{"id":18752,"date":"2015-07-03T13:15:01","date_gmt":"2015-07-03T17:15:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=18752"},"modified":"2015-07-03T13:15:01","modified_gmt":"2015-07-03T17:15:01","slug":"the-waste-biz-new-player-in-the-insulated-concrete-forms-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/the-waste-biz-new-player-in-the-insulated-concrete-forms-business\/","title":{"rendered":"The Waste Biz: New Player In The Insulated Concrete Forms Business"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"insulated<\/a><\/p>\n

As we’ve noted on a number of occasions, recycling polystyrene foam (aka Styrofoam) poses a number of challenges, all of which make the economics difficult. One good use of this material, though, is in the creation of insulated concrete forms<\/a>, or modular “building blocks” made from concrete and (usually) another insulating material. Manufacturers can reuse Styrofoam in these forms to create a high R value for the building material.<\/p>\n

Portland, Oregon-based BluBloc<\/a> is the latest player in this game. According to DJC Oregon<\/a><\/em>, the company is making its forms from a mixture of 85% reused polystyrene foam, and 15% concrete. CEO Michael Miner notes that the average house built from the company’s forms would use 2500 pounds of the material (and keep it out of landfills).<\/p>\n

BluBloc isn’t the first player in this market, but it’s good to see new companies which see the benefit of making use of this hard-to-recycling material. Know of other innovative (re)uses of Styrofoam in the building industry? Tell us about them…<\/p>\n

Also on our radar this week:<\/p>\n

Is single-stream recycling going away?<\/strong> This is a tough one: single-stream recycling does increase the amount of material sent to recycling facilities… but also insures that a percentage of it will go in the trash because of contamination. Glass is one problematic material<\/a> on this front; apparently, cardboard is, also. SE Ohio recycling company Rumpke now offers commercial customers “cardboard only” containers<\/a> to ensure that more of this materials actually gets recycled, and has put together a slide show illustrating the problem.<\/p>\n

New screening tool for landfill water contamination:<\/strong> There are lots of reasons you might not want to live near a landfill; water contamination is one of the less obvious (but most dangerous). The US Geological Survey and New Jersey Pinelands Commission has created a new screening tool for estimating the potential risk posed by a given landfill<\/a>. While developed primarily for regulators, there’s no reason landfill owners and managers couldn’t make use of it also. (via Waste Dive<\/a><\/em>)<\/p>\n

