Green Options » recycled materials

Green Counter Culture

Joel Bittle — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 21:53:07 +0000

If you attended the Greenbuild conference in Chicago last November, you would have been hard pressed to find a green cabinet manufacturer among the exhibitors - but you couldn’t turn around without bumping into a new type of green countertop. They nearly outnumbered the waterless urinals. Over the past couple of decades, countertops have evolved from tried-and-true laminate to bold new materials and colors of every taste and budget. It’s not surprising to see the creativity of new countertops go hand-in-hand with the emergence of green products. Below are several types of green countertops, from least expensive to most. Feel free to give any feedback you have on any of these products.

Laminate - Easily the least expensive green countertop, laminate countertops made with recycled wood particle board (like SkyBlend) and non-VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) adhesives are ideal for building projects that are seeking green certification at the lowest cost. It may take a while to track down a local fabricator offering green laminate countertops, but they shouldn’t cost more than a few dollars more a square foot than regular laminate tops.

Beverage Maker Unveils Green HQ

Shirley Siluk Gregory — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 17:43:41 +0000

Cott Corporation, a non-alcoholic beverage company, has opened a new “green” U.S. headquarters in Tampa, Florida.

The 60,000-square-foot facility, which marked its grand opening today, features energy-efficient lighting, carpeting that’s free of PVC and chlorine, and chairs made from 30 percent post-consumer recycled materials.

Try This With Cloth Diapers

Shirley Siluk Gregory — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:19:39 +0000

How green is Walmart? So green, apparently, in the case of one soon-to-open “high-efficiency” store in Illinois, that the decorative floorboards and moldings are made from parts of disposable diapers.

Photo courtesy of Rolf van Melis.