ST. CHARLES, Minn. - Envirolastech, Inc. received approval for construction of a 10-employee processing facility in St. Charles, Minnesota, at which it will recycle city waste into composite non-wood boards that it says machines and behaves much like wood for some applications, including windows.
The Winona Post reports the City of St. Charles agreed to provide four acres of land to Envirolastech for its new plant, with investment estimated at $3.5 million.
“We have proven that our recycled composite material can be used to manufacture more than 30 different green products for use in commercial and residential building and landscaping,” said Paul Schmitt, founder and chief executive officer, Envirolastech, Inc. “We have customers, established manufacturers, ready to use our material to strengthen and improve their green building and landscape products as soon as we get into production.”
Envirolastech funded its latest phase of expansion in 2014 with a 60-day Crowdfunder campaign, raising $2.5 million in 60 days with minimum investments of $10,000.
The company produces plastic pellets and plastic building products from recycled waste. The pellet form composite is used in manufacturing its plastic lumber for construction and landscaping.
Envirolastech thermoplastic technology takes recycled plastics and glass, diverted from landfills, and fly ash from municipal solid waste incinerators and turns the materials into a plastic compound. Building applications include decking, siding and replacement windows.
Photo by Envirolastech at Facebook
Envirolastech says it has devoted 19 years to develop and refine its proprietary technology. The company has completed extensive laboratory and field testing. The American Society for Testing and Materials has also validated the technology, Envirolastech says. In 2012, Envirolastech won the Clean Tech Division in the 2012 Minnesota Cup competition, which honors entrepreneurial, innovative businesses.
The Polymer Solutions Independent Testing Lab has also recognized the company’s scientific breakthrough with a Top 25 World Plastic Innovation Award. Envirolastech says products manufactured with its recycled plastic composite compounds are durable, maintenance-free, impervious to water (so they do not crack during freeze-thaw cycles), and are 100 percent recyclable.
The company says it has developed more than 750 unique formulae with different combinations of recycled plastics so it can produce composite plastic pellets specifically formulated with structural and performance characteristics matched to its exact requirements. Envirolastech says it is the only recycled plastic composite that becomes stronger, rather than more brittle, in cold temperatures. Its composite has been tested and proven to have the strength required to replace wood lumber in load-bearing applications.Envirolastch cites research on green building materials that supports its business plans. According to Navigant Research, the global market for green construction materials will grow from $116 billion in 2013 to greater than $254 billion in 2020. Research firm McGraw-Hill Construction reports that builders worldwide are shifting their construction methods toward green building and sustainable construction, with 51 percent of respondents to their survey indicating they expect more than 60 percent of their work to be green by 2015, as compared to 28 percent in 2013 and 13 percent in 2008. www.envirolastech.com.
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