Through Friday, McCormick Place West is brimming with green as Chicago hosts Greenbuild 2010.
The three-day (November 17-19) shows off the latest technologies in green building.
Walking the hundreds of booths you'll find household names like Andersen Windows making windows from entirely recycled materials.
"We take raw lumber, mill it into usable material. What we don't use in wood or vinyl we recompose into Fibrex. This material is pelleted and extruded into forms. It's nice and thin and makes structural forms from all recycled content. It's very durable," explained Kellan Dillon, the company's Architectural Sales Representative.
Franklin Park-based Sloan Valve Company is sharing the latest in water efficiency.
"Greenbuild is our number one show for us to reach out to the architects in the engineering community and those people building the green buildings and show them the new things we have to offer," said CEO Jim Allen.
From dual-flush toilets to waterless urinals, Sloan's is one of many impressive booths at Greenbuild.
With new products often comes new jobs. Clean technology and the community that builds surrounding it was the subject of a special talk given by Manny Flores, the Chairman of the Illinois Commerce Commission.
"I see folks who want to get back into the labor force who have been left unemployed because of the terrible economy and we are seeing new technologies in this new clean technology and sustainability sector," he said. "It becomes a community building principal."
