for more than half of formaldehyde consumption.
- Because formaldehyde resins are used in many construction materials, including plywood, carpet, and spray-on insulating foams, and because these resins slowly give off formaldehyde over time, formaldehyde is one of the more common indoor air pollutants. At concentrations above 0.1 mg/kg in air, inhaled formaldehyde can irritate the eyes and mucous membranes, resulting in watery eyes, headache, a burning sensation in the throat, and difficulty breathing.
- Large formaldehyde exposures, for example from drinking formaldehyde solutions, are potentially lethal. Formaldehyde is converted to formic acid in the body, leading to a rise in blood acidity, rapid, shallow breathing, hypothermia, and coma or death. People who have ingested formaldehyde require immediate medical attention.
- In the body, formaldehyde can cause proteins to irreversibly bind to DNA. Laboratory animals exposed to large doses of inhaled formaldehyde over their lifetimes have developed more cancers of the nose and throat than are usual, as have workers in particleboard sawmills. However, some studies suggest that smaller concentrations of formaldehyde like those encountered in most buildings have no carcinogenic effects. Formaldehyde is classified as a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and as a known human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer"
Recycled Content:
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