Canoak USA, Inc. (Salem) was awarded $5,000 towards a $13,475 project to continue exploring the potential for generating a more environmentally friendly deicing and anti-icing agent using recovered forest biomass products. Previous technical assistance confirmed that various grades of sawdust and wood chips could be impregnated with salt and the resulting product will melt ice. The company would now like to establish how well the impregnated wood waste performs as a deicing agent relative to pure salt.

Seed Builders (St. James) was awarded $4,800 towards a $12,200 project to develop a manufacturing process and testing plan for a roofing shingle made from recycled tires and recycled plastics. The new shingle product has been shown to have a thermal conductivity eight times lower than that of a typical shingle and previous research by the Program suggests that there is market potential for rubber based roofing shingles. The proposed project will assist Seed builders in developing a process for manufacturing the shingles and in comparing prototype shingles with standard roofing shingles.

PAL Manufacturing (Joplin) was awarded $3,760 towards a $7,160 project to determine the feasibility of using waste wood produced by the company as raw material for another company. Pal Mfg currently produces curio cabinets from high-grade oak lumber and anticipates landfilling 350 tons of sawdust and burning 185 tons of scrap this year. The project proposes to study available markets and identify any necessary processing equipment.

Garfield Benjamin (Rolla) was awarded $4,920 towards a $12,570 project to develop a website that markets recycled content products produced by a variety of manufacturers. The website will emphasize products made and distributed in Missouri.

Encore Building Solutions, Inc. (St. Louis) was awarded $7,740 towards a $49,100 project involving its Enerock construction block, a building product manufactured with fly ash and wood waste. Encore requested $7,740 towards the first phase of the project that would finalize product standards, target markets and cost effectiveness.

Sandvista (Sparta) was awarded technical assistance, not to exceed $3,000 towards a project to assist the business in developing a marketing strategy for worm castings. This project was proposed to satisfy the committee's request for this sort of information in support of Sandvista's application for financial assistance.

Lamar Feed and Grain (Lamar) was awarded $6,500 towards a $12,500 project to evaluate the possibility of recycling a "dough" material that is landfilled at a rate of 100 tons per week. Lamar Feed and Grain currently recycles outdated or off spec dog food, cat food and horse food into poultry feed. The companies that supply Lamar Feed and Grain with the outdated or off spec feeds also produce the waste dough. This project will determine the feasibility of developing the dough material into a viable recycled feed product for tolerant species.

Blair Cedar and Novelty Works, Inc. (Camdenton) was awarded $2,000 towards a $9,640 project to explore the possibility of developing new products from waste cedar scraps or extracting oil from the scraps for re-sale. Blair Cedar produces and sells cedar novelties and gift items, employing about 70 people at its Camdenton facility. Funding for this project is to evaluate markets for the shavings without extracting oil

Legacy e-Business (Rolla) was awarded $5,000 towards a $12,965 project to design and integrate a relational database with a web site designed for the company through previously awarded technical assistance. Legacy e-Business intends to use the web site to market products made from recovered materials. The relational database will enable almost "real time" updating of the new web site by enabling automated updating of its most dynamic elements.

Flick Seed Company (Kingsville) was awarded $5,500 towards a $9,000 project to explore the possibility of creating a compressed fuel pellet from waste seed hulls. Flick Seed produces native and turf grasses, food plots and wildflowers for sale. The company has a hydro-seeding operation that uses hulled seeds to impregnate soil for quick growth that is often used for right-of-way improvement and vegetation reestablishment following highway construction. While this method of dehulling seeds provides for quick germination, it leaves the company with approximately 750 tons of waste hulls each year. This project will determine if a fuel pellet can be economically created from the waste hulls and the heat value of such pellets. The project will also explore the possibility of using the hulls in other products such as fiber board or poultry bedding.

Wild Iron Horse Farm (Clifton Hills) was awarded $2,200 towards a $4,200 project to examine markets for a composted soil amendment made from sawdust, straw and horse manure. Wild Iron Horse Farm stables an average of 35 horses and produces approximately 1.75 tons of waste each week. Currently, the waste is scattered on the facility's 80 acres, however, the business has identified composting equipment that could convert the waste to a useful soil amendment. The project's final report will be written as a guide to marketing compost from small farm operations.

Encore Building Solutions, located in Chamois, was awarded $4,920 towards a $13,310 Phase II project to develop a test plan, coordinate with testing facilities and assist in testing for the company's Enerock construction block. Technical assistance previously awarded helped the business define a marketing profile and cost analysis based on construction block applications. Proposed testing will meet ASTM testing specifications and will be used by Encore to accurately issue product specifications.

Current River Sheltered Workshop (Doniphan) was awarded $5,000 towards a $9,000 project to explore the possibility of developing products from waste vinyl. The Current River Sheltered Workshop employs 38 people and performs a variety of recycling related services. Currently the workshop is baling scrap vinyl and could receive up to 400,000 tons of this material each year. This project intends to evaluate the possibility of cleaning "dirty" vinyl and making new products from the scraps. The workshop's structure will also be evaluated to determine which, if any, products will best suited for manufacturing at the facility.

Legacy Engineering, LLC (Newburg) was awarded $1,460 towards a $6,375 project to demonstrate the functionality of a product called "Tire Binder." Legacy Engineering is dedicated to engineering "green" products and solutions to address environmental issues. The Tire Binder product binds tires together for use in controlling stream bank erosion. The company believes a need exists for the product because labor is a driving factor in using tires in such applications and the Tire Binder results in a rapid method for binding tires. This project intends to review the design of the product and coordinate a target market demonstration.

The Smashed Chefs (Chesterfield) was awarded $4,530 towards a $7,030 project to develop a marketing strategy for new products. The company currently manufactures serving dishes from recovered wine bottles and has also experimented with making various jewelry items from the bottles. While The Smashed Chefs has been able to develop markets for the serving dishes, this project would evaluate other products through a survey based on the WIN program and assist the business in exploring markets for jewelry made from recovered wine bottles.

Community Sheltered Workshop, Inc. (Sikeston) was awarded $5,600 towards an $11,140 project to conduct a feasibility study for converting waste wood into fire starter sticks, animal bedding and colored mulch. The Community Sheltered Workshop employs 160 people and produces wire reels and pallets. As a result of current operations, the workshop generates 15 to 30 tons of sawdust and 13 to 26 tons of wood fiber waste each week. This project intends to assess the availability and cost of the technology required to make each proposed product, assess product markets, and evaluate the availability of human talent required to make each product.

Con-Form International, Inc. (Maryland Heights) was awarded $2,000 towards a $4,000 project to determine the marketability of scrap polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The company makes drywall tape for industrial and home construction use. The tape is made from PVC with a flock cotton backing. This project intends to determine whether a market can be found for the scrap with the backing and if not, whether it is possible to efficiently remove the flocking and glue residue from the scrap. Con-Form currently landfills 48,597 tons of this scrap each year.