Tastes Great? Less Filling?
The Morton Arboretum Tests Eco-Friendly Recycled, Crushed Beer Bottle Pavement
LISLE, IL (September 3, 2009) -The Morton Arboretum will test a unique, new porous pavement made of crushed, recycled beer bottles, other glass, and granite fragments. The test is consistent with a decades-long commitment to protecting trees and the environment.
"We are constantly looking for more sustainable techniques, systems, and products. This FilterPaveTM porous pavement may be the way of the future," says Kris Bachtell, Arboretum Director of Collections and Facilities.
Reporters are invited to watch as crews pour the beautiful, gleaming, multi-colored product on a 1,000 square foot walkway near the Thornhill Education Center on Tuesday, September 8, at 1 p.m. Emerald Site Services of Frankfort is donating the material and installation.
Only a handful of Chicago-area locations have installed the cutting-edge material, and the Arboretum is proud to be on the leading edge of efforts to test it, Bachtell says. The glass has been specially processed to round its edges and is "structurally sound and as safe as any traditional surface," according to manufacturer Presto Geosystems, of Appleton, Wisconsin.
Porous materials, such as pavement or certain bricks, help the environment by trapping dirt and other pollutants, thereby keeping them out of the groundwater. On a traditional surface such as asphalt, these pollutants are usually swept away by fast-moving rainwater, and deposited into storm drains, detention areas, and streams.
Additionally, porous pavement can actually reduce the "heat island" effect by trapping and mitigating heat, rather than reflecting it, as a blacktop surface does. Such reduced heat in the pavement and surrounding soil is beneficial to tree roots.
The Morton Arboretum is an internationally recognized 1,700-acre outdoor museum with collections of 4,117 kinds of trees, shrubs, and other plants from around the world. The Arboretum's beautiful natural landscapes, gardens, research and education programs, and year-round family activities support its mission - the planting and conservation of trees and other plants for a greener, healthier, and more beautiful world. Conveniently located at I-88 and Rte. 53 in Lisle, Illinois, the Arboretum is open 7 days a week, 365 days a year, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Central Time or sunset, whichever is earlier. The Children's Garden is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., March through October, and 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., November through February. Visit Press Room at www.mortonarb.org, call to learn more.
Media Contacts: Gina Tedesco, (office) 630-725-2103,
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Allison Phelps, (office) 630-719-5768,
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