NEW MATERIAL: ShetkaSTONE
by Evelyn Lee
Recycling paper is often just about creating more (you guessed it) paper, but a Minnesotan company by the name of All Paper Recycling has been taking recycled paper and converting it into a lovely and versatile new building material called ShetkaSTONE. Completely made from all types of recycled paper (including waxed paper, glossy paper, and magazines), plants, and cloth fibers ShetkaSTONE can be used to create anything from doors, counter tops, benches, molding, soap dishes, and more.
Created by Stanly J. Shetka, president of All Paper Recycling, Inc., the patented process involved in creating ShetkaSTONE, creates a slurry made of the pre and post consumer waste which is then formed into the hardened product. Due to its recycled content, ShetkaSTONE has a 100% sustainable life cycle. Both the waste created in the manufacturing process as well as products that have become damaged or reached the end of the cycle can go back into the manufacturing process at ShetkaSTONE.
The strength and thickness of Shetkastone can be controlled during the creation process. The end product can go through any variety of construction methods including being sawed, sanded, glued, nailed and screwed together, as well as finished by sealants currently used on wood and stone.
Paper products account for 40% of the solid waste in the US, and only a small portion, (white and newspaper) are actually being recycled. The mission of All Paper Recycling, Inc. is “to reduce pre-consumer and post consumer waste through the creation of environmentally responsible products and building materials made from wastepaper, cloth or plant fiber.”
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I am a student at NYIT working on the plan for our 2006/07 Solar Decathalon competition. I would appreciate any samples you can send me for countertop materials. My address is 2457 Foxdale Avenue, Oceanside, NY 11572. Anything you can send is very much appreciated.