Reef damage

It all started one sunny afternoon nine years ago, when the founder of this company (that would be me) read an article in a local Fort Lauderdale paper about 2,000,000 old tires that were dumped into our ocean 50 years ago, on purpose.  There was a vivid photo of local divers hauling up these old nasty tires, one by one, onto a barge.  I had wondered where they were all going now…

The story went on to say why they were dumped and how they were damaging the coral reefs, but the inspiration to act had already begun with that photo.

I started to think about how these old tires and the billions that exist everywhere in the world could be used in my industry…

Eureka moment

Around that time, a nine city block project in downtown Miami that my company was contracted with was requesting more garden roof areas to help with Green Building, LEED credits.

I made the connection that these LEED credits could be generated by using recycled, shredded tires as a base for beautiful rooftop terrace / gardens as the raw material, instead of dirt with irrigation pumps and piping…

Rooftop terrace / gardens

After years of product development, testing and code approvals, Echo Block and Flow were created.  We intend to be a leader in rooftop garden, terrace installations around the world. Those important LEED credits are now being generated by using recycled, shredded tires as our raw material…

Patents

Patents issued in the United States, Canada, Mexico, European Union, Israel, Australia and most of Africa.  Patents are pending in China.

Invention

Playground-grade shredded tires (with all the steel removed and recycled) is mixed with our patented cement formula to create our Echo Block product – that is easy to make, incredibly strong and will last forever.

A WOOD replacement / Echo Edge

This invention involves using these same insulated, permeable construction blocks (Echo Block) to replace WOOD blocking on roofs which will save millions of trees and recycle hundreds of millions of those old, used up tires.

You may realize this was not part of my original intention of terrace / garden roofs, however, when you’re not following a script, you get to pursue everything with an open mind. We now hold patents and building code approvals for our Echo Edge Termination system.

It all started one day by putting a screw into an Echo Block and then having a very hard time removing it… Eureka moment #2!

Echo Home / The Holy Grail

As you will see on this website, two Echo Home prototypes have been constructed using the same patented mixture of shredded tires and cements to test the limits of the products strength and free span ability. To date and after a 20,300 lb. load was applied to the peak of the roof…we have yet to discover just what that limit is.

This extremely affordable Echo Home is to be built by the millions worldwide, with our focus on the area of the world where the need is the greatest.

Reducing Carbon Footprint

Lastly, we will be building these homes and making the new Echo Blocks with minimum transport of raw materials. Old tires and cements exist everywhere that humans populate so we have designed and built our own portable batching plants in order to bring the manufacturing plant to the raw material source (see our Green Machine in the photo gallery).

Echo products will be made worldwide with local sourcing of materials and the use of local labor which will strengthen the economic and social fabric of these communities – all while cleaning up their own environment.

Problem solvers

It’s a positive story full of hope and optimism, but more than that it’s a story about how problems are solved. By working on one issue (tire waste), a replacement for wood was invented, thereby saving millions of trees from being destroyed.

This new building material will now lead to the creation of millions of affordable and indestructible homes in the poorest of countries, while saving even more trees and other irreplaceable natural resources.

The added bonus of building millions of homes with shredded tires is the clearing of the earths stockpiles of them and beautifying the Land and the Oceans once again.

Reflection

As I look back on that afternoon seven years ago, it seems impossible (even to me) that one story, read by one person on that one day could have such a positive impact on the world. I am humbled by the thought.

Get inspired

So… What are you doing this sunny afternoon?