AMD SLUDGE
Ah, sludge. The very namesake of our home. A waste product generated by water treatment facilities. Hundreds of these facilities are operated by non-profits, state agencies, and mining companies themselves. High in dangerous metal content, this sludge is a death sentence when released into streams. Projects utilizing AMD sludge include: manufacturing construction materials, enriching soils, sequestering carbon, backfilling highwalls, and producing pigments.
COAL ASH
Fly ash. Bottom ash. Boiler slag. These materials are generated by coal-fired power plants and are the second most plentiful waste product in the United States (behind household trash). They find uses in bricks, wallboard, and school running tracks. Their toxic nature makes them challenging to utilize, and the prevention of leeching is key to any utilization.
ABANDONED MACHINERY
A hundred years' worth of machinery sits idle in Appalachia while more still piles up as bankruptcies continue to mount. Whether being put back into working order, melted down, made into makeshift housing, or transformed into a beast from a Mad Max movie, there are plenty of these machines to go around.