Search in the Kitchens forum -- lots of people have either used or examined those countertop materials. Lots of good reading there, and people who can ask questions you may have afterward.

Granite comes long distances, and it seems unsustainable, so I'm interested to hear it's considered a more green material.

What other materials are relatively green for counters?

Granite isn't the most environmentally sustainable material, it has very high embodied energy and mining is generally bad for the environment.

Increasing demand has made the mining industry move away from more traditional methods towards extensive large scale projects. Whole mountains are now being routinely reduced to stumps to feed our demand for minerals (mostly coal). We often forget to consider the environment being removed to access the minerals. For example, in the case of aluminium it's often tropical rain forest. Mining has not gathered as much attention as other environmental issues, but it's going to be a major problem in the future. The increasing scale of it is making the supply cheaper and the demand greater, but we're exhausting the world's supply of many minerals (phosphates, for example), it just hasn't gathered the same attention as depleting fossil fuels. Regarding most minerals, people are still in the "endless resources" bubble that was similar to public views on fossil fuels not so long ago. There's so much still in the ground we just assume there will always be another lump to extract and consume - but what we all forget is just how many people are thinking that and planning to do exactly that every day for the rest of their lives.

These reasons are why it concerns me that so many minerals and mineral based products are finding their way on to lists of ecological products, when impartial comparisons show that oil/plastic based alternatives normally consume much less energy, less resources and less land. The full life cycle does have an impact, but high quality plastics (for example kitchen laminates) can last a very long time, perhaps even longer than natural materials. My formica kitchen is from the 1940s and is still glossy, hygienic and easy to clean.

Unfortunately, many kitchens will come to an early end regardless what they're made from, either because low quality materials were used or fashion changed. Avoid these two common pitfalls and I'm sure whatever you choose will be a good choice, but do consider plastics fairly, they actually have very strong environmental credentials when used for long lasting materials such as building materials and furniture.

These reasons are why it concerns me that so many minerals and mineral based products are finding their way on to lists of ecological products

Finally, someone else who "gets it"! So many people on this board (not in this forum, of course) tout granite countertops and stone flooring as "natural" and "green" and give plastic anything (laminate countertops, vinyl flooring) the ol' hairy eyeball for being made of that demon petroleum. In fact, pretty much anything you put on a floor or countertop has to be "harvested" from somewhere. But, for some reason, the process of excavating granite or marble (usually by workers who do not get the best of the deal), transporting this heavy material, finishing it (using who-knows-how-much water and solvents), and transporting it again to its final resting place (your kitchen) doesn't enter into the declaration of how "natural" and "green" it is.

I just saw an article which stated that the nickel used in Toyota's Prius' batteries travels from Canada (where it is mined), to Europe (where it is refined), to China (where it made into "nickel foam" for the batteries), to Japan (for installation in the car (which is then shipped here). How many miles must one drive a Prius to make up for that many trips across that many oceans? And what happens when that battery is no longer usable?

Just by living on this planet, we consume resources of one kind or another. Minimal consumption is best, but the determination of "minimal" must include everything it takes to make that consumption possible, not just the end product.

I have a hard time chastising Prius owners because their batteries traveled a long distance before making it to their driveways. While I agree we should consider the total life cycle of products we consider, I think the best most of us can do is make consumer decisions that are better than others out there. And the last thing we should be doing is discouraging people from buying a Prius because it's not a "perfect" solution. There are plenty of environmental hogs driving Hummers and the like who do relatively more damage than those Prius drivers.

The same analogy can be applied to countertops. I live in New England and just finished a kitchen and mudroom remodel. We chose granite counters sourced from Canada and slate tile sourced from Vermont to support local businesses and to minimize the environmental impact of long distance transport of materials. I'm satisfied that we met our environmental objectives with choices that are both beautiful and long lasting.

Not to -- um, drive -- too far off-topic here, but my Prius comment was intended to point out that the entire lifecycle of a product must be evaluated against the other choices. I have to wonder if the Prius would be the darling of the "green scene" if the carbon footprint of its production were compared to those of, say, a small modern European turbodiesel or even miserly gasoline-powered vehicles like the Chevy Aveo or Toyota Corolla. Do the reduced CO2 emissions of and consumer's gasoline usage for a Prius compensate for the battery's three trips across oceans and a special challenge come recycling/disposal time when "normal" vehicles using existing infrastructure approach the fuel mileage and emissions levels? Driving a Prius may be better for the environment than driving a Hummer, but would driving a Toyota Corolla or Ford Focus be even better in terms of overall carbon footprint?

