Environmentally responsible insulating construction blocks and structures constructed primarily of recycled materials are disclosed. The environmentally friendly construction blocks and structures comprise shredded rubber tire pieces coated with silica fume, slag cement and cement, which are then mixed with water and formed in a mold. A layer of grout or a fireproof material may be disposed on one side of the environmentally responsible insulating construction block. The environmentally responsible insulating construction blocks provide high insulation as well as strength for applications such as green roofing, wall construction and green roofing decks. Environmentally friendly structures can be built by pouring the coated shredded rubber tire pieces into molds to form walls, and then to pour a layer of the coated shredded rubber tire pieces as a roof deck, thereby creating a self-supporting structure in a monolithic pour.

Water containment modules for green and blue roof installations are disclosed. The modules include a water retaining module having a porous scaffold filled with a flexible hydrophilic foam, and a bottommost drainage layer having supports that define channels through which a fluid can flow away from the module. The module in some embodiment further includes an uppermost porous horticultural growth media layer that including a particulate filler embedded in a porous hydrophilic polymer foam.

A multi-functional tray that can be used in various applications to form different products, such as planter board for green roof plantation, thermal insulation structure for roof deck insulation, solid concrete panel for building construction, etc. The tray comprises an upper portion, a lower portion, and a backing layer connected between the upper portion and the lower portion. The lower portion comprises a plurality of reservoirs with through holes. The upper portion has a plurality of partitions and securing units to secure the material in the upper portion.

Plant surface structure, comprising plastic base elements, each base element having a deck carried by a series of pillar elements, wherein at least a number of the pillar elements have an open top end in said deck, wherein at least a membrane is placed over said deck and is provided with slits or cut-outs or water permeable elements, such that they open into at least some of the open top ends of pillars, wherein a growing medium is provided on the membrane and a growing medium is provided in said pillars, the growing medium in said pillars preferably being in fluid contact with the growing medium on said membrane.

Hydrophilic composite structures are made by impregnating a 3DL structure with a polyurethane foam formulation and curing the formulation to produce a foam that occupies the spaces in the 3DL structure. The composite structures have an unusually good capacity for retaining water even when under compressive forces. They also exhibit at most moderate swelling when saturated with water. The foam is useful as a layer of a water containment system such as a green roof or blue roof system.

A building wrap membrane comprising a sheet of spunbonded polypropylene fabric member with integral pressure sensitive permeable adhesive coated on the back of the member and a drainage matrix secured to the front surface of the member, the drainage matrix being comprised of individual thermoplastic threads randomly laid down to form a net and secured together by heat bonding with the threads formed into spaced rows with a channel therebetween.

A rain water collection system for a blue roof system that includes a tray assembly comprising a container, a water absorbing layer located in said interior region of the container, ballast members and a cover plate. The water absorbing layer is supported on a first set of support surfaces to locate the water absorbing layer above the bottom wall of the container to provide a water collecting space into which will flow excess water that exceeds the water absorbing capacity of the water absorbing layer. The sidewalls of the container have openings therethrough to facilitate the passage of over flow water from the container and the introduction of air therethrough into the interior region. The upstanding columns have openings to facilitate the passage of air therethrough into the interior region of the container.

The invention relates to a method of making an insulation product and a novel insulation product, wherein the insulation product is made by adhering a facing to at least one major surface of a batt of man-made vitreous fibres in a matrix comprising a binder by the use of an adhesive and curing the adhesive. The adhesive is an aqueous composition which is free of phenol and formaldehyde and comprises: a component (i) in form of one or more lignosulfonate lignins having a carboxylic acid group content of 0.03 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.03 to 1.4 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 1.4 mmol/g, based on the dry weight of the lignosulfonate lignins, a component (ii) in form of one or more cross-linkers.

A roof system that includes a roof covering in the form of planting areas, a water storage, a wind turbine, a water turbine, a solar panel, and a water heater. The roof system includes a plurality of ceramic chambers each including a wind turbine and a recess for housing a planter area.

One embodiment provides a modular green roof tray, house plant growth media and horticulture growth media, and a tree protection mat for weed and moisture control made from recycled disposable diapers. The growth medium and tree protection mat contain superabsorbent materials from diaper that can absorb waters and greatly reduce irrigation so to provide a drought resistant feature. One embodiment also provides a manufacturing process to perform 100% recycling of disposed diapers.