Sustainable Resins for Architectural Designs
Sustainable Resins for Architectural Designs Moving into the future with efficient, beautiful, sustainable materials is a vital component to our mission at LIGHTBLOCKS. We focus relentlessly on creating the most beautiful materials that are right for your project and right for our planet’s future. Most thermoplastic materials are recyclable. Finding smooth and practical pathways for this process is critical to keeping them in the circle of creative utility. We make certain that resins we supply keep that circle unbroken. Zero Job Site Waste of polymers can be achieved by using LIGHTBLOCKS. After studying your design, we make the correct polymer (resin) recommendation for your project, then fabricate it for you and ship it ready to install. There is no cutting or fabricating on the job site hence there is no job site waste where “live forever” polymers end up in the solid waste stream. On large projects re-usable shipping containers can also be requested to transport your materials to their destination. This helps to further reduce construction waste. Life-Cycle Accountability and Recycle-Ability is so important to our studio that we do not embed anything in our resin. Resins with embedment CANNOT be recycled efficiently (unless the entire sheet or scrap is incorporated into a new design, or unless the embedment is also a polymer.) ALL our scrap is recycled. We ONLY color or pattern the parts you need. Here are the ways we recycle materials. Re-Purposing allows all Lightblocks products, which are 100% recyclable to be turned into Post-Consumer recycled content when the design environment is once again transformed. No need to return obsolete materials to LIGHTBLOCKS, just call a local plastic recyler for pick up. If you can’t find one, call us and we’ll recycle for you; but searching locally for a recycler saves on energy costs to transport the material to us. Re-Run Recycles large drops back into inventory to be used on future projects. Since 60% of LIGHTBLOCKS projects are under $5,000 we have lots of uses for small pieces of material. This is another way Lightblocks delivers efficiency and economy for your projects. Smaller drops are cut up and used to make samples for your custom color and material requests.
The Bin collects small cutoffs, trimmings and shavings; binned up and sent to a recycling plant to be ground up and re-shaped into useful forms such as fiber or molded parts. We have recycled over 1,000,000 pounds of these resins over the last 14 years, which would otherwise languish, unchanged in landfills. Recycled Content in materials is often assumed. LIGHTBLOCKS wants our clients to understand precisely what is available to meet these needs and to do so in a clearly understandable way. No broad sweeping statements of recycled content availability only to find out that what you need is not available in the correct polymer or thickness for your project. If it is available LIGHTBLOCKS can provide it. Ask your LIGHTBLOCKS Rep for the latest information on LIGHTBLOCKS recycled content offerings and samples or call us directly. There are two types of recycled content as defined by the Federal Trade Commission; Post Consumer and Pre Consumer. Post Consumer materials are pretty obvious, any material that has been recycled after consumer use. In general the consumer is considered the end user of the product. Pre Consumer (or sometimes referred to as Post Industrial, although inaccurately) is material that is otherwise diverted from the solid waste stream after the manufacturing process but before the materials become consumer goods. There are two important distinctions to keep in mind when it comes to Pre Consumer recycled content. First, the use of this material may not be part of the direct manufacturing process; i.e. if waste material from the manufacturing line is automatically diverted back into the manufacturing process this content is not considered recycled. Second, the manufacturer must substantiate that this material would have otherwise entered into the solid waste stream. Also important to note is that LEED weights the value of Post Consumer (valued at 100%) and Pre Consumer (valued at 50%) recycled content when it comes to calculating the total recycled content of a material. To learn more about this and how to calculate the LEED value of LIGHTBLOCKS for your project call your local Rep or the factory and we will be happy to help.
lightblocks.com | p 603.889.1115 | © 2013 LIGHTBLOCKS
LEED: LIGHTBLOCKS provides materials that offer multiple avenues for contribution to LEED points and LEED Certification. The accumulation of points, awarded for compliance with requirements defined by the LEED rating system, determines the level of certification of a particular building in its entirety; silver, gold or platinum. Keep in mind that most credits in the Materials and Resource category are calculated using a percentage of the total building materials ($). The specification of LIGHTBLOCKS polymers may contribute to the credit earning potential within the materials category. LIGHTBLOCKS may have even greater impact for recycled content contributions for certification within the Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI) scope of your projects. LIGHTBLOCKS project Developers can quantify opportunities for LEED points with our materials based on your design and requirements. LEED for New Construction & Major Renovations: Materials & Resources:
MR Credit 4.1: Recycled Content: 10% MR Credit 4.2: Recycled Content: 20% MR Credit 5.1: Recycled Materials 10% Extracted, Processed & Manufactured Regionally (within 500 miles) MR Credit 5.2: Recycled Materials 20% Extracted, Processed & Manufactured Regionally (within 500 miles)
In addition, the utilization of LIGHTBLOCKS indirectly contribute to credit earning potential for MR credit 2.1 & 2.2: Construction Waste Management through Zero Job Site Waste contributing to reduced volume of total job site waste thereby not adding to the tonnage required to be diverted from the solid waste stream to obtain credits in this category. Also, look into how LIGHTBLOCKS materials and products can contribute to credit earning potential for EQ Credit 8.1 & 8.2 Daylight & Views through the use of translucent LIGHTBLOCKS for interior glazing and shading components. LEED for Commercial Interiors: Keep in mind that in a Commercial Interiors project the use of LIGHTBLOCKS can have a significantly greater impact on accumulating LEED points as the value of LIGHTBLOCKS as a percentage of the total materials used on the project is typically greater than in New Construction. The same credits listed for New Construction and Major Renovations apply to Commercial Interiors.
