Materials

Cork

Cork is an inherently sustainable resource, being both biodegradable and renewable.  Cork material is harvested from the cork oak tree (Quercus Suber), but instead of needing to cut down the tree to source the benefit of the raw material as is done with the majority of all other wood species, the bark (or outer skin) of the tree is peeled off, and the tree is left to regenerate. The cork oak is a slow growing tree that can live from 170 t0 250 years, which enables the stripping and harvesting of the cork to occur 16 times during its lifetime on average. The harvesting cycle typically occurs every 9-12 years, but only occurs once the tree is allowed to mature from sapling to an age of approximately 25-30 years, at which time the trunk has at least a circumference of 70 cm.  This initial growth period allows the cellular structure within the tree to mature, so there are functional consistencies. Cork, as a raw material, is mainly small microscopic pockets of air encapsulated by the cork fiber lignin. This cellular structure gives cork products tremendous thermal and acoustic properties, as the air is acts as “insulation”.
One of the important sustainability factors of the cork trees are their Carbon sequestration properties and characteristics.  According to the World Wildlife Federation, a cork tree that has its bark removed every 9 years will absorb 3-5 times as much CO2 than a similar tree that is left idle.  The tree and bark stores the CO2, and then it accepts more as new growth occurs. Industry estimates show that the CO2-retention capabilities of Portugal’s cork forests are estimated to be as high as five per cent of the country’s annual emissions, or in excess of 4.8 million tons per year


Cork Attributes/ Benefits:

• Thermal Insulation – cork historically was used in refrigeration applications, such as in the walls of freezers
• Impermeability – Since the inter-connected pockets of air are truly so tiny and microscopic, cork is considered impermeable, though at the same considered a breathable material which is desirable for the use of bottling wine.
• Softness – the pockets of air compress and then expand again, never collapsing within the product core, giving the cork a resilience and memory. It has excelled for use as flooring due to the softness under foot, as it is often recommended for people with back pain who stand on a floor for an extended amount of time.
• Design Flexibility – the beauty of the cork raw material is that it can be cut in numerous ways that enable veneers of differing aesthetics to be made into highly decorative surfaces. Cork conglomerate is a recycled cork material is also readily available, and often used in conjunction with veneers.
• Buoyancy – Cork floats, and has been used as buoys, floating decoys, and as runners for pontoons and other water craft.
• Slip resistance – cork, due to the softness and bounce-back, is very slip resistant, and has been used extensively on the deck of naval ships.

Future Cork Use:

The future of cork, and the growth of the industry, is open to one’s imagination. The use of cork in the bottling industry will undoubtedly remain strong due to the “enthusiast” belief that cork is better than plastic or screw tops. For interior use, cork use will also grow, especially with the increase awareness in “sustainable” and “green” construction techniques, the desire for people to decrease toxins in indoor environments, and the life-cycle benefits afforded cork interior products. Product development in the other segments will also invariably grow, as will new developments which will introduce new products to the market.

Bamboo

 Bamboo has come to be known as the quintessential “rapidly renewable” raw material. Though often considered a wood (due to its’ replacement of “timber” in many construction applications), it is in fact part of the grass family.   Bamboo has phenomenal growth rate potential, with some species growing at a rate of up to 6” a day, with maximum height of up 100’, reached in just four to six months.  Not only does it grow like a weed, it requires almost no outside influence to flourish, assuming it is being grown in optimal climatic conditions for the specific species.  Though there are over 1250 such species, the majority of them seem to have at least some commercial value, such as foodstuff, decorations, etc., while others could effectively displace timber in an entire product and manufacturing segment historically controlled by “wood”.    All in all, the value of bamboo as a raw material seems to increase on a daily level, as timber becomes scarcer and more testing is being done to show the benefits and intrinsic value bamboo provides from a structural, strength, and weight standpoint.

