Owens Corning Increases Recycled Content in PINK Fiberglas(TM) Insulation to 40 Percent
November 18 2008 - 2:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
Company maintains highest level of certified recycled content for
fiberglass insulation in North America; Drives initiatives to keep
glass out of landfills BOSTON, Nov. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- At
the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Boston, Mass.,
Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) announced it has increased the certified
recycled content in its flagship PINK Fiberglas(TM) insulation to a
minimum of 40 percent. At this level of recycled content, the
amount of waste glass diverted from landfills could form a two-lane
glass highway that extends 1.3 times around the world(1). The
certification, supplied by leading, independent third-party
certifier Scientific Certification Systems (SCS), demonstrates a
five percent increase over its prior level and maintains the
product line's status as the fiberglass insulation with the highest
level of certified recycled content in North America. (Photo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081118/AQTU117) In addition
to the environmental benefits of utilizing post-industrial and
post-consumer waste, the use of recycled content in PINK
Fiberglas(TM) insulation also helps reduce Owens Corning's energy
use and C02 emissions by nearly 13 percent. Manufacturing
fiberglass with recycled glass requires significantly less energy.
"Glass takes over a million years to break down and for every piece
kept out of a landfill, we not only reduce waste, but put the glass
to work as insulation to help increase energy efficiency in the
built environment," said Frank O'Brien-Bernini, chief
sustainability officer for Owens Corning. "Increasing the recycled
content of our products also enables us to reduce the energy
intensity of our manufacturing process, which fulfills our
company's commitment to greening its products and processes." As a
result of these efforts, Owens Corning is one of the largest users
of recycled glass in the world. To continue to help the market find
additional sources of recycled glass, Owens Corning is leading
initiatives with regional recyclers and processors to invest in
technologies that will reduce the amount of glass sent to
landfills, either because no local recycling programs exist or due
to technical limitations in recycling different types and colors of
glass. One such program involves Strategic Materials Inc., a
Texas-based processor of scrap glass collected from a diverse range
of sources including new curbside recycling programs. Once
construction is completed, the glass the company will recycle at
plants in Texas and Georgia will keep approximately 12,500 tons of
glass per month from going to a landfill, and be reused in products
including Owens Corning insulation. "The leadership demonstrated by
companies such as Owens Corning to continually increase the content
of recycled material in their products is actually driving the
creation of local and regional recycling programs," said Curt
Bucey, president of Strategic Materials Inc. "Glass recycling is
very effective in reducing the need for natural resources and
minimizing landfill waste. It's also key to reducing energy use and
decreasing harmful emissions, and should be a part of our nation's
energy policy." SCS approved the certification of PINK
Fiberglas(TM) insulation, as well as the company's commercial
fiberglass products, after a rigorous four-step process that
included a comprehensive audit of the company's claims, including
visits to manufacturing facilities to see the process and interview
plant personnel. This recognition by SCS assures building
professionals using Owens Corning fiberglass insulation of the
recycled content in order to help achieve LEED(R) certification and
meet other green building guidelines. About Owens Corning Owens
Corning (NYSE:OC) is a leading global producer of residential and
commercial building materials, glass fiber reinforcements and
engineered materials for composite systems. A Fortune 500 company
for 54 consecutive years, Owens Corning is committed to driving
sustainability through delivering solutions, transforming markets
and enhancing lives. Founded in 1938, Owens Corning is a
market-leading innovator of glass fiber technology with sales of $5
billion in 2007 and 18,000 employees in 26 countries on five
continents. Additional information is available at
http://www.owenscorning.com/. About Strategic Materials, Inc.
Strategic Materials is the largest glass processor in North America
selling approximately 1.3 million tons of glass cullet each year
from both post-industrial and post-consumer scrap glass sources,
including residential collection programs to bottle and plate glass
manufacturers. It operates a network of 31 processing plants and
aggregation depots across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Additional
information is available at http://www.strategicmaterials.com/. (1)
Based on the quantity of Owens Corning PINK Fiberglas(TM)
insulation produced in 2007. The color PINK is a registered
trademark of Owens Corning. Copyright (C) 2008 Owens Corning
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081118/AQTU117
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Owens Corning CONTACT: Ried
Artis of Owens Corning, +1-419-248-5577, ; or Lisa Heathman of HMH,
+1-503-295-1922, , for Owens Corning Web site:
http://www.owenscorning.com/ http://www.strategicmaterials.com/
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