Elma, WA-based NewWood Manufacturing has developed an innovative line of composite building panels that are made of 50% recycled plastic and 50% recycled wood. In the process, they’ve breathed new life into a town by employing residents of an area in Washington State that has been affected by chronic unemployment. Utilizing post-consumer and post-industrial wood and plastic waste, NewWood is dedicated to making “Better materials to build a better world.” NewWood makes for a superior building material because it is waterproof, insect resistant, durable and easy to use. NewWood cuts like wood and performs like plastic – and, of course, it’s eco-friendly.
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Anne Masias, thank you for covering this new product. We applaud the use of post-consumer materials, but we would also be interested in knowing how this product affects energy usage while in use. In other words, will this product conserve energy by creating a better building envelope than traditional wood products, or will this product “seal” the building envelope like house wrap? Sustainable design uses highly efficient, low-resource impact materials (like these) that durably maintain the building envelope integrity over time, reducing energy needed to heat and cool its space. In the world of Life Cycle Assessment ( see http://www.greenbuildingsolutions.org/Main-Menu/Life-Cycle-Assessment/default.aspx )the “use” phase can represent 85% of the building’s impact on the environment!
Rob Krebs
American Chemistry Council
What makes it so “eco-friendly”? What kind of plastics are in it? Are they off-gassing? How is this hybrid of plastics and organics reclaimable or separable years later? More answers please…