 Bamboo Attributes/ Benefits:

• Growth – bamboo grows much faster than any other species of wood, and can be grown in steep areas where little else can thrive. The root system of bamboo facilitates quick regeneration once it is harvested, and due to its’ inherent durability, it can withstand tremendous hardship.
• Pesticide-free – bamboo typically does not need fertilization and/or the application of pesticides to spur its’ growth.
• Strength – bamboo is extremely strong due to its’ cellular structure and makeup. Bamboo, at its’ core, is made of thin, parallel filaments that extend the entire length of the bamboo stalk. Due to this parallel nature, the bamboo filaments have tremendous strength, with a greater strength to weight ratio than hardened steel.
• Use Flexibility – the beauty of bamboo as a raw material is that there are literally thousands of ways to use it. It is akin to “wood” in the sense that anything you can make with wood, you can make with bamboo, but it also has a long lineage of use as a food product, and more recently is excelling in textile and clothing applications. You can eat it, you can eat with it, you can eat on it, you can wear it, and you can live under it. There is literally not much you can’t do with bamboo if you so desire.
• Waste stream – bamboo as a material provides a completely closed loop system. Every part of the plant can be used, and is practical to do so.
• Carbon Sequestration – if water is the life-blood of the earth, bamboo ought to be considered its’ lungs. The carbon sequestration properties of bamboo far exceeds that of any other species , due partly to its’ abundance, but also to its’ fast growth. With the increased use of bamboo as a material, more carbon is trapped (more oxygen made), effectively helping clean the air of pollution and toxins.

Future Bamboo Use:

The future of bamboo is as bright as its’ past. There is a literally not a day goes by, when we are not contacted by someone else interested in assessing the use of bamboo in their products. The beauty of the material, beyond its’ shear applicable uses is the fact that it can be processed, reprocessed, added with this, topped with that, with the net result of making something unique and desirable. The market will dictate what is viable and what is not, but as a raw material, there is not one with a much better future than bamboo.

The Coconut Palm

The Coconut Palm (Cocos Nucifera) is part of the palm family, and is found usually in sandy soils along the coastlines where salinity in the soil is the norm. They thrive in areas with lots of sunlight, regular rainfall (750 mm to 2000mm annually), and relatively high humidity (70%+ RH average). Though they can grow naturally in a number of locales, the majority of the commercial growth and production is in India and Sri Lanka. They can grow up to 30m in height, and on average produce between 50-100 coconuts a year (per tree) – after the first year of growth to maturity.
Coconuts have historically been a very important food source globally, providing many essential nutrients for numerous populations for thousands of years. Coconuts are highly nutritious, rich in fiber, minerals, and vitamins. In some island locales in the Pacific, inhabitants get over 50% of the nutrients from coconut derived food stuffs, and their belief that coconut is a cure-all for almost all illness has led to become known as the “Tree of Life”.
In addition to be used as a meat, milk, juice, and as a cooking oil, the coconut can also be further processed into a fibrous material, coir. Historically, the coir fiber was used in the boat building industry, as a material to lash (or join) various boat components together. In the Polynesian/Micronesia areas , they used the coir material for building tools, holding together weapons, and with other general construction efforts. It wasn’t until the mid 1950’s that mechanization of the process was really started, with the development of defibering machine/process in India, which greatly increased the amount of material that could efficiently be processed.

PRODUCTS CATEGORIES:

Coconut as a raw material is used mainly for providing sustenance (food and drink), making fiber for a multitude of uses, and then is also used in decorative and curios applications.  The coconuts that you would buy in a grocery store are actually the single seed of coconut palm tree.  Before you see it in the store, it will have already been stripped of its’ hard skin and thick middle layer of fibrous pulp, coir.


GROWTH AND MANUFACTURING

 Coconut palms flower monthly and it takes one year for the fruit to ripen; therefore there are always coconuts in 12 different stages of maturity on the tree at any given time.  When the coconuts do not fall naturally, they are harvested in a cycle, and typically is done on a 45-60 day rotation, with each tree netting 50-100 coconuts a year, or between 7-15 coconuts per harvest.

• Harvesting – either done by gravity (falling), are picked hand, or cut down using a knife.
• Processing – Ripe coconuts are immediately husked to remove the fruit from the seed.  Those that are not yet ripe are left it bask in sun in a single layer on the ground until they become ripe.
• Retting – moisture is added to the coconuts to help dissolve or rot away much of the cellular tissues surrounding the bast fiber bundles, helping the fiber separate from the husk.  This is done naturally with fresh water on the ripe coconuts, and with salt water on the green and unripe coconuts.  This natural retting process takes between 6 months for the ripe coconuts and 10 months for the unripe ones.  Mechanical retting is also employed in high volume operations, and is achieved by crushing the fibers after a short time of soaking, usually around 7-10 days. Dry processing of the unripe ones can also be done, but it only considered suitable for producing mattress fibers.
• Defibering – separating the bristle fibers from the pith and outer skin, which can be done both by hand or mechanically through rotation inside steel drums.  Once cleaned, the fibers are laid loosely in the sun to dry.
• Finishing – depending on the intended use, the finishing process varies.  They can be rolled into loose bundles, hydraulically compacted into denser bundles, baled for spinning into finer yarn, can be woven into twine or matting, or the fibers can be processed with supplemental treatments for other uses (such as sprayed with latex rubber, or heat treated with sulphur

