This table is made out of shredded paper money.
NORTH CAROLINA -- While many across the nation look for ways to be more eco-friendly, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission building is turning in to a prime example of how to do that.
The group’s furniture comes from a resource that would normally go to waste – and that preserves our forests in the meantime.
The furniture has a wheat-board core, which is basically particle board made out of wheat straw, which is usually either burned or mulched. If it were incinerated, it would release carbon into the air. Workers at the N.C. Resources Commission say carbon footprints are to blame for global warming.
"The durability used in the wheat board versus the particle board, it's just as durable, it's just as practical,” said Kevin Ball, facilities mechanical engineer. “It did cost 5 percent more to implement that product, but we feel like it's well worth it."
While many across the nation look for ways to be more eco-friendly, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission building is turning in to a prime example of how to do that.
The building also has a table made out of money. Normally, paper money, once it ends its circulation, is shredded into small strips and would typically go to the incinerator. Instead of burning it and wasting fuel costs associated with burning, the shredded money is pressed together to form a material that is dense and durable.
As for electricity, motion detectors are key. When a person walks into an office, the lights come on. When they leave there is a delay, but the lights eventually turn themselves off. A photo cell detects the amount of sunlight coming into a room. As it detects more, it dims the lights.
For more on ways to be eco-friendly yourself, check out the For Your Green Earth section of our web site.