Green Before Its Time
Before LEED became the hottest acronym in architecture and when green was just another pretty color, ECOsurfaces recycled rubber flooring was helping to pave the way for a movement that would change the building materials industry forever.
Introduced in 1998, ECOsurfaces products provide long wearing recycled rubber flooring to the educational, healthcare, retail, hospitality, institutional and fitness markets, among others. For more than a decade, the line has earned a reputation for durable surfacing that is as comfortable to walk on as it is fashionable, thanks to a selection of patterns and colors that make a unique design statement.
Its low life cycle costs and ease of maintenance have made ECOsurfaces products a favorite of building owners who had been searching for alternatives to VCT and carpeting. The fact that it happens to boast recycled content that is among the highest in the flooring business was a benefit that didn't catch fire until the green building movement gained traction in the past four years.
ECOsurfaces flooring is comprised of post-consumer tire rubber and ColorMill EPDM, made from post industrial waste and organic fillers. These materials are bound together using a water based polyurethane polymer. The product line is produced using a low embodied energy manufacturing process that usesminimal water, avoids heat and reuses in-line scrap to decrease waste. The result is beautiful, environmentally responsible commercial flooring that passes the strictest tests for indoor air quality, lowVOC emissions and is recyclable.
All ECOsurfaces products are FloorScore certified, meet the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) criteria for indoor air quality with low VOCs and are designed to meet the stringent criteria required to earn points under 2 out of the 6 categories of LEED. Based on these criteria, ECOsurfaces products can assist specifiers by potentially contributing up to 7 points toward LEED certification.
Available in sheets and tiles, with 83 color patterns and 10 different collections, the ECOsurfaces line offers architects and designers endless designs possibilities. Collections include ECOsand, ECOearth, ECOrocks, ECOstone, ECOstars, ECOnights, ECOshapes, ECOrx and ECOmax flooring, as well as ECOcomfort and ECOsilence underlayment materials. All products are flexible and easy to cut, so virtually any idea can be translated into attractive floor installations.
Custom colors and logos are easily achieved with ECOsurfaces Commercial Flooring. And for the ultimate in versatility, the new ECOshapes collection gives designers the ability to achieve the look of a custom floor with a fraction of the effort. These pre-cut shapes, in a variety of color patterns, provide quick and easy out-of-the-box options, for stunning floor creations.
ECOsurfaces products are manufactured by ECORE International in Lancaster, PA and distributed domestically by Gerbert Limited. As North America's largest user of scrap tire rubber, ECORE salvages more than 80 million pounds of scrap tire rubber from landfills each year, converting them into durable product solutions for commercial, industrial and architectural applications.
As a founding and active member of the U.S. Green Building Council, ECORE has made the responsible development of innovative, sustainable products and solutions a top priority.