When we think of being green and buying green these days we tend to focus our efforts on our day to day purchases. These are the kinds of questions we might be asking to be more environmentally friendly.  Are we using plastic when we could use something reusable? Do we need the car today? Where was this fruit grown? Is this meal vegan? Can we start sending e-cards instead of paper ones?

But there are also a lot of changes we can make to our longer term purchases too.  After all, they are often bigger and may have more impact. So looking at the wood used in furniture we buy and where it has come from is one area.  But we can also look at things like Kitchen surfaces. Wondering if your kitchen surface is environmentally friendly is certainly not something everyone does.  However as we move into a new world of climate change prevention and mitigation everything is up for debate and quite rightly so.  

Why Does It Matter? 

Without stating the obvious reasons it is interesting to consider why a worktop specifically might matter. Firstly it is something that can be part of a very large purchase. Even a medium size kitchen can have a good few meters of worktop so it is not an insignificant item. It can also last for years and years if well chosen so durability can mean sustainability in a round about way. Due to the size and the creation of worktops there can be significant environmental impact. It is not just the 3 metres for your home, it’s the other 100 metres made that week that can be the issue. So thinking about worktops along with everything else can help! 

Not Just CO2 

While we are fully focussed on CO2 and plastics these days there are wider environmental impacts to think of. Where things are sourced as well as how far they travel. How they are made and the chemicals used can have a big impact on the local and global environment and how they can be disposed of matters a lot! 

Corian 

Corian is a man-made substance initially produced by a company called Dupont. Since the patent expired other brands are allowed to create a similar type of what is known as “solid surface” but Corian is the “hoover” of solid surfaces and is often used as the default term. While Dupont own the name they licence companies to make it in many countries to it can be made locally by companies like https://www.dolphinsolidsurfaces.co.uk/ under licence. Generally, man made things tend to seem like they are less eco friendly, but Corian and other solid surfaces are the opposite. Dupont is heavily committed to sustainability which is certainly a good start.

But other features of Corian make it far greener than one might think. It can be fabricated into almost any shape, so the design process is highly accurate thus leaving very little waste. It can also be re-worked and re-used because it is so hard wearing so there is scope for recycling too. Other green aspects of solid surfaces like Corian are low off gassing. This is a natural seepage of volatile compounds as gas from various man-made substances. Corian is made with very few such compounds so off gassing isn’t an issue. It can also create gap free bathrooms and kitchen surfaces, so water doesn’t leak in, causing mould and damage. While this means it lasts longer it also mean you don’t need lots of chemical cleaners and sealants to keep it looking good.  

Natural Stone 

This is a very broad group but there are some key issues here. Ultimately materials like granite are dug up from the ground which in its self may not be the most environmentally friendly way to get a material. Mining is energy intensive and water intensive. The stone must then be transported from one location to the processing location and then to the shop or customer. While solid surfaces need to be taken to the shop or customer, they are not shipped round the world from one continent to another.

It is this combination of mining and transport that make traditional stone surfaces less environmentally friendly than people may think. That being said they last a very long time which is a big plus in terms of sustainability. It is also important to remember that natural stone worktops can be re-used. They might be cut up and used for other things or simply installed into a new home. Off gassing is also not an issue with natural stone.  

The debate is much larger than is covered here but it is important to remember that not all man-made things are bad and not all-natural substances are good. It is all about learning what works for us and the environment and choosing well. We must also be ready to change when new information about something we thought was good turns out to be wrong.