We spoke to Kate Lowry, product manager for the Lancaster, PA-based company ECORE International, the makers of ECOsurfaces, a sustainable commercial flooring product whose main ingredient is recycled tires. ECOsurfaces not only benefits the environment, but looks stylish and feels great underfoot. ECOsurfaces is manufactured by ECORE International and distributed solely by Gerbert Limited in the United States.
How does ECOsurfaces produce and guarantee eco-friendly flooring?
Basically, our flooring product is made up of Styrene-Butadiene rubber (SBR Polymer, or post-consumer tire rubber) and Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) containing organic fillers. As a vertically integrated manufacturer, ECORE owns the production facilities for our sources of SBR and EPDM ensuring the quality and integrity of our primary ingredients. Additionally, minimal heat and water are used in the manufacturing process. We always recycle our scrap for use in underlayment products to produce good environmental stewardship of our waste stream. We’re a founding member of U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), so we have been environmentally responsible in our manufacturing and final products since 1989. We’re actually one of the most ecologically-friendly companies in this industry. Lastly, as our products are all manufactured in the USA, we have a very low transportation carbon footprint as compared to products manufactured overseas.
Where does ECOsurfaces get its recycled materials?
The SBR comes from Recycling Technologies International, our tire rubber processing and refining plant just 30 miles away from our manufacturing plant. They grind up the tire scrap and remove all debris for us, so when it arrives, it’s already ground up in a number of different sizes and has no residual dirt or metal mixed in. The SBR is the black in our floors and the EPDM is the color. The amount of EPDM that is used changes the color and pattern of the flooring. There are a number of different colors—oranges, blues, reds, greens, etc.— and there is a different percentage of recycled content for each color choice and color pattern, depending on which product is chosen in the ECOsurfaces line.
How great is the demand for sustainable flooring?
There’s a huge demand for sustainable flooring. As you know, the green movement is enormous. We recently attended a presentation on sustainable flooring in Las Vegas by USGBC. It’s amazing, the number of products that are moving toward LEED contribution, and the number of projects that are aspiring to go for a certain level of LEED certification. At ECORE, we can contribute towards up to nine points toward LEED certification in a building that is installing our product, which is fantastic. And in the commercial industry overall, there’s a very large demand for building new LEED-certified buildings and renovating existing ones to LEED standards using sustainable flooring.
ECORE International became FloorScore certified, as of October 2008. FloorScore is a third-party certification on indoor air quality through Scientific Certification Systems. FloorScore is one of the two certifications products must achieve in order to contribute toward certain LEED points.
Do you find the demand for eco-friendly flooring to be higher in newer buildings rather than in older buildings seeking renovation?
There’s a lot of demand for both. We’re seeing a lot of new construction, but that has actually slowed somewhat with the economic downturn. However, people who are renovating existing spaces are finding that it just makes sense to put in our flooring as they seek to achieve great design and be environmentally responsible.
Besides being ecofriendly, are there other benefits to installing an ECOsurfaces flooring system?
Our products are low maintenance and are in compliance with rigorous indoor air quality standards (promoting healthy environments). Our ECOsurfaces offers underlayment products, which we consider a flooring system unto itself, because it’s used behind ATMs, at banks in cash-wrap areas, and behind pharmacy counters. People find our flooring much more comfortable for someone standing on their feet for eight hours a day. It’s a lot easier on your back and legs. Other products in the line can help reduce impact sound levels in multi-story project creating a quieter environment.
Any new products in the works?
At the beginning of the year we launched 23 new patterns and ECOshapes. In the second half of 2009 we will be introducing more factory laminated products and a new maintenance coating. Beyond those introductions, we’re always looking at our product sales and figuring out how we can update our products. There’s always technology out there that is advancing, and we definitely consider ourselves on the forefront.
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