Sustainability & Lifecycle Thinking

When weighing the pros and cons of different countertop materials, remember that your countertop's environmental impact begins long before it is installed in your kitchen or bathroom, and will continue after you dispose of it. Here is a basic rundown and consideration:

Raw Materials: Consider materials used to create the countertop, renewable or finite, can they come from recycled products? Are they mined or harvested, and how well managed are those processes? For example, granite is harvested from quarries through a very energy intensive and in some cases, a highly polluting process, coupled with most granite, is quarried thousands of miles from its fabricators location. It is best to find a material that is comprised of locally sourced and recycled components and those that can easily be recycled as well.

Manufacturing: Materials that require less processing use less energy and thus have less environmental impact. Countertops that can be molded to size and shape rather than the costly cutting and shapig with diamond saws and polishing tools use far less energy.

Transport: The distance a material travels translates directly into air pollution from vehicle fuel combustion, which is responsible for emissions of sulfer and nitrous oxides, particulate matter and carbon monoxide. Locally sourced raw materials combined with a central location of manufacturing, dramatically reduces the carbon footprint of a product.

Installation: Premade or precast countertops that are generated from a template minimize or eliminate the need to do sawing or grinding. Also the use of a low or no VOC adhesive is very important.

Use & Maintenance: Once in place, some materials may off-gas formaldehydes, VOCs or other chemicals. By selecting a product made from natural organic materials it has low to no impact on the interior air quality. Durability is also a major factor, directly linked to a material's lifespan and how often it must be replaced. Concrete and other natural stone surfaces are very durable and will last for many, many years. Cleaning and maintenance of natural stone should always be done with a low-impact cleaning material to ensure good indoor air quality.

End of Life: Where will your countertop end up when its life is over? Can it be recycled, reconditioned or reused; down-cycled into other products, or will it simply be sent to a landfill? For example, crushing concrete for use as aggregate in new concrete avoids mining of more aggregate.

Keep in mind "Being Green" is not a Black-and-White issue when choosing a countertop material. There is no material that has zero impact on our environment. Each material must be weighed for its green and its not-so-green characteristics.