Materials Handbook

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects. Concentrations of many VOCs are consistently higher indoors (up to ten times higher) than outdoors. VOCs are emitted by a wide array of products numbering in the thousands. Examples include: paints and lacquers, paint strippers, cleaning supplies, pesticides, building materials and furnishings, office equipment such as copiers and printers, correction fluids and carbonless copy paper, graphics and craft materials including glues and adhesives, permanent markers, and photographic solutions.

Organic chemicals are widely used as ingredients in household products. Paints, varnishes, and wax all contain organic solvents, as do many cleaning, disinfecting, cosmetic, degreasing, and hobby products. Fuels are made up of organic chemicals. All of these products can release organic compounds while you are using them, and, to some degree, when they are stored.

Reid Supply encourages all of their vendors to comply with Low VOC standards where possible.

NEMA (National Electric Manufacturer's Association) established an energy efficiency motors program that provides highly energy efficient products for consumers. Choosing energy efficient NEMA Premium® designated motors will save you money in total energy operating cost and will improve overall system reliability.

NEMA Premium® labeled electric motors will assist purchasers to optimize motor systems efficiency, reduce electrical power consumption and costs, and improve system reliability. It is estimated that the NEMA Premium® efficiency motor program would save 5,800 gigawatts of electricity. This translates to preventing nearly 80 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere over the next 10 years -- equivalent to keeping 16 million cars off the road.

Recycled-content products are made from materials that would otherwise have been discarded. That means these products are made totally or partially from material contained in the products you recycle, like aluminum soda cans or newspaper. Recycled-content products also can be items that are rebuilt or re-manufactured from used products such as toner cartridges or computers. There are more than 4,500 recycled-content products available, and this number continues to grow. In fact, many of the products people regularly purchase contain recycled-content.

Material diverted from the waste stream during a manufacturing process. Excluded is reutilization of materials such as rework, regrind or scrap generated in a process and capable of being reclaimed within the same process that generated it.

Material generated by households or by commercial, industrial and institutional facilities in their role as end-users of the product, which can no longer be used for its intended purpose. This includes returns of material from the distribution chain." For the purposes of the calculation, the term 'product' refers to the final product as delivered to the construction site and incorporated in the works.

This is any material that was used by a consumer and then recycled for use in a new product. A product label might indicate how much post-consumer recycled content that product contains, by percentage-look for a PCR figure on the label. Paper, plastic, steel, and rubber are among the post-consumer discards that get recycled into such things as insulation, park benches, carpets, and napkins. Buying products made of PCR content salvages material that would otherwise end up in a landfill and puts it to good use, while saving "virgin" resources.

When we avoid making garbage in the first place, we don't have to worry about disposing of waste or recycling it later. Changing our habits is the key — Nearly every industrial process, from manufacturing consumer goods to generating energy, produces different types of usable materials. Similar to municipal solid wastes, such as cardboard, newspapers, and beverage containers, these industrial materials are also valuable commodities that can be recycled. Waste prevention, or “source reduction,” is the strategy behind reducing and reusing waste. By designing, manufacturing, purchasing, or using materials in ways that reduce the amount or the toxicity of trash created, less waste is generated and fewer natural resources are used. Reuse is often part of the waste prevention strategy, stopping waste at the source due to preventing or delaying a material’s entry in the waste collection and disposal system. Reid Supply encourages all of our vendors to practice Waste Reducing wherever possible.