3rd Annual Recycled Product Trade Show
Set for April 2002 

The California Integrated Waste Management Board's 3rd Annual Recycled Product Trade Show is taking place at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim as this issue of Calmax is going out.

Sponsored by the Board and the Department of General Services in association with Disney, the Trade Show is a unique opportunity for product suppliers, State and local government staff, and private sector buyers to meet and discuss recycled-content products. At this expanded two-day show, exhibitors have an audience of more than 2,000 buyers who are eager to learn about the wide variety of quality cost-effective recycled-content products. Products on display this year range from construction products to promotional items.

Government agencies and businesses take advantage of the Recycled Product Trade Show to find the products they need to comply with emerging "green" purchasing policies. The State of California spends an estimated $1billion on products and supplies.

California statute requires State and local agencies to spend 50 percent of their purchase dollars on qualifying recycled-content products in 11 product categories, including:

• Paper products
• Steel products
• Plastic products
• Solvents
• Glass products
• Tire-derived products
• Compost and co-compost
• Paint
• Oil products
• Tires
• Printing and writing paper

Often the biggest barrier to buying recycled-content products (RCP) is the difficulty in finding them. The RCP database can help find items ranging from construction products to office supplies and more.

Here are a few of the companies featured at the trade show:

Tulip Corporation manufactures a complete line of crates, recycling bins, and other containers made from injection molded HDPE postconsumer feedstocks. The crates come in standard or custom colors with generic or custom-designed graphics and hot stamp decorating.

Wesflex leach and drain pipe, made from recycled plastic milk bottles, is co-extruded with white top-coat and supplied in standard 10-foot lengths. The pipes have belled ends for simple assembly without adhesive or other couplings.

SpectraTurf manufactures and installs rubber safety playground surfacing made from recycled California rubber tires.

Van Duerr Industries' thresh ramps have the anti-slip qualities of recycled rubber.

Safe Solutions LLC, a Colorado entrepreneur, turns pallets to furniture. The company transforms the weather-beaten woods of used pallets into fine furniture, including coffee tables, night tables, end tables, desks, dressers, and custom credenzas. In 1991 Safe Solutions contracted with a "green" hotel to build 345 night tables. Approximately one-third of all pallets are oak. The rest are maple, cherry, ash, poplar, beech, and tropical hardwoods, including mahogany. Safe Solutions increases the public's awareness that old pallet wood can be used to manufacture items instead of being chipped for mulch, burned, or disposed of in a landfill.

Other Considerations for Future Recycled-Content Product Manufacturers

Manufacturers should take into consideration more aspects of their products than just the recycled-content attributes. Some claims have been made that recycled-content products may contribute to poor indoor air quality. As a result, manufacturers should be prepared to share material emissions data with consumers to prove that their products are not only material-efficient, but they also promote healthy indoor environments. They should also avoid over-packaging and offer alternatives for packaging reuse or recycling.

For assistance in finding recycled-content products, contact Linda Hennessy (916) 341-6606, or visit the Recycled Content Product Database.

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Last updated: August 01, 2008