More Than a Great View

The Company Profile is an Earth911.com series highlighting consumer goods and services making a difference through product stewardship and recycling. Products and services featured do not pay for placement and are not endorsed by Earth911.com.

You may know by now that windows can’t be recycled with glass containers in your local program. In fact, it’s difficult to recycle windows, period. But what if they were made using recycled material in the first place?

That’s exactly what Andersen Windows has set out to create. Earth911.com spoke with Andersen Windows’ Corporate Affairs Manager, Susan Roeder, about how to make windows from recycled content and what it means for the green construction industry.

Andersen's 100 Series is manufactured with 14 percent recycled glass and 40 percent reclaimed wood. Photo: Andersen Windows

Laying the Framework

Andersen Windows has been manufacturing doors and windows since 1903. Based in Bayport, Minn., the company’s manufacturing plant is a 3-million-square-foot facility covering 65 acres and can produce more than 6 million wood windows and doors annually.

“There are lots of wood window manufacturers in this area,” says Roeder. “A century ago many lumber barons came to the Midwest because of the plentiful resources and the mighty rivers needed to move the logs.”

Among Andersen’s offerings is the 100 Series, which launched in the western U.S. last year. This product is manufactured using up to 14 percent recycled glass and a wood composite known as Fibrex®. Fibrex is an Andersen creation that uses 40 percent reclaimed wood in the form of sawdust reprocessed into wood fiber.

Closing the Loop

So, how exactly do you produce a window using recycled material? For Andersen, the first step was research and development.

“We are continuously looking for ways to use recycled material in our products,” says Roeder. “Because of this, we’ve been able to reclaim 99 percent of the material used in manufacturing.”

The glass Andersen uses in its products has a recycling story, too.  The glass contains pre-consumer recycled glass using glass cutlet – cut-off pieces from the panes of glass that would otherwise be manufacturing waste.

Andersen scientists were the creative force behind Fibrex, which the company launched in 1994. Fibrex not only uses recycled sawdust, but it too can be recycled.  End cut of Fibrex material can be reground and extruded into new material for window and door frames.

The end result is that an Andersen Series 100 wood window can contain as much as 24 percent recycled content.

Achieving Efficiency

"We also hear great stories from customers about the old Andersen Windows they find in remodeling projects," says Andersen Windows' Corporate Affairs Manager Susan Roeder. "They often send us a label found on the window that could be 100 years old." Photo: Andersen Windows

Andersen is able to market its windows to builders seeking Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certification, not only because of their recycled content, but also the energy performance.

The windows are designed to block out heat in the summer and retain it in the winter, and they meet ENERGY STAR qualifications in all climate zones.

But for a company focused on getting the most out of its materials, Andersen prides itself on the windows’ durability.

“Our windows are built to last,” says Roeder. “The Andersen Windows in my home are 40-years-old and working beautifully.

Knowing that windows will eventually need to be replaced, Andersen is currently researching disposal options, as well as how to recycle the materials in the future.

Ahead of the Curve

The emphasis on green building has not seen much change for Andersen’s manufacturing. When the government released criteria for energy-efficient windows, Andersen was already in compliance with existing products.

“We’ve always been at the forefront of energy-efficiency,” says Roeder. “We see Fibrex and our composite effort being a key as we move forward, since we’re committed to meeting and exceeding green building expectations.”

Andersen also values energy efficiency when it comes to company operations. When its manufacturing plant needed a new power source, the company worked with the EPA and Minnesota’s Pollution Control Agency to build its own steam power plant.

The plant opened in 2007 and uses sawdust as fuel to create steam. This steam provides all of the heating and cooling demand for the manufacturing facility in addition to energy used to power equipment. It has won several awards and accolades, and other manufacturers often ask to study Andersen’s model of renewable energy.

Favorite of the Three R’s

For Roeder, it all begins with reducing. “I think it’s important to reduce because this means there’s less to reuse and recycle in the first place.”