Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1535796
M AY / J U N E 2 0 2 5 | P E R S P E C T I V E 1 0 3 ECOR technology rescues up-cycled cellulose waste fibers after harvest like wheat and soy and grasses, avoiding the use of wood products. With heat and pressure, at the cellular level the natural materials and lignins act as a natural binder. ECOR panels can replace plywood, MDF and HDF, and sheets are available in commercial volumes in 4-foot x 8-foot and 4-foot x 10-foot with standard thicknesses. Unlike traditional wood-based composites, ECOR contains no toxins and is fully recyclable in its raw form. After building some flats and testing primer, spackle, bondo, wallpaper, rock-skins (donated by Pulp Art), and paint, Darrin and Max at Arête report that this material would in fact, be a good replacement for particle board, MDF and some lauan applications with the added note that after applying staples into the raw material and painting over them that a second sanding was needed to smooth them out, but that the sanding did not create a "fuzziness" that some traditional MDF materials do. ECOR does make a pre-primed sheet which is what was used for the paint tests, and a router test was also performed on a non-primed sheet which worked very well. Attachment of rock skins donated from Pulp Art were strong and the material accepted all of the test materials with ease. It is important to note that the addition of paints and glues instantly changes the recyclability and landfilling of the raw material. The circular economy is about balancing inputs and outputs so by focusing on the beginning and end of a product's lifecycle, and by building recycling potential into the design and production, circularity begins to emerge. As this company grows, future ECOR sites will be located at the intersection of access to agricultural and urban waste byproducts, as this minimizes not just transportation costs, but the potential disruptions in shipping for both raw materials and finished products. Currently, ECOR (ecorglobal.com) has distribution in La Jolla, CA, and Serbia. To learn more, these test flats are available at ECO SET with an updated QR code for further info allowing us to track durability over time. The flats are available to rent if you would like to test the material in person. ADG Green is also working on a physical materials sample library, hoping to be one day housed at the Guild Offices. Stay tuned as more materials are being vetted. D. FACTORY. PHOTO. COURTESY OF ECOR WEBSITE. E. ECOR COMPARES TO TRADITIONAL MDF. F. ECOR WITH ATTACHED ROCK SKINS. PHOTO BY MAX KING G. ECOR ROUTER TEST. PHOTO BY ROBIN BERG. H. FLATS BUILT AT ARÊTE. PHOTO BY DARRIN ROLLS.. TO PARTICIPATE IN THE GREEN COMMITTEE, SCAN THE CODE, GET IN TOUCH F G H D E