 Environmental Impact of Raw Material Acquisition
Reduces Demand on Virgin Resources
Fiber glass is made from sand (a rapidly renewing resource) or recycled glass (a secondary raw material). Slag wool insulation is made from recycled blast furnace slag — a by-product of other industries. Manufacturers of slag wool insulation sometimes recover blast furnace slag from landfills to reuse as insulation.
Other insulations rely on virgin materials or remove precious recycled content from the waste stream thereby requiring manufacturers to look to virgin resources for their products. For example, by using recycled newsprint for insulation, the manufacturers of cellulose insulation have removed newsprint from the recycling stream and forced printers to rely upon virgin, rather than recycled, newsprint. This translates into a further loss of precious raw timber resources.
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Today's fiber glass insulation contains upwards of 40% recycled glass, depending upon the manufacturing facility. |
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One day, the industry hopes to have access to recycling capabilities for building materials like fiber glass insulation, which can be reclaimed from demolition debris and recycled into new product. |
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