DALTON, Ga. — The colors blue and green are primary hues in a new Styrofoam insulation to be produced at Dow Chemical’s plant here — the only place in North America to create the product.
Blue is the color of the Styrofoam Extruded Polystyrene Foam Insulation that Dow officials said will make the environment greener and cleaner.
“This will save 700 million trees,” Tim Thomas, Dow’s Dalton site leader, boasted during a celebration and tree planting ceremony announcing the new technology Wednesday.
“This will also change millions of lives,” he said.
Styrofoam Insulation
Properly installed in buildings, the new insulation could reduce carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to:
* Taking 83,000 cars off the road for a year
* Reducing vehicle travel by 1.4 trillion miles, or more than 56 million trips around the world
* Saving approximately 70 billion gallons of gasoline
Source: Dow Chemicals
Dow says the new Styrofoam-making process is “green” because the new foaming agent used does not deplete atmospheric ozone. And, it’s an extremely effective insulator, saving energy used to heat and cool businesses and homes, Mr. Thomas said.
The Dow plant commissioned here in 1965 has been making Styrofoam since 1988 using the old process.
Dow scientist Simon P. Lee, who was recognized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for his contribution to the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, led the team that created the new foaming agent.
The Dow plant here will be converted fully to the new technology well before the January 2010 deadline set by the Montreal Protocol, an international agreement to protect the ozone layer. The company plans to install the technology at all of its North American plants later this year, officials said.
Dalton Councilwoman Denise Wood said she is elated over Dow’s environmental efforts in the city.
Last year, the Dalton-Whitfield Regional Solid Waste Authority and Dow joined in a system that uses methane harvested from the landfill to help power the Dow plant.
“This is a wonderful project to piggyback with the landfill gas,” Mrs. Wood said. “This is great for Dalton and Whitfield County and a great investment by Dow.”