Photo credit: Shutterstock<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new company in Portland, OR, is getting into the insulated concrete forms business, which means more Styrofoam kept out of the landfill.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":18753,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[8040,8304,4363,7300,8305,468,8306,11,28,8303,1586,39,7191,2968,4484,7992,8307],"yoast_head":"\nInsulated Concrete Forms: A Way To Recycle Styrofoam<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A new company in Portland, OR, is getting into the insulated concrete forms business, which means more Styrofoam kept out of the landfill.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/the-waste-biz-new-player-in-the-insulated-concrete-forms-business\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Insulated Concrete Forms: A Way To Recycle Styrofoam\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A new company in Portland, OR, is getting into the insulated concrete forms business, which means more Styrofoam kept out of the landfill.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/the-waste-biz-new-player-in-the-insulated-concrete-forms-business\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sustainablog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-07-03T17:15:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/styrofoam-trash.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jeff McIntire-Strasburg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jeff McIntire-Strasburg\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/the-waste-biz-new-player-in-the-insulated-concrete-forms-business\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/the-waste-biz-new-player-in-the-insulated-concrete-forms-business\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jeff McIntire-Strasburg\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/9b578e764fdaeb0c31f2d565d3f02b30\"},\"headline\":\"The Waste Biz: New Player In The Insulated Concrete Forms Business\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-07-03T17:15:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-07-03T17:15:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/the-waste-biz-new-player-in-the-insulated-concrete-forms-business\/\"},\"wordCount\":345,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"#wastebiz\",\"blubloc\",\"cardboard\",\"glass\",\"insulated concrete forms\",\"landfills\",\"new jersey pinelands commission\",\"ohio\",\"oregon\",\"polystyrene\",\"Portland\",\"Recycling\",\"rumpke\",\"single stream recycling\",\"styrofoam\",\"us geological survey\",\"water contamination\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Business\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/the-waste-biz-new-player-in-the-insulated-concrete-forms-business\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/the-waste-biz-new-player-in-the-insulated-concrete-forms-business\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/the-waste-biz-new-player-in-the-insulated-concrete-forms-business\/\",\"name\":\"Insulated Concrete Forms: A Way To Recycle Styrofoam\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-07-03T17:15:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-07-03T17:15:01+00:00\",\"description\":\"A new company in Portland, OR, is getting into the insulated concrete forms business, which means more Styrofoam kept out of the landfill.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/the-waste-biz-new-player-in-the-insulated-concrete-forms-business\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/the-waste-biz-new-player-in-the-insulated-concrete-forms-business\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/the-waste-biz-new-player-in-the-insulated-concrete-forms-business\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Waste Biz: New Player In The Insulated Concrete Forms Business\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/\",\"name\":\"Sustainablog\",\"description\":\"Since 2003, Sustainablog has been one of the pioneers of sustainability news online.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Sustainablog\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/cropped-sblog-logo_3b.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/cropped-sblog-logo_3b.jpg\",\"width\":200,\"height\":142,\"caption\":\"Sustainablog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/9b578e764fdaeb0c31f2d565d3f02b30\",\"name\":\"Jeff McIntire-Strasburg\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/36b723ef9244464afe2e59d68b238a07?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/36b723ef9244464afe2e59d68b238a07?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jeff McIntire-Strasburg\"},\"description\":\"Jeff McIntire-Strasburg is the founder and editor of sustainablog. You can keep up with all of his writing at Facebook, and at Google+\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/author\/jeffmcintirestrasburg\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Insulated Concrete Forms: A Way To Recycle Styrofoam","description":"A new company in Portland, OR, is getting into the insulated concrete forms business, which means more Styrofoam kept out of the landfill.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/the-waste-biz-new-player-in-the-insulated-concrete-forms-business\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Insulated Concrete Forms: A Way To Recycle Styrofoam","og_description":"A new company in Portland, OR, is getting into the insulated concrete forms business, which means more Styrofoam kept out of the landfill.","og_url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/the-waste-biz-new-player-in-the-insulated-concrete-forms-business\/","og_site_name":"Sustainablog","article_published_time":"2015-07-03T17:15:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":350,"url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/styrofoam-trash.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jeff McIntire-Strasburg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jeff McIntire-Strasburg","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/the-waste-biz-new-player-in-the-insulated-concrete-forms-business\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/the-waste-biz-new-player-in-the-insulated-concrete-forms-business\/"},"author":{"name":"Jeff McIntire-Strasburg","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/9b578e764fdaeb0c31f2d565d3f02b30"},"headline":"The Waste Biz: New Player In The Insulated Concrete Forms Business","datePublished":"2015-07-03T17:15:01+00:00","dateModified":"2015-07-03T17:15:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/the-waste-biz-new-player-in-the-insulated-concrete-forms-business\/"},"wordCount":345,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization"},"keywords":["#wastebiz","blubloc","cardboard","glass","insulated concrete forms","landfills","new jersey pinelands commission","ohio","oregon","polystyrene","Portland","Recycling","rumpke","single stream recycling","styrofoam","us geological survey","water contamination"],"articleSection":["Business"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/the-waste-biz-new-player-in-the-insulated-concrete-forms-business\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/the-waste-biz-new-player-in-the-insulated-concrete-forms-business\/","url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/the-waste-biz-new-player-in-the-insulated-concrete-forms-business\/","name":"Insulated Concrete Forms: A Way To Recycle Styrofoam","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-07-03T17:15:01+00:00","dateModified":"2015-07-03T17:15:01+00:00","description":"A new company in Portland, OR, is getting into the insulated concrete forms business, which means more Styrofoam kept out of the landfill.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/the-waste-biz-new-player-in-the-insulated-concrete-forms-business\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/the-waste-biz-new-player-in-the-insulated-concrete-forms-business\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/the-waste-biz-new-player-in-the-insulated-concrete-forms-business\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Waste Biz: New Player In The Insulated Concrete Forms Business"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/","name":"Sustainablog","description":"Since 2003, Sustainablog has been one of the pioneers of sustainability news online.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization","name":"Sustainablog","url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/cropped-sblog-logo_3b.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/cropped-sblog-logo_3b.jpg","width":200,"height":142,"caption":"Sustainablog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/9b578e764fdaeb0c31f2d565d3f02b30","name":"Jeff McIntire-Strasburg","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/36b723ef9244464afe2e59d68b238a07?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/36b723ef9244464afe2e59d68b238a07?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jeff McIntire-Strasburg"},"description":"Jeff McIntire-Strasburg is the founder and editor of sustainablog. You can keep up with all of his writing at Facebook, and at Google+","sameAs":["https:\/\/sustainablog.org"],"url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/author\/jeffmcintirestrasburg\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18752"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/56"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18752"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18752\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}