Nichiha makes a premium shake siding called Sierra but they’ve just unveiled a new fiber-cement shake for those looking for something similar at a lower price point.  Available in July 2011, NichiFrontier is made in Macon, Georgia with 50% recycled content and comes primed or stained in four colors (Hazelnut, Prairie, Shadow, and Terra).  The finish has a 15-year warranty, while the product has a limited lifetime warranty.  NichiFrontier resembles cedar shake and comes in boards of 7/16″ x 9 -1/4″ x 8′.

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CalStar Products, maker of award-winning fly ash bricks, this week announced a new paver that can be used in LEED projects in order to obtain credits for recycled content, regional materials, and stormwater design.  The paver, which is suitable for intense uses such as parking lots, alleys, crosswalks, and plazas, is made with 40% post-industrial recycled material and comes in several different colors.

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Fireclay Tile, manufacturer of Express and Debris tile, recently introduced a new line of 100% recycled-content, glass tile called Crush. Fireclay acquired the technology to make Crush from Sandhill Industries (Idaho) and now makes the eco-friendly product in California with locally-sourced, pre-consumer window glass. Crush is available in gloss or matte finishes in 40 colors and 17 sizes.  In addition, it’s fit for both residential and commercial applications and may contribute to various LEED credits.

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Resysta is an attractive, sustainable, and non-plastic alternative to wood.  With the look and feel of wood, Resysta is very durable, water-resistant and most comparable to the typically unsustainable, tropical hardwoods; however, it contains no wood.  Suitable for decking, cladding, interior wall cladding or marine applications, Resysta is flexible enough for all projects.

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Productive Building is a recycled and recyclable building system concept that was recently demonstrated for the construction of Greenhouse, a temporary, and entirely waste free, restaurant on the waterfront in Sydney, Australia.  The Productive Building system is an intriguing and fast way of creating a building with steel, straw bales, and simple interior and exterior finishes.

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