Could Rice Husks Reinvent Home Building?

When most people think of rice, they might picture steaming bowls of food, not the siding of their homes. But a Mississippi-based company called Modern Mill is transforming the way builders, homeowners and architects think about sustainable materials.

Their surprising method: turning rice husks (sometimes referred to as "rice hulls") into a strong, water-resistant, wood-like material called ACRE.

“When you think about rice, it grows in water," explained Sales Director Chandler Delinks. "The rice husk itself protects the rice grain from water, weather, pests, sunlight, mold and mildew. So it's an incredibly resilient, natural fiber."

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From Waste To Resource

The innovation starts in the fields. The United States exports about 20 billion pounds of rice annually, and much of it comes from the Mississippi Delta and neighboring states. That means mountains of rice hulls (the hard outer shell stripped from each grain) are left behind.

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“The rice hulls, otherwise, are destined for the landfill,” Delinks explained. “So for us, it's really actually a pretty efficient process where they're looking for a place for this. So we can take truckloads of these rice hulls and then we grind them up in the beginning of our manufacturing process."

While the sustainability story draws a lot of attention, Delinks said homeowners and contractors quickly discover ACRE is also easier to work with than traditional wood.

“It doesn't smell like a plastic. It doesn't have a really harmful dust. When you work with it, it doesn't damage your tools. And at the end of the day, you can take a board and take a water-based stain and just wipe it on and it looks like a piece of mahogany," he said.

Durability is another selling point. ACRE is water resistant, making it an attractive choice for coastal or humid climates.

“It's not feed for termites and pests. It doesn't promote mold and mildew and fungal growth, doesn't absorb moisture." Delinks said. "We don't crack, we don't rot, we don't splinter. It can sit in the dirt. It can sit in the ground. It can have constant water contact, and it doesn't matter if it's sea coast or lakefront."

(MORE: How Termites Are Stowing Away On The Water)

ACRE is also certified for Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) compliance in California — one of the few building materials approved for use in wildfire-prone areas — and meets high-wind impact standards in Florida, making it suitable for hurricane zones.

That resilience extends to extreme cold and intense sunlight, though Delinks emphasized that builders still need to follow guidelines on coatings and fasteners.

Sustainability Meets Accessibility

Too often, sustainability is the first thing to get cut from a budget, Delinks admitted. "To make a real impact for our material, it has to be accessible, and that's a big driver for our company as well."

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With partnerships that already include companies like Chipotle and Heineken, ACRE is expanding into both commercial and residential markets. But for Delinks, what excites him most is how the product answers two questions at once: how to reduce waste and how to build smarter.

“I think what sort of makes the bell go off for a lot of people is like, oh wow, it looks like this and it's actually gonna last forever, and I can do all this and it's sustainable and it's kind of like the win-win.”

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