[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 73 (Wednesday, May 22, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E856]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENT BY KEVIN GANNON REGARDING RECYCLED HOUSING

                                 ______


                          HON. BERNARD SANDERS

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 21, 1996

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, for the benefit of my colleagues I would 
like to have printed in the Record this statement by Kevin Gannon, a 
high school student from Brattleboro, VT. Kevin was speaking at my 
recent town meeting on issues facing young people.

                           (By Kevin Gannon)

       Years ago when someone wanted to tell you not to waste a 
     resource, you might have said, ``Hey, it doesn't grow on 
     trees.'' Today, you don't have to be a tree-hugger to see the 
     irony in that. Century-old forests are disappearing, and 
     dwindling timber isn't our only environmental concerns when 
     it comes to building materials. Landfills are fast becoming 
     ``landfulls,'' and countless other resources are either 
     becoming scarce or are hazardous to process.
       But now a new generation of building products offers 
     alternatives, and as concern grows about the environment a 
     vanguard of builders [and] architects * * * around the 
     country are setting new standards for resource-efficient home 
     construction. Housing developments for conservation-conscious 
     consumers (as shown on the poster) are being built around the 
     country. To identify resource-efficient building material, 
     you must ask the following questions: Do the products use 
     virgin resources efficiently? Do they make reasonable use of 
     recycled materials? Will they offer high quality durability 
     over the life of the house, and will they help ease 
     pollution?
       Engineered wood products can use as little as half the wood 
     fiber of sawed lumber, while delivering superior performance. 
     Made from wood chips and veneers, they help to preserve large 
     trees and reduce demand for timber * * * Laminated veneer is 
     now taking the place of massive beams. The latest efforts in 
     manufacturing engineered lumber focus on making better use of 
     fast-growing trees and combining them with adhesives that 
     don't emit toxic, ureaformaldehyde * * * [Another] 
     corporation makes a product * * * which uses cotton fiber. 
     Since most paper comes from fast-growing pulpwood trees, 
     reusing it in wallboard won't spare many big, slow-growing 
     species; but there are other products that might. One is a 
     floor-sheeting panel from the Belcom Technologies. The panels 
     only need support at their corners, minimizing the number 
     needed. On a national level, that's hundreds of thousands of 
     joists--or trees--spared.
       If you really want to save wood, use steel. Using steel 
     studs in your next framing job could reduce the amount of 
     wood used in a house by up to 50%. Two-thirds of the steel 
     that goes into structural components comes from building and 
     bridge demolition, auto and industrial scrap. However, if for 
     some reason steel framing doesn't appeal to you, you can buy 
     some * * * double-dipped zinc-coated storm-guard nails [made] 
     exclusively from remelted steel.
       Recycled glass bottles have become a prime source in 
     fiberglass insulation, but an Indiana corporation has found a 
     constructive use for scrap automotive glass; in fact, 70% of 
     its new traffic tiles come from automotive glass 
     manufacturing waste. CTE Glass Products makes * * * ceramic 
     floor tiles with waste from its lightbulb manufacturing 
     division.
       There are many ways to recycle wood. In San Jose, CA, New 
     World Lumber rescues discarded redwood from the Gualdalupe 
     landfill; after planing off the weathered surfaces, it 
     assembles short sections between deducted rails to make 
     fence-board, or they slice longer pieces into lattice. The 
     firm also plans to make 24"-wide fence panels.
       Building structures to last longer is another responsible 
     approach to building. In the '90's, inexpensive materials at 
     this point don't lend themselves to that. Cheap building 
     materials can also pose health hazards; for example, 
     inexpensive particle-board releases ureaformaldehyde in your 
     home.
       Time allowing, I would speak all day about this topic.
       Congressman Sanders: Kevin, that was a very thoughtful 
     presentation. Can I ask you a very brief question? What 
     impact do you think your ideas would have on the economy in 
     terms of creating jobs, and what kind of jobs might be 
     created?
       Answer. Well, right now the remodeling business alone is a 
     $2 billion industry; that's just remodeling, not even 
     construction, which is multi-billion. And one of my ideas is 
     to create jobs. Subsidized housing is a problem in America, 
     and if we could use recycled resources, I think we could kind 
     of kill two birds with one stone.
       Congressman Sanders: So you think this idea could put 
     people to work.
       Answer. Oh, definitely.
       Congressman Sanders: Good, Kevin, thank you very much.

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