The Island School and Cape Eleuthera Institute serve as a hub for education, research and community outreach with a focus on conservation, sustainability and the marine environment. Our mission is to incorporate these ideals into every facet of our life from the way we work and live to our interaction with the natural and built environment. We are an active and innovative campus and we strive to utilize sustainable building materials, which fit this vision as we expand. Rumber is a prime example of one of those building materials.

 

Rumber Materials “manufactures a wide variety of strong and highly durable products from 100% recycled tire rubber and plastics. The majority of the company’s products consist of boards which are produced in varying lengths and widths that are used as substitutes for wood or plastic. Rumber composite material can also be used at full strength to create new products through injection or compression molding, extrusion or pressing into sheets. Rumber products are environmentally friendly, are stronger than other composites and are impervious to fluids, mud, oil and UV rays. Rumber boards will not crack, rot or split and they have a traction surface that increases safety. They can be cut with a saw, are easily installed and are easy to clean.”

We have incorporated Rumber into two major projects to date. The first is the Wierda Bridge, a prominent centerpiece of our campus, connecting The Island School and Cape Eleuthera Institute (CEI) campuses by providing a footbridge that traverses over a mangrove ecosystem. Rumber can also be found on the exterior decks, stairs and walkways of the Hallig House, the campuses’ most modern and innovative structure. This building was conceived by a team of environmental designers specializing in minimal impact and sustainable buildings. Their structures model the best building practices with special attention to materials which are best suited to our local environment while meeting our criteria of a major percentage of recycled and or reclaimed materials. The ultimate goal isto get Hallig House certified under the “Living Building Certification” program. Rumber was an obvious choice for inclusion as it contains 100% post consumer waste.

Not only is Rumber an aesthetically pleasing product, it has proven its fortitude and strength on a daily basis, receiving constant foot and bike traffic, exposure to the intense Bahamian sunlight, high humidity and salt laden air and the occasional hurricane, with little wear and tear to show after three years of constant use.

Our campus is proud to highlight and promote this material as being unique, practical and the best suited product for our environment and worthy of more widespread use throughout the commercial building industry.

For the upcoming construction of our new Graduate & Faculty Housing facility, we estimate using more Rumber than previous projects combined. This building will also be submitted for “Living Building Certification” upon its completion, the building industries most prestigious certification.

Our friends at Rumber are looking for your support! They’re trying to get their wheel chocks on the shelves at Walmart. Vote for them at https://getontheshelf.walmart.com/product/106f/Lifetime-Wheel-Chock!