We're committed to making responsible environmental decisions
Powered by the sun
Since 2015, our manufacturing plant has been powered by our 242 panel, 78 kilowatt rooftop solar array. The power we generate, supplemented during times of heavy use with "Deep Green" from Marin Clean Energy, means our facility runs on 100% renewable energy. Not only that, our solar panels also return clean energy to the grid every weekend and whenever our machines are idle.
To further improve our energy efficiency, our assembly building is outfitted with LED lighting, and operates a battery electric forklift.
Greener from the start
Wood is renewable resource, and when responsibly sourced it's a terrific green option. We work with suppliers who are certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, which means that their lumber is from responsibly managed forests.
We also source reclaimed redwood. It's a gorgeous material that both diverts material from the waste stream, and avoids adding new material to it.
We engineer and build our displays to last, meaning that they'll have a much longer usable life than some of their corrugated counterparts.
Green Tiny Homes
We’re designing our tiny homes with the environment in mind. All of our panels (Walls, floor, and ceiling) are pre-insulated with recycled cotton insulation.
Our homes are being outfitted with duel pane windows and insulated doors. We’re using reclaimed paint on exteriors, and interior walls are made of unfinished birch plywood, which are beautiful with need no need for gypsum board or paint.
Panels being fitted with recycled cotton insulation.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,
At Ruszel Woodworks we do all three.
We Reduce by carefully choosing the materials that we use on our packing line, and then working to use less of them. We've done away with Styrofoam in our facility. Whenever possible, we pack our products flat, reducing the size of the cartons, and the need to use bulk fill. Smaller cartons mean we can put more units on each truck for a reduced shipping footprint as well.
Before we look to recycling, we try to Reuse everything we can. We work to design our products to maximize material yield, and minimize waste, even utilizing off-fall material whenever possible. Much of our scrap wood is donated to schools, artists and the public for creative reuse. Even our sawdust is donated to a local stable to be used as horse bedding. We've invested in machinery that allows us to make bulk packing material out of waste cardboard.
Our efforts to Recycle are so ingrained in our company values that we've received commendations from Republic Services, as well as accolades from The City of Benicia for our efforts.