lightblocks.com | p 603.889.1115 | © 2013 LIGHTBLOCKS
The Bin collects small cutoffs, trimmings and shavings; binned up and sent to a recycling plant to be ground up and re-shaped into useful forms such as fiber or molded parts. We have recycled over 1,000,000 pounds of these resins over the last 14 years, which would otherwise languish, unchanged in landfills. Recycled Content in materials is often assumed. LIGHTBLOCKS wants our clients to understand precisely what is available to meet these needs and to do so in a clearly understandable way. No broad sweeping statements of recycled content availability only to find out that what you need is not available in the correct polymer or thickness for your project. If it is available LIGHTBLOCKS can provide it. Ask your LIGHTBLOCKS Rep for the latest information on LIGHTBLOCKS recycled content offerings and samples or call us directly. There are two types of recycled content as defined by the Federal Trade Commission; Post Consumer and Pre Consumer. Post Consumer materials are pretty obvious, any material that has been recycled after consumer use. In general the consumer is considered the end user of the product. Pre Consumer (or sometimes referred to as Post Industrial, although inaccurately) is material that is otherwise diverted from the solid waste stream after the manufacturing process but before the materials become consumer goods. There are two important distinctions to keep in mind when it comes to Pre Consumer recycled content. First, the use of this material may not be part of the direct manufacturing process; i.e. if waste material from the manufacturing line is automatically diverted back into the manufacturing process this content is not considered recycled. Second, the manufacturer must substantiate that this material would have otherwise entered into the solid waste stream. Also important to note is that LEED weights the value of Post Consumer (valued at 100%) and Pre Consumer (valued at 50%) recycled content when it comes to calculating the total recycled content of a material. To learn more about this and how to calculate the LEED value of LIGHTBLOCKS for your project call your local Rep or the factory and we will be happy to help.
lightblocks.com | p 603.889.1115 | © 2013 LIGHTBLOCKS
LEED: LIGHTBLOCKS provides materials that offer multiple avenues for contribution to LEED points and LEED Certification. The accumulation of points, awarded for compliance with requirements defined by the LEED rating system, determines the level of certification of a particular building in its entirety; silver, gold or platinum. Keep in mind that most credits in the Materials and Resource category are calculated using a percentage of the total building materials ($). The specification of LIGHTBLOCKS polymers may contribute to the credit earning potential within the materials category. LIGHTBLOCKS may have even greater impact for recycled content contributions for certification within the Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI) scope of your projects. LIGHTBLOCKS project Developers can quantify opportunities for LEED points with our materials based on your design and requirements. LEED for New Construction & Major Renovations: Materials & Resources:
MR Credit 4.1: Recycled Content: 10% MR Credit 4.2: Recycled Content: 20% MR Credit 5.1: Recycled Materials 10% Extracted, Processed & Manufactured Regionally (within 500 miles) MR Credit 5.2: Recycled Materials 20% Extracted, Processed & Manufactured Regionally (within 500 miles)
In addition, the utilization of LIGHTBLOCKS indirectly contribute to credit earning potential for MR credit 2.1 & 2.2: Construction Waste Management through Zero Job Site Waste contributing to reduced volume of total job site waste thereby not adding to the tonnage required to be diverted from the solid waste stream to obtain credits in this category. Also, look into how LIGHTBLOCKS materials and products can contribute to credit earning potential for EQ Credit 8.1 & 8.2 Daylight & Views through the use of translucent LIGHTBLOCKS for interior glazing and shading components. LEED for Commercial Interiors: Keep in mind that in a Commercial Interiors project the use of LIGHTBLOCKS can have a significantly greater impact on accumulating LEED points as the value of LIGHTBLOCKS as a percentage of the total materials used on the project is typically greater than in New Construction. The same credits listed for New Construction and Major Renovations apply to Commercial Interiors.
lightblocks.com | p 603.889.1115 | © 2013 LIGHTBLOCKS
