Countertop Buying Guide
A quick guide to strategic product selection
Before installing new countertops, consider re-finishing or re-using your old material in a creative way. Reusing product instead of buying new product is the best way to reduce the environmental and economic impacts associated with new product consumption.
Innovative countertop material
- Material: uses recycled paper in a resin base; available in thicknesses ranging from ¼ inch to 2 inches; integrally colored in many hues; Heat- and stain-resistant with honed-surface look.
- Innovation: uses 100% post-consumer recycled paper or cardboard (paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council); and proprietary, petroleum- and formaldehyde-free phenolic resins (made from raw materials like cashew nut shell liquid)
- Cost: For a 1.25in x 30 in x 10ft piece of Paperstone countertop, average price is $1,200 (see www.ecohaus.com).
- Material/Innovation: "Alkemi" product uses post-industrial scrap waste (34% by weight—as certified—or 60% by volume) derived from fine flake aluminum milling scrap, which commonly burns up as a heavy smoke pollutant when exposed to conventional aluminum recycling (Alkemi itself leaves no hazardous footprint).
- Cost: comparable to high-end granite (see www.renewedmaterials.com).
- Material: colorful recycled glass mixed into a cement, concrete, or resin base.
- Innovation: diverts used glass (post-consumer bottles, etc.) from the waste stream; the cement in some counters is mixed with fly ash.
- Cost: relatively expensive (see company websites for details).
Recycled wood fiber by Richlite
- Material: made from reclaimed or recycled lumber, or lesser-known tree species that have been sustainably harvested.
- Innovation: utilizes reclaimed wood, thereby reducing the need to harvest trees.
- Economics: medium to high cost compared to traditional butcher blocks (see www.www.richlite.com).
Other innovative materials
Other countertop material: the pros & cons
Bamboo
PROS
- Can be harvested within 3-7 years of growth, can regenerate without replanting, and requires minimal pesticides and fertilizer, making it a resource that is much more renewable than trees, which take 50-150 to reach maturity.
- Is attractive and readily available in solid, woven and engineered versions; offers a variety of colors and grains.
- Often less expensive than hardwoods and just as easy to install.
CONS
- The bonding material between bamboo fibers is much weaker than the lignens in wood - if a sharp object such as a rock in someone’s shoe cuts the bamboo fibers, the bamboo scratches or gouges easily because the material between the fibers is relatively soft
- If a bamboo floor and a hardwood floor have identical hardness according to the Janka test, in reality the hardwood floor will dent and scratch less than the bamboo. Some bamboo flooring companies report very misleading Janka test ratings. They get high ratings by performing the test on the ‘knuckle’ or node of the bamboo stalk, which occupies only a tiny portion of the floor’s surface area and is substantially harder than most of the floor.
- The adhesive to bind bamboo together to make flooring can contain urea formaldehyde - ensure you specify urea-formaldehyde-free if purchasing bamboo.
- May encourage clear-cutting: due to the increase in demand for bamboo flooring, forests around the world, most often in Asia, are being cleared to make room for bamboo growth; this is a detriment to the diverse species that rely forest ecosystems and often leads to soil erosion.
- Bamboo used for North American countertop and flooring applications typically grows in the Hunan Province of China - the carbon emissions associated with transporting the bamboo from China to North America are significant and should be weighed when considered as an eco-friendly alternative to locally grown, FSC certified wood.
Ceramic & glass tile
PROS
- Durable and long-lasting.
- Glass tile can contain a high percentage of post-consumer recycled content (e.g. old bottles, light bulbs, windshields).
- Ceramic tile is derived from abundant natural clay sources.
- May be locally sourced.
- Base product does not have VOC emissions.
- Fairly inexpensive (approximately $35 - $50 per square foot).
CONS
- Requires energy-intensive manufacturing processes.
Concrete
PROS
- Durable and long-lasting.
- Can contain fly ash.
- May be locally-sourced.
- Non-toxic (before being finished with sealant, etc., VOC emissions from the epoxy and sealant products can be significant - specify low- or no-VOCs).
- Recyclable.
CONS
- Requires energy-intensive manufacturing processes.
- When not recycled or reused, amounts to large quantities of waste in landfills.
- Not very cheap (typically $100/square foot).
Cork
PROS
- The bark of cork trees can be removed once every 7 to 10 years without harming the tree or its habitat, a process that has been used throughout recorded history.
CONS
- Cork must travel a long distance from its origin - usually in the Mediterranean region - to reach the U.S. market, creating more carbon emissions.
- Potential toxicity: in the past, urea formaldehyde was used to bind cork granules into flooring, but it was phased out in the 1980s; today, urea melamine, phenol formaldehyde and natural proteins are used as binders instead, greatly reducing VOC levels/risks (take care to choose low-VOC adhesives for cork floor installation - a natural wax or low-VOC polyurethane sealer is recommended).
Laminate
PROS
- Inexpensive (typically $36 - $45 per linear foot installed).
- Installation does not require glue.
- Wood waste from sawmills can be used to manufacture the wood fibreboard constituent of laminate material.
CONS
- Not very durable compared to other countertop materials.
- Some laminate countertops (and floors for that matter) are made with formaldehyde and adhesives which can lead to hazardous VOC emissions within the home.
Stainless steel
PROS
- Typcially contains between 60 and 80% of recycled stainless steel scrap.
- 100% recyclable.
- Does not stain.
CONS
Stone
PROS
- Durable and long-lasting.
- Can be crushed and re-used as aggregate for concrete upon its end-of-life.
- Is available in a variety of colors and types (granite, marble, sandstone, slate, limestone).
- No toxic emissions profile beyond potential radon emission (before being finished with sealant, etc.).
- Moderately priced ($60 - $80/square foot)
CONS
- Derives from non-renewable, finite resources.
- Typically needs to be transported long distances in order to reach its end-user and due to its weight, requires heavy duty transport means, which emit many pounds of carbon emissions per mile driven.
- Quarrying, cutting, polishing and handling this heavy, hard material requires a great deal of energy; stone quarrying can also affect the surrounding landscape and water tables, especially affecting riparian habitats.
- Some stone types—particularly marble, sandstone, limestone and slate—are relatively soft and can scratch and absorb stains easily (granite is more durable and resistant to scratches and stains however)
Wood/butcher block
PROS
- Depending on species, is durable and long-lasting.
- Can be reused or recycled.
CONS
- Places greater demand on a finite – and in some cases verging on extinct – resource (trees).
- If not FSC certified, may encourage illegal logging and/or the destruction of ancient forests (see our Lumber Buying Guide for details).
- Typically requires finishing/staining/coating of some sort, which may contain toxic material.
Toxicity
Countertop sealant, grout and other finishes typically contain VOCs, which are toxic and harmful to humans and the environment. Use products that do not contain - or contain very little - VOCs. Looking for the Green Seal label on products will assist you in this effort.
Local manufacturing
Look for countertop products that were manufactured within 500 miles of your home. This reduces the amount of resources used to transport the flooring material to your home.
Questions? Feedback?
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