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BANG FOR THE BITE
If 10,000 Biters retile their counter with recycled glass tiles instead of regular ones, we'll "recycle" the equivalent of 1,060,000 average-sized residential windows.
COCKTAIL FACT
In 1998, a house in Texas that's made exclusively of plastic laminate became a National Landmark.
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home › tip library › Eco Homes - Sustainable and Recycled Countertops
Bored in your bedroom?
The Bite
Then play out your own movie scene and heat things up in the kitchen instead. If you've got hot eco-countertops, who needs a bed? Recycled tile and paper (yep, paper) countertops help you get your groove on in the newest most stylish room in the house.The Benefits
- It's got the look. Recycled tile countertops come in every color of the rainbow and the paper-based ones are available in solid or mottled colors.
- You could dance all over your recycled paper-based countertops without leaving a trace, since they're super-durable.
- As if you needed a reminder - recycling's great for the planet. Every time a glass bottle is recycled, enough energy is saved to light a 100-watt light bulb for 4 hours.
Personally Speaking
The Bite's newest team member, Krista, helped her boyfriend install custom fit bamboo countertops in his super eco-friendly home in Bozeman. The place is the epitome of cool, so she kind of wants to stop paying rent on her drafty old place and move in. You reading this, Dave?Wanna Try?
Note: prices are approximated - in most cases you'll purchase by the tile or slab.- Green Building Supply - bamboo slabs constructed with ultra-low levels of formaldehyde ($25/sq ft).
- AFM - eco-friendlier sealants for your new bamboo countertop ($20/gallon).
- Kliptech Paperstone - Paperstone feels and looks like finished slate, but is actually made from recycled paper ($35/sq ft)!
- Ice Stone - made from recycled glass and concrete and available in 24 brill colors ($75-$150/sq ft).
- Squak Mountain Stone - rough-looking (in a good way) cement, paper, glass and coal fly-ash blend ($137/sq ft).
- Richlite - check out samples of their sustainably-forested paper-based countertops - like Paperstone, they're stain- and scratch-resistant ($80/sq ft).
- Vetrazzo - looking good, even on the floor or in your shower ($55-$75/sq ft).
- GreenSage - great for backsplashes, these 100%-recycled beauts come in 6 sizes and 6 colors ($36/sq ft).
- Terra Green - about 55% recycled tiles in several different textures ($25/sq ft).
Nov 09,2006
Sponsor
Honestly, the best counter tops I have ever seen are the mosaic looking recycled glass ones we tipped.
One day I would love to really do it right, not sacrificing on anything and building uber-green from the ground up. But with renovation projects, it is a bit harder as you need to have new things meet your old peculiarities. My Bozeman house was built in 1908... so what I gain in character I lose in energy efficiencies and ease of renovation.
Luckily on the energy efficiency front I am able to get it re-insulated (doing the blow-in type I think), and also going to apply for a grant to do a solar panel installation.
But counter tops. Just don't know. What was your favorite type of eco tops? What style would go with a cottage-y house?
Off to see when that insulation guy can came out... oh Dad! where art thou? Jen
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9AM PST
Correction from Toshio:
The price we listed for the IceStone counters is incorrect. The cost is actually less than we published, so rejoice! The correct pricing is $75-$150/sq ft installed.
Biter Comments...
PHOTO ALBUMS
Posted by: Quinn's mom | November 09, 2006 at 12:11 PM