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This Squak Mountain Stone is kinda cool. It's afibrous-cement material comprised of recycled paper, recycled glass, coal fly-ash and Portland cement. Material is hand-cast into “slabs” as an alternative to natural or quarried stone. Resembles soapstone or limestones.
Another option, which I'm going to use in my kitchen, is Eco-Terr, which uses recycled glass and stone in a matrix. Lookslike stone; cheaper than IceStone. Here's a link:
The Eco-Terr was priced the same as Icestone in our local green builder supply store, Greenmakers Supply. It's great that you found it for less! Price is why I'm not going with it.
Last edited by greenie227; Nov 17th, 06 at 9:45 pm.
So some people go crazy choosing a backsplash -- my own private Idaho is choosing a white "eco-friendly" countertop. I've researched, I've googled, I've touched and scratched and tomato-stained, and here's what I've come up with, if anyone's interested (remember, one woman's opinion):
Squak Mountain -- totally cool look, totally cool material, extremely green. A Fibrous-cement material comprised of recycled paper, recycled glass, coal fly-ash and Portland cement. Material is hand-cast into slabs as an alternative to natural or quarried stone. Resembles soapstone or limestones. (To me it looks like funky concrete). One very green-minded carpenter who works with Environmental Home Center in Seattle mentioned that it's quite porous and she herself wouldn't use it in her kitchen. Other than that (and some people might not mind the sealing and maintenance), very cool product.
Eco-Terr -- comes in slabs and tiles. Eco-Terr is an eco-friendly terrazzo with recycled content which comes in tiles and slabs. The slabs are more expensive (duh), and they ship from Miami or NY, so depending on where you live, freight might be prohibitive. Also, from their website, it looks like the mixes available in tile are not always available by slab. The slab is priced (in Chicago) up there with Icestone, on the high end.
Icestone -- comes in slabs, eco-friendly terrazzo with high recycled glass content and concrete. Pretty expensive, freight is very high if you don't live in the NY area (although my green building supply store is combining orders where possible to bring freight down).
EnviroGLAS -- comes in slabs for countertops. Recycled glass, mother of pearl, porcelain and aluminum in a resin base. Can be customized -- very cool website. I customized a few samples but couldn't find a "white" countertop that made me happy. Lead times are long -- my green building supply store told me 8 weeks. Feels less granite-y than Icestone or Eco-Terr (a little more like solid surface). Comes from Texas, so freight could be an issue, although as a material it's pretty light.
Shetkastone -- is made from measurements to fit your need. From pre- and post-consumer waste paper, including dollar bills. Pricey, and limited color-wise (greys, browns, greens), feels more plastic than Icestone or the concrete-based countertops. From MN.
Eco-Cem -- fiber cement board, looks like concrete but stronger. I couldn't find anyone in Chicago to install it. Mostly, the countertop installers were not used fiber cement as a countertop, and the siding installers didn't want to seal it as it needs. Sold by Coveringsetc, same as Eco-Terr.
Since I was looking for a white countertop, I didn't look into countertop materials that don't come in white (and even some above don't really come in white).
Anyway, thought I'd share. It's been an experience doing a reasonably green renovation. A learning experience for everyone involved.
My tile person has been trying to convince me that quartz is a green product. Now, there are definitions of green, but I can't find anyone -- other than a quartz manufacturer and my tile person -- who will say quartz is green. First, all but one company import their product from another country. Hanstone is made in Korea, Caesarstone in Israel. That's a lot of gas burned in transportation, if that's one of the green elements you're considering. Cambria is made in MN, so if you're within 500 miles of their plant, you can possibly get LEED points. Also, although several quartz products are Greenguard certified, I've been told that even Corian doesn't off-gas, so that's not the largest "green" concern with countertops -- it's more a matter of recycled content, clean manufacture, and less transportation.
Don't get me wrong -- I looooove quartz, and I would take any excuse to call it green, but so far, I don't see how I can.
I also looked at Avonite, a solid surface company which has a "recycled" line. Basically, they take old solid surface products and reuse them. Solid surface countertops have a non-green manufacturing process, but I suppose if the solid surface material is already out there and being recycled, that's a step up. I'm considering it for the kitchen, if I can't afford Icestone. I haven't read if the recycling is also a non-green process, though -- I've queried the company. I guess the recycling of solid surface is like salvaging old slabs of granite -- at least, I hope it's as benign!
It's a jungle out there, but I've enjoyed the search tremendously. I'm using Shetkastone in our bathroom, and I should know the kitchen choice by the end of the week!
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