FUTURE USES 

As production technology improves in processing capabilities of the coconut material, it appears likely that development will be done in the area of the geotextile material.  As the use of synthetic and non-biodegradable textiles slowly decrease in a relation to the increase in environmental purchasing on a whole, coconut textiles will begin to turn up in street corner shops, again adding value to the natural fiberous material.  Another area of certain development will be in the use of the coconut material in both structural and decorative panel and plywood applications. By veneering thin sheets of the coconut fiber, and laminating one on top of another with a phenolic resin binder, it will prove that the coconut can be efficiently formed into panel products that can then be easily molded into whatever shape or form is desired, and hopefully at a price point where product designers opt for coconut in place of other, less sustainable options.

TEEL GRT: COCONUT

Environmental Benefits 

compound made from coconut fibre combined with recycled post consumer, post industrial and virgin thermoplastic (Teel GRT Flakes) can be processed at lower temperatures; reducing cycle times by 25%.

Current Applications

TEEL GRT: COCONUT can be processed by solid profile extrusion, compression and injection moulding. Applications include roofing, packaging and furniture.

 SOLANYL BP

Environmental Benefits
SOLANYL ® BP is a bio-plastic made from potato starch which uses 65% less energy to manufacture than some conventional plastics such as polyethylene. SOLANYL granules can be combined with natural fibres as well as being blended with other biopolymers and can be coloured using natural dyes. SOLANYL ® BP is 100% biodegradable.

Current Applications
SOLANYL granules are suitable for injection moulding and have good flow characteristics which enable small thicknesses. Interior and exterior applications include; flower pots, cultivation tubes, CD and DVD cases, protective corners for packaging, cup holders, brushes for street cleaning, and golf tees.

 BEEBOARD

Environmental Benefits

BEEBOARD is a board made from 90% recycled paper which is recyclable and biodegradable. The structure has a honeycomb core, making it strong, light weight and efficient to transport. It has high compressive resistance and high energy absorption.

Current Applications

BEEBOARD is used as a packaging material as spacers and protectors and as a core material for furniture, displays, doors, panels and frames.

 EcoCradle Wine Shipper
 

Product Description
Our elegant, 100% bio-based wine shipper gift box is the perfect way to showcase your best bottle of wine . EcoCradle® wine shippers aren’t just “green”; they provide superior cushioning and thermal protection in a light-weight, biodegradable package. Whether you’re taking organic champagne on a picnic or shipping vintage wines across the globe, this truly is the ultimate in protection.  Includes a pair of EcoCradle™ inserts to protect 1 bottle Fits most 750 ml bottles Insulated: helps regulate temperature for your wine Shock absorbing: ISTA 3A tested by UPS Home compostable  Dimensions: 14 3/8” x 5.75” x 4.5”

Open publication - Free publishing - More billerud

How to make non toxic homemade glue

• For the ingredients needed, see the recipe on the photo above.
• In a saucepan mix 1 cup of flour with 1/3 cup of sugar.
• Add half of the water required and mix into a thick paste without clumps.
• Pour in the rest of the water and combine till the paste is smooth.
• Pour a teaspoon of vinegar and put on medium heat until the mixture starts to thicken.
• Cool and transfer to jar or an airtight plastic container.

This glue will keep for a few days. Refrigerate to prolong the shelf life (the jar in my fridge is 6 months old).

Vinegar in this glue recipe acts as a mild natural preservative. You might use grapefruit seed extract or tee tree oil (5-10 drops) instead of vinegar to naturally preserve the glue. Stick with vinegar though if you have small kids – not only is this glue non toxic, but perfectly edible too!

This glue needs more time to dry, but when dried, the bond is really strong.
  

Eco Freindly Glue

Just in time for the back-to-school crew, See Jane Work bring in Cocoina's Almond Scented Paste. Nontoxic, non-solvent, and acid-free, it even tastes of marzipan for the paste-eater in your life.

Used in schools in Italy since the 1930s, the $8 imported paste comes in a vintage-style silver tin and includes a stiff bristle. You can also get it in the form of a $3 glue stick for handy toting about