Miscellaneous Questions about Recycling
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Q: I bought a manufactured home 2 years ago. I want to try and do some things to improve the home. I would prefer to live in home-made house built of natural materials, but will have to work with what I have at the moment. The house has carpeting throughout. I have been thinking I would like to replace with bamboo flooring or some other type of non-toxic flooring that I could sweep and mop. Last night I wondered if I might be able to infuse and cover the carpet in some type of sealant, I don't know what...I have read about a sealant to use on toxic building materials, to seal in the toxins. What else? maybe beeswax? some sort of a hard drying natural epoxy? Is there any material that might work? Is there any possibility that I could build a clay layer of flooring on top of the carpet? I figure the carpet has some insulation value, and if I tear it out I will have to throw it away. So, why not just seal it in place? It's already at least a few years old, so I think it has
perhaps released many gases it may have had to release, but I don't really know. Any thoughts on this topic?

A: Your question can be answered if you are prepared to do some experimentation. BioShield has some natural wax products that may work. I have discussed this with a friend and he feels that the carpet will not know the difference nor the wax. You may have to put on several coats or more to get the feel and look you want. If you are working with a pile or shag type carpet then the amount of wax may be significant. Berber and other low pile carpets will work much better. You may end up with a mess and have to pull the carpet anyway, and that would be a total loss as no one would be able to use the carpet at all. Other options include: donating it to a charity, using it as mulch for a garden, selling it.

Q: I have been planning and designing several earthen abodes to live in. I like the article about the shipping containers and would love to contact this gentleman. If you have any advice on shipping containers I would love to hear it. From what I understand they are strong and waterproof. Building a retaining wall one side might be wise but could they actually support the weight of soil etc.

A: For starters go to http://www.fabprefab.com/fabfiles/containerbayhome.htm. Containers are so strong you can stack up to 12 on top of each other. The US is importing more product than exporting so containers are accumulating faster than we can get rid of them. There is a strong movement toward designing container homes that is quite incredible.

Q: Why oh why can I never find anything on building with old refrigerators? I have figured a 12 X 24 studio would take no more than 50 discarded units you could pick up at any rural waste station where you pay to dump your trash. They have at a few fridges sitting out every day just to give away. You dig a shallow trench (12/24), set them side by side, bolt them from the inside to create a tight snug fit, then pour cement in the space. You can just do the trench or go for the whole floor (wood floor would be easy too), then you set the remaining units on their sides on top of the fridges with large gaps for double pane windows (you can grow plants in that space). For a roof you sink rafters into the metal so they are flush with the roof line...then lay thick plywood 4 X 8 sheets covered with roll roofing...pop in a door and you have it. I cannot see why no one is thinking of this. That home is 95% free, and more insulated than anything.

A: More than a few of us have given the idea some thought. Here in Crestone there is one house built with refrigerators for the foundation. I have not seen it yet but know that the house is finished and stable. A more refined version would be to build how you describe and then use icynene to seal any and all gaps on the outside then finish with elastomeric stucco. The issue I see is that folks talk about it but rarely do it. I dare you!! Check out www.flickr.com/photos/stinky_ben/tags/fridgehenge/ .

C: You bet I will do it...and stucco the outside and panel the inside...or maybe leave the inside "as is"...consider all that storage space!

Q: I have been thinking for a long time about building my own in-ground and/or indoor pool. I've given a lot of thought to using "green," alternatives, or recycled materials, but haven't found any information on the internet about doing so. The soil here is a sand/clay mix. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

A: Great question! One material used for water containment is bentonite. Check out these two sites for starters:

http://www.coloradolining.com/products/clay_liners.htm
http://www.waterandwastewater.com/www_services/ask_tom_archive/wyoming_bentonite_pond_liners_and_sealants.htm

Of course one needs to think about embodied energy or what it takes to harvest, manufacture and transport this product. That seems to be the sticking point with any manufactured item in our country or the world today. Whenever I plan a project I have a list of requirements for the materials I will be using. 90% of the materials have to be found locally (within 100 miles). At least 80% of the project are from recycled materials. If at all possible the materials are eco friendly.

With that said, when it comes to ponds and pools, a waterproof liner is first on the materials list. The standard deck and pool liners are usually not very eco friendly like EPDM. One however can find EPDM that is left over from construction and consider it recycling. (Matter of consciousness) Another solution would be inner tubes. I have used inner tubes to seal the joints between panels on domes prior to attaching roofing. Again, there is the bonding agent that would be used to seal the inner tube material together. Look for lead free bonding agents. There are great sources for pond liners that are eco friendly through some of the pond supply houses (azponds.com). All in all, any project that entails recycled materials will be somewhat more involved as the process of acquiring the materials can be involved. However, in the name of environmental awareness, no matter how difficult the process it is the preferred method.

C: Many folks don't know this but copper and steel roofing have approx 35% recycled content and aluminum is about 95%. There are are "green" benefits as well.

Q: I came upon this link for an architect utilizing metal shipping containers to put together what he claims to be a fast built and strong home. I once talk to a man with environmental sensitivity who wanted to be able to use those for himself but couldn't figure out how. I live in Florida and want something strong and I also worry a metal house might attract heat , but I still think it looks very promising . I wanted you to see them . Tell me what your opinion is ? Here is the link: architectureandhygiene.com

A: This is the second reference I have seen lately to the use of shipping containers as modular elements in house construction. It seems to be an idea whose time has come, partly because there are lots of these containers piling up in the U.S. since our trade deficit favors this. In general it is a good thing to recycle materials that otherwise have no further use for their intended purpose, and this is true here.

