Go Green: a special advertising section of tHe BerMUda sUn 1

GOGreena special advertising section of tHe BerMUda sUn • JUne 26, 2013

Woodworkers BS&R say Accoya is a solid investmentBy AmAndA dAleadale@bermudasun.bmIn a coastal climate the beauty of natural wood can fade with the elements of sun, wind and salt water, but at carpenters BS&R Group you can now find a sustainable solution.

The family woodwork-ing business has started making shutters, (weather-sealed) windows and doors from Accoya, a high performance, low mainte-nance acetylated wood.

By purchasing these quality products, not only can you help the environ-ment by using a sustain-able wood, but your home will look beautiful for longer.

Accoya is radiata pine, a fast-growing tree. It is only sourced from sustainable forests, so when one part of the forest is cut down, another part is replanted at the same time, to ensure reforestation.

The wood is sourced from FSC (Forest Stewardship Council), PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest

Certification) and other regionally-certified woods.

Accoya modified wood is produced by Accsys Technologies PLC, that has a wood production plant in Europe, and offices in the Netherlands, the US and UK.

The company describes Accoya as “the world’s leading high technology long-life wood”, renowned for durability, stability, reliability and its aesthet-ics.

Long-lastingBS&R Group brings in

the wood as raw lumber, Anthony Madeiros,

general manager, said: “Accoya wood has been available for over a decade, but although it’s quite new, the process of treating radiata pine with vinegar has been around for a long time, but was never mass-produced.

“The technology is basic stuff; it’s essentially using vinegar (acetic acid) on the wood.

“They make the vinegar into a vapour, put the wood into a chamber and then pressure-treat the

wood with the vapour.”He said (free) hydroxyl

groupings (oxygen and hydrogen atoms) in wood make certain parts more susceptible to water con-duction, rot, termites and bugs than others — com-monly referred to as sap-wood.

Free hydroxyl groups absorb and release water according to changes in cli-matic conditions, swelling and shrinking (‘moving’) the wood.

“Acetic acid naturally occurs in wood but this process puts more of it in there and creates a chemi-cal reaction, changing the hydroxyl groups into acetyl groups,” said Mr Madeiros.

“This makes the wood impervious to rot and other types of decay.”

When transformed to an acetyl group, the ability of the wood to absorb water is greatly reduced, making the wood more stable and durable.

The acetylation process is non-toxic and simply n Photo suPPlied

DUrABLe: TonyMadeiros,BS&Rowner,left,andsonAnthony,generalmanager,withawindowconstructedfromAccoyawood.See sustAinABle, page 2

modifies the chemical structure of the wood, from the surface to the core.

It therefore introduces no chemicals not already found in the wood.”

Accoya has both LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and FSC certifications.

The company says: “By using sustainably-grown wood and improving its properties without adding toxins, Accoya helps to protect threatened species, rainforests and the envi-ronment.”

It adds: “Accoya is help-ing to protect the world’s precious hardwood resources and is guaran-teed for 50 years in exte-rior use and 25 years when used in the ground.

Salt-resistant“This long life also pro-

vides an added benefit — helping to reduce carbon emissions.”

Mr Madeiros said: “Accoya has been tested to last at least 50 years above ground, without paint, and 25 years underground.

“In Bermuda, wood rots quickly due to our climate, so Accoya can stand up to the elements better than cedar will on doors and shutters.

“It’s salt-resistant. Accoya is even used for underground piles in the ground in the Netherlands and other places, so it can stand up to our tough cli-mate.

“If you do paint it, the paint will last three or four times longer because the wood doesn’t ‘move’ with the climates.

“This means it doesn’t stretch the paint, ensuring that it lasts much longer.

“Accoya is something all wood workers have been waiting for.

“It allows us to do the work we love without hav-ing to answer the question of rot and sustainability.

“We can provide a great product for our customers which will last a lot longer, is maintenance-free and won’t corrode.”

He said: “We have stopped offering other types of shutters because it is so good. We used to offer mahogany, teak, western red cedar and Spanish cedar, but Accoya meets a good price point more com-petitive and the product is great.

“It is dimensionally stable (it doesn’t ‘move’) and is virtually rot-proof, outlasting teak and other exotic (tropical) hard-woods.

“These exotic hardwoods are very unsustainable. So, there’s no point in using wood from unsustainable forests when you have this product.

“This is a very green, long-lasting product, at a good price.

“There is no need to do anything for maintenance; you don’t even have to paint the shutters, just leave them to weather, and they will turn a silvery-white.

“It’s less expensive than Virginia cedar and mahog-any.

“It costs around $9.50 to $10.50 for a board-foot, compared with $12.50 for mahogany or Virginia cedar.

“And you don’t have to cut out any bad grain,

knots or sap wood, so it’s 100 per cent usable — you are using less of the lum-ber.”

BS&R Group has also started producing gates, pergolas, railing and deck-ing from the wood.

“We are doing anything

with it, even garden furni-ture,” said Mr Madeiros.

“We have been doing products with it for about five months and people are taking to it well. It’s tried and tested.”

Potential customers can find out more at the

Accoya’s website at www.accoya.com.

BS&R GRoup is situ-ated at 99 Middle Road, Devonshire. Call 236-2886 or go to www.bermudastrip-ping.com. See also www.accoya.com/sustainability.

n Photo courtesy of AccoyA/Accsys technologies Plc

STrenGTH: Accoyawoodwasusedtomakethis‘sunken’bridge,theMosesBridge,intheNetherlands.ItprovidesvisitorswithaccesstoFortdeRoovere,a17thcenturyfort.