Back to the original topic at hand: countertop materials. :-)

What are your thoughts on concrete countertops? I've been researching them and they look kinda cool. Depending on the choice of color and finish, some of them look like soapstone.

We're thinking about using concrete in our kitchen project, mostly because of cost. My husband will likely do them himself. Any idea how feasible this is?

Here is a link that might be useful: kitchen plans

The Cheng site discusses DIY concrete countertops in some detail. I've seen it referred to as a good resource in several locations.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cheng concrete countertop site

Hi all,
My husbabnd has a residential remodeling company and we have installed both richlite and concrete -- both definitely have their romance, but in my opinion the richlite (or whatever brand of compressed paper solid surface you choose, I have heard that richlite is not the "greenest") feels really nice both in a tactile and acoustic sense. Somehow the warmth of wood comes through. The color of the richlite will change or patina over time and it can scratch more easily than other solid surfaces.
The Cheng books are really great if you are going towards concrete. They are full of inspiring examples. I especially love the idea of the built in drain board.
One word of caution if using pigments with concrete is to be open to pleasant surprises rather than fixed on a certain outcome. There is some crazy science in there!
In either case there have been no complaints in the past three years regarding scratching or staining to either surface. Hope that helps.
-Ellen

Just wondering, what waterproofs the concrete?

I noted there are many people in above said granite isnot good for kitchen because it makes environmentally bad, I think maybe it is right but there are some advantages on granite countertops--Can suffer heavy things, also can't fade and keep as nice after 3 years old. I invite you visit our website:www.xmgranitetops to know more information for granite countertops

recycled glass is the way to go. If you are a granit person you can get it to look JUST like granit, its a bit more money but it is made from recycled glass. We need to start buying the products that come from recycled materials otherwise no sense in using them. I am in the process of installing recycled glass countertops and I will post pictures when they are done. 90 a square foot isnt cheap but the next generation will thank me

Any info out there about the quality of slate from New England/New York as opposed to Brazil? I am doing a countertop for my new kitchen and love the look and feel of the green slate, but am not clear if the lower price on the Brazilian slate is a reflection of a lower quality product. I understand and am considering the carbon footprint issues related to importing slate, so let's leave that aside for the moment, please. Thanks!

not the greenest option, but a lot of the solid surface companies are now using products with pretty high percentages of recycled material, and look pretty good

we just did our kitchen, and i couldnt find too many around here in Virginia that offered the recycled glass, let alone justify the price. granite was absolutely not an option(grew up in colorado springs, ive seen first hand what granite quarrying does to a mountain. the designer was boggled that i refused granite. i tried to explain, but here in this region, theyre about 10yrs behind the west regarding real sustainability or recycling). i didnt want the particle board/laminate countertops as theyre throw away. so we went with the corian. yeah its plasticish, it probably takes a ton of energy to make, but the transit to here was short(and put Americans to work) it can be repaired,(not many others can be), contained some industrial by product/recycled/reclaimed content, and it looked nice. install was fast and took little to no adhesives. will the next owners probably jsut throw it away? maybe. id like to hope that it would end up in someone elses kitchen though. i know laminate wont, and granite doesnt travel well. sure theres a lot of other options, but wheres it manufactured? hows it manufactured? and at the end of the day, whats it cost?

i love the way granite looks, really, but i really find it less than functional, and tough to justify for me the stripping a mountain of million year old stone so my kitchen looks nice. thats prepostrous to me. nevermind what happens when it stains, or cracks? it ends up in the trash. thats wasteful. wasting some laminated/compressed paper, or particle board is one thing, but stone is something completely different. that crap cant just be grown again.
apologize for the resurection of this topic

Glass is made from sand, there are hills here in Minn. that no longer exist so sand and gravel can be dug out.

Anyone who thinks glass is "green" is living a folly, ofcourse the the whole "green" moniker is a farce for the naive and gullible.

I know it's out of fashion, but bucking trends can be fun, and so I'm considering doing a tile countertop. I've been looking at fireclay tiles--recycled, made in the u.s, people on gardenweb seem pretty happy with them in general. I'm planning on doing some sustainably harvested wood counters but didn't really want to do this around the sink. I know, cleaning the grout lines, etc...I may regret it if I do it but am liking the idea on many levels. Anyone else out there with a tile countertop they like/love/regret?

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I live in Vermont, home to marble quarries, right next door to NH, home to granite quarries, and on the other side of my state, NY's slate quarries. None of these industries are remotely comparable to the coal industry's mountaintop removal, or the fracking industry's polluted groundwater and increase in earthquake activity.

Personally I am living with the formica countertops that the builder of my house installed in 1968, and I have no plans to change them. I'm not big into kitchen remodels or trends. If it works, it stays in my house.