As for whether one can make a comfortable house out of these metal boxes, you have hit on one of the  prime concerns: insulation...it is essential. There are many ways to insulate these containers, so this is not a big concern. Another concern that many people would have is whether a metal box would have adverse health effects because of EMF (electro-magnetic frequencies) generation or propagation. Some people are sensitive to these while others are not.

There is no doubt that these containers can be used to fabricate very strong shells that would withstand substantial abuse from the ravages of nature.

Q: I wish to make floor tile out of pulverized eggshell. What can I add to the pulverized eggshell as a bonding agent? My target is to make it for floor tile that can be produced with variety in color.

A: I could not come up with a natural bonding agent that would meet the requirements needed for a tile.  However, here are some ideas.  Dye varying amounts of the powder with natural dyes and press the powder into tile sized clay slabs and fire.  Low fire clay will work if the slab is thick enough to withstand peoples weight.  There is a product called Hydrostone which is a type of plaster... fast setting and harder than regular plaster.  Build tile shaped forms (there are many forms available commercially that are used for making pavers also) then using the same technique as above for design. 

C: Three observations on shipping containers. According to the tags on the doors, the timber component (the floor) almost invariably is treated with serious pesticide. There are multiple purposes to the pesticide treatments - a) to prevent transplantation of harmful insects around the world, b) to protect the structure of the floor, and c) to protect the contents from infestation and damage. The treatments are serious both in quantity, being roughly in the range of 1 to 10 pounds of pesticide in the wood, and serious in quality. Even 5 lbs is enough to kill a staggering number of insects. As often as not, these pesticides have been banned in the US (and frequently Europe too). Some cause cancer (e.g.., DDT) while others cause testicular atrophy (e.g., Phoxim). Some take hours of diligent searching to track down on the internet either because of trade names or cryptic abbreviations. Pesticides are at least somewhat volatile and almost certainly will permeate the contents over time, especially if the can gets hot. Note that the contents can include occupants; caution with food storage in containers also advised, unless strong measures are taken (e.g., remove and replace the floor with untreated wood). Please note that lacquers, varnishes, paints and plastic sheets are highly permeable to organic vapors.

Q: I was wondering if anyone has tried the bail construction method described here: http://bloggingpoet.squarespace.com/yellowdog08/2008/1/9/yellow-dog-saves-the-environment.html

A: (Kelly) I have not heard of building with baled plastic bags, although this might be possible; it has been tried with baled tires and baled paper products.

The blog post states that,"Ranchers and farmers agree it would be a good idea to find something other than straw and hay from which to build houses as increasing competition for agricultural products from the construction industry will only drive-up the cost of food."

The fact is that straw is an agricultural waste product that is often burned if not baled for some use...it has no food value, and as long as we are growing wheat, oats, barley, rice, etc. there is going to be straw as a renewable resource.

I think if one were to collect enough plastic bags to bale for construction it might be better to recycle these into more plastic bags.

C: I've long wondered about plastic bags. It's my understanding that the recycling of plastic bags exceeds the cost of virgin plastics and that most places recycle less than 1% of the plastic bags with the remainder going in landfills, lakes, rivers and streams. The city in which I live doesn't accept plastic bags in our recycling and none of our local commercial recyclers accept bags either.

Here in North Carolina straw and hay are currently being imported from Canada because we are suffering an extended drought and straw is almost never burned because is is used as mulch on farms, gardens and residential lawns. The cost of straw locally has more than doubled in the last 6 months. Straw is hard to come by, plastic bags blow down the street.

Of course you're correct about straw not having food value, most of the straw bailed locally is from grasses grown specifically for straw as almost no grain crops are grown throughout the western 2/3s of North Carolina. Locally, the biggest users of straw are those who raise pigs, horses and dairy cattle as the straw is added to their mountains of manure, allowed to rot and sold to residential homeowners as "compost."  Big business 'round here.

Anyway, I come up with lots of ideas like this (most of them involve building stuff from junk like the 100 mile per gallon street legal, low emissions vehicle I currently drive all over town http://www.lassiter.com/mov/jones.html ) but most people think me a quack (they think all poets quacks) and won't give me the time of day. In a few months or a few years someone who has enough credibility will consider using bales of plastic bags and the media will tout them a hero. It won't be the first time, I hope someone will give my idea a try.

R: (Kelly) Thanks for your analysis of the situation with straw in your neck of the woods. I am more familiar with straw in the Western US, where it isn't so highly valued. I do like your idea of baling plastic bags, if you could figure out a way to collect enough to use...they say that the state flower of New Mexico is a plastic bag hanging from mesquite tree.

Q: We live in Texas and wanted to know if we can use the shiping containers to build a family life center for our church?

A: (Kelly) You can use shipping containers as components for almost any sort of building purpose. At the bottom of this article is a picture of a school that is built almost entirely with them: Containers. The main thing that has to be done is to make sure that they are well-insulated, or they will be unbearable to be in. Also, make sure that the foors are not contaminated with toxic preservative.