Advantages nAnon-toxic,recyclablerawmaterialnLightyetstrong,andeasilyworkednGoodsoundabsorptionpropertiesn Itcanbeusedasabio-fuelattheendofitsproductlifen Theonlytrulysustainableresourceforconstructionn Anaturalinsulatorandsoreduces the energy need-edforheatingn Reduces global warming,astreesandwoodproductsactascarbonsinksnSustainableandhealthy—everycubicmetreusedsaves0.8tonnesofCO2n Dimensionallystable:Swellingandshrinkageisreducedby75percentormore;paintsandvarnisheslastthreeorfourtimeslongern Class1durability—themostdurablewoodpossiblen Insectbarrier:Rot-proof;abarriertofungi;indigest-ibletoinsectsandmicro-organismsn Easier tocoat,as there islesspreparationandsandingneededbetweencoatingsn Non-toxicandrecyclable—thewooddoesnotleachoutanypoisonsnUV-resistant—SuperiorresistancetoUVdegradationwhentranslucent-coatednRetainedstrengthandhardness—hardnessisincreasedandithasahighstrengthtoweightratio,makingitsuitableforchal-lengingapplicationsnConsistentquality—thereisnoneedtoapplychemicalpreservativeswhencutorplanedThecompanysays:“Alreadythe material of choice fora wide range of demand-ing outdoor applications,Accoya wood can be usedforvirtuallyanything, fromwindows to doors, deckingtocladding,bridgestoboatsand even for applicationsthatarepresentlyonlyfea-sible with non-sustainableandman-madematerials.”n

SuStAinABLe: A high performance, low maintenance wood for an island climate

Go Green: a special advertising section of tHe BerMUda sUn 2

Continued from page 1

Go Green: a special advertising section of tHe BerMUda sUn 3

A division of the

Maintenance Free Shutters, Windows, Doors,

Gates, Railing, Pergolas, Decking,

And Much More

#99 Middle Road, Devonshire Tel: 236-2886 Fax: 236-6819

Web: www.bermudastripping.com Email: info@bermudastripping.bm

Expert Craftsmen Extraordinary Results

Why should I go organic and what foods are available?By ZAch moniZLindo’sFamilyFoods

The ‘organic movement’ has become quite relevant to the supermarket indus-try in Bermuda as these products, once only found in health food stores, are becoming more and more in demand by our custom-ers.

The word ‘organic’ refers to the way farmers grow and process agricultural products, such as fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy products and meat.

Specific require-ments must be met and maintained in order for products to be labelled as ‘organic’.

What’s the difference between organic and conventional farming?

In organic farming prac-tices, natural fertilizers, such as manure or com-post, are used to feed soil and plants.

Non-synthetic methods, such as beneficial insects, birds and traps, are used to keep pests at bay rather than pesticides.

Also, instead of synthetic herbicides, weeds are managed naturally with environmentally-generated plant-killing compounds and through crop rotation, hand weeding, mulching and tilling.

Organic farming prac-tices are designed to encourage soil and water conservation, and reduce pollution.

With regards to organic livestock farming, the ani-mals must have access to the outdoors and are given organic feed.

In addition, the farmers use preventive measures, such as rotational grazing, a balanced diet and clean housing to help minimize disease instead of antibiot-ics.

In addition, the animals are never given growth hormones.

Is organic safer and more nutritious?

This question is an ongoing debate within the scientific community and among consumers overall that has yet to yield any

definitive answers. There are a variety of

reasons that people choose to go organic.

Some prefer the taste. Others may have concerns about the farming prac-tices of conventional foods, whether it be the chemi-cals used or the impact on the environment.

In addition, many people buy organic to avoid food additives, such as preservatives, artificial sweeteners, colourings and flavourings.

These types of additives are banned or severely

restricted by organic regu-lations.

On the other hand, organic foods typically cost more than their con-ventional counterparts, which is due, in part, to more expensive farming practices.

What can you buy?The good news for those

who are interested in the organic movement is that there is quite a variety of products out there, although here in Bermuda that availability may be limited at times.

We carry both imported and locally produced organic foods — every-thing from beef and poul-try to fresh fruit and veg-etables. Beyond that, some might be surprised at the range of different products that can be found.

If you’re into bak-ing, then you’re in luck because you can get organ-ic items like sugar, flour, butter and shortening, as well as a variety of cooking oils.

You can even get pack-aged organic mixes for baked goods like pie, cake

and icing.For breakfast, there’s

organic cereal, oatmeal, waffle mix and syrup, along with milk, a huge assortment of fruit drinks and organic tea.

You can have Italian night with organic pasta and sauces from an array of flavours.

Or create your own pizza with organic French bread pizza mix.

Spice up Mexican night with organic taco season-ing or tortilla chips with salsa.

For quick and easy fare, there is a good selection of organic packaged conve-nience foods like mac and cheese or cheeseburger macaroni and canned pasta meals.

In the freezer section, you’ll also find organic foods like waffles, veggie burgers, enchiladas, chick-en strips and microwav-able pasta bowls.

Finally, for the kids, there are numerous organ-ic snacks and goodies from cookies, crackers and rice crisp bars, to marshmal-low treats, fruit bites and yogurt smoothies.

You can even serve up your summer ice cream in organic sugar cones.

We also have organic baby formula.

The bottom line with buying organic food is that it really is personal choice and we’re in the business of providing our customers with as many choices as possible. n

Zach MoniZ is the man-ager of Lindo’s Family Foods Manager. See www.lindos.bm

n Photo suPPlied

HeALTHy: Lindo’snotonlyhasorganicfruitandvegetablesbutalsomeat,cereal,conveniencefoodsandbabyformula.

Lindos Go Green Dakota Beef-June 26 2013

Wednesday, June 19, 2013 10:54:31 AM