ECOsurfaces

Rubber flooring, never the sexiest of commercial building materials, is finally ready for swimsuit season thanks to the Lancaster, Pennsylvania–based manufacturer Dodge-Regupol. Their new beach-themed ECOsand line of recycled rubber flooring is a showcase for the company’s development of smaller EPDM “bits”—tiny colored granules of Ethylene-Propylene Diene Monomer—which are bound with 100 percent postconsumer rubber to create the .2-inch-thick surface. “We realized how versatile these EPDM chips are,” marketing director Kathleen Keller says. “You can really change the look and design of the product by changing the chip size.” The result is a dozen patterns that range from mottled pebbly browns to a spray of turquoise flecked with purple and black. And while the company may have gone a step too far with the names—ECOsand is available in such patterns as Rock Lobster, Calamari, and Teaky Torch—they don’t prevent the line from working for most land-locked interiors.

The focus for ECOsand was on style, but the company’s entire line of rubber flooring—grouped under the name ECOsurfaces—is also environmentally sustainable. Not only are all ECOsurfaces made from recycled rubber, but they are manufactured through a process requiring minimal water, no heat, and no smokestacks. Moreover, the flooring itself can contribute to greener buildings; architects and designers who use ECOsand can earn up to five points toward LEED certification. It’s not exactly a beach party, but it’s definitely more rad than a lot of the noxious alternatives.

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Composition
Postconsumer tire rubber and 30 percent postindustrial EPDM, bound with a polyurethane water-based polymer.

Properties
Primarily indoor and outdoor flooring, but it can also be used in roofing, fixturing, and even furniture. One buyer upholstered a chair in ECOsurfaces flooring.

Applications
Highly durable; slip-and-stainresistant; emits low volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Distributor
Gerbert Ltd.
715 Fountain Ave.
P.O. Box 4944
Lancaster, PA 17604-4944
T. (717) 299-5035
www.gerbertltd.com