Flooring Installation.Com Flooring Installation Blog

Today, flooring manufacturers, architects, designers and builders are stepping up to address their role in providing green flooring materials, designs and practices that pave the way for environmentally responsible homes.

You have a role too. Whether you are remolding or building new, choosing Green flooring materials for your home will benefit your health, comfort, environment and finances.

Did you know ?

• The US is a source for 25% of the world’s green house gas emissions?

• The average American family uses 102,000 gallons of water

• Each day 5 billion gallons of potable water is used just to flush toilets! (10,000 tons per day!) However, the detergent that is used to clean cloth diapers can be just as harmful, more water, energy and detergent are used to clean them. Washing in bulk, line drying and choosing diapers that are biodegradable and chemical free is the best bet.

• More than 18 billion disposable diapers are thrown away each year.

• The average American’s ecological footprint (the area of land required to sustain consumption and waste) is more than 25 acres which is 5 times more than what is sustainable globally.

• One third of the trash tossed in the US is a packaging material. Americans toss more that 75 million tons of packaging and containers. (that’s 532 pounds per person into landfills each year) Sad thing is, less than 40% is recycled.

• The US transportation system is the largest in the world and accounts for 1/3 of our greenhouse gas emissions. (more that 515 million tons of CO2 each year or 70% of the oil consumed in the US and more that we produce as a nation)

In this section, we are going to cover what it really means to be green, tips on how you can be more green, hot new products that make it easy to be green and remain stylish at the same time.

Green flooring is any flooring product that is sustainable, eco-friendly, contains recycled content, is recyclable, leaves a small carbon footprint or has low VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compound). There are different degrees of green when referring to different types of flooring. Below you will find the different categories and benefits of green flