Charlotte Pipe has practiced environmental-friendly principles for years, both in our manufacturing processes and with our products. Our cast iron products are ICC-ES certified as 96% post-consumer recycled content and are 100% recyclable.
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Cast iron pipe and fittings are not only superior when it comes to drain, waste and vent piping systems, they are made from 96% recycled content. Millions of tons of scrap iron has been recycled over the last several decades to produce this durable product. Cast iron has been, and in some cases, is still in use after over a hundred years.
Another environmental benefit of cast iron systems occur during installation. Since no cleaning fluids or solvent cements are needed, the exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is eliminated. For underground installation, cast iron piping can handle earth load with no deflection. This means there is less digging on the front end and a trench can be as narrow as an installer decides.
Background
- A trend toward environmentally sustainable building practices has grown in recent years. The U.S. government requires that federal government projects use green building practices. Many state and local agencies also offer incentives to encourage the construction of green buildings.
- The Green Building Council administers a certification program called the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design green building rating system (LEED). There are four LEED certification levels depending on the number of points achieved by the building – from the planning stages, through construction to building completion, and even into the building’s useful life. Points are awarded in six different categories, including Materials and Resources.
- In April 2005, Big Builder magazine reported that the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) issued a new set of voluntary guidelines to help builders construct more green buildings.
- In addition to its product offerings, Charlotte Pipe is a major recycler in the state of North Carolina. Each year, we save more than 350 million pounds of scrap iron and steel from overcrowded landfills. We also operate our own water treatment facility to recycle and re-use 100% of our process water. Charlotte Pipe received a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Blue Thumb Award in 2000 and a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Environmental Excellence in Industry Award in 2001 and in 2007 for our continued efforts to reduce our demand for city water and for recycling 100 percent of our treated process water.