Recycling Trash For Your Kitchen And Bath Decor

 


Do You Know The Nutritional Value Of Your Home? If it's a healthy material Declare Label has the ingredients that went into it.

If you think that recycled or sustainable materials are going to compromise the beauty of your kitchen or bath, consider thinking twice. Just like a second thought can be better than the original, so can products that came from recycled glass, plastics and reclaimed wood. In 2016 SB 1383 was signed into law. Since then, Cal-Recycle's goal has been to reduce waste into recycled matter by 50% in 2020 and by 75% in 2025. Considering our awareness of the law, that is a pretty ambitious goal. 

That said, we are making significant progress in meeting that goal. Residential participation isn't the only sector taking notice. Commercial business and manufacturers are also setting ambitious goals to do their part. Reducing our carbon footprint, focusing on cradle to cradle production, and living building certification are global goals that could level the playing field in the fight against global warming. Not only are the goals great for the planet, they are a healthy choice for humans too. In fact, the International Living Future Institute has developed a tool to help consumers determine the "nutritional value" of the products they are using in their homes. This reduces the risk of inadvertently participating in companies that produce products that poison our bodies and the planet. To check and see if the home improvement products you are choosing are healthy use the Declare label.

In this post we are going to look at the sustainability and recycling goals of 4 of Lynn's GoTo companies. We will also take a look at other companies for lighting, home decor and hardware that are also doing their part. 

When it comes to aesthetically pleasing countertops and tiles Cambria USA and Ann Sacks knock it out of the park. Respectively both companies have gone above and beyond just being "green". Cambria takes the lead with being 100% Declare label followed by Ann Sacks that has a large percentage of tiles that fall under the Declare label. 

Cambria offers designs with recycled content comprised of reused Cambria quartz slabs, pigments, and binders. The following Cambria designs contain pre-consumer recycled content certified by SCS Global Services: Brittanicca Block™, Buxton™, Big Sur Mist™, and Sanibel Shoreline™.

We are privileged to work with quartz, a unique and precious resource. This drives our sustainability efforts—informing our processes, infusing our products, and shaping our environmental and community stewardship.

At ANN SACKS, sustainability is a way of life. As providers of luxury tile and stone, we seek to
help beautify your personal space as naturally as possible. But we know that our daily operations—from powering the kilns in our factory to keeping the lights on in our showrooms—consume precious resources. Eco-Thinking keeps us ever-mindful of ways to reduce our footprint.


Tile and stone offer some inherently sustainable attributes, such as longevity, freedom from chemical off-gassing, and surfaces that may not rely on toxic chemicals. Our most sustainable products—from recycled glass to energy-efficient concrete—are labeled with our Eco-Thinking logo for easy identification. You can view the entire list on our Eco-Thinking collection page.


Cabinet companies have been notorious for lacking in the sustainability and healthy materials department. The biggest culprit has been composite boxes (mdf, particle board and pressboard). Often the binding adhesives are made with urea-formaldehyde or phenol-formaldehyde. While urea-formaldehyde is the greatest offender releasing VOC for the lifetime of the wood, both are carcinogenic. Some of the alternative binding agents like MDI can exacerbate asthma. It is because this that Lynn has vetted out two of her most sustainable and non-toxic lines to offer clients first.


Wood-Mode, Inc. is committed to the pursuit of responsible environmental policies and practices. We believe it is important to protect the environment and conserve our natural resources by implementing responsible technologies and processes. Few if any other cabinet companies have been as consistently caring for the environment as Wood-Mode. Our pledge to our customers is to strengthen that commitment and to continuously strive to meet the following goals:

Promote the protection and sustainability of forests and other natural resources through our suppliers. Pursue the inclusion of environmentally friendly products and materials into our manufacturing processes where feasible.Protect land, water, and air quality by complying with all environmental permits and regulations.Employ energy efficient technologies in our manufacturing processes where practicable.Promote our environmental policies and practices to our employees and the public.

Wood-Mode will strive to meet these goals and show our commitment to being a conscientious corporate citizen by working to protect our environment and conserve our natural resources.

Dura Supreme Cabinetry has been ahead of the game for a long time when it comes to protecting resources, employees and clients with their products.
  • Resources: In addition to sourcing the majority of our hardwood from domestic forests, we also utilize sustainable practices throughout all aspects of our manufacturing process. We recognize the value of wood as a natural resource — one of many we cherish in everything we do.
  • At Dura Supreme, we value our natural resources (at work and at play). Protecting our natural resources for future generations is part of our daily routine. This includes:Recycling of 99.9% of our wood waste to be used as livestock bedding, minimizing waste output and supporting our local farming community
  • Recycling stations (i.e. plastic, paper, etc.) throughout our facility
  • Motion sensors and programmable thermostats in the office and facility to minimize the use of heat and light
  • Efficient radiant heat to keep our factory comfortable and warm
  • Energy-efficient motors with soft-start technology for our production equipment to reduce peak load energy requirements
  • Streamlined finish process that incorporates a state-of-the-art finish line reclamation system to reclaim and reuse finishes as well as a solvent distiller that also reclaims and reuses our solvents
  • Voluntary participation in a local energy curtailment program to reduce peak power demand

Recycle | Sustainable Companies You Didn't Know About


BICYCLE GLASS COMPANY: This company takes used glass from the community and recycles it into beautiful lighting for your home or business. Their goal was to make something that was both beautiful and sustainable. In addition, they strive to do no harm to the environment and community that they do business in by finding ways to reduce their carbon footprint.




LANNAPASSA: Fashioned after Asian fishing traps, there are a variety of shapes and sizes available. Made from sustainable bamboo grass these lights are the model of eco-friendly. The techniques used for weaving are centuries old. Looking for some textiles to accent your design, try this company too. They support the local ethnic tribes that still use traditional weaving techniques that have since been replicated by commercial manufacturing. Purchasing from LannaPassa shows support for both sustainability and social economies.



MOSA TILE: This tile company takes sustainability to the next level by being Cradle to Cradle gold certified. That means they take products that previously had an entirely different life and recycle it into a brand new, often unrelated, product. That's thinking long term and taking care of future generations. In their opinion that allows them to make a positive contribution to society, the economy and the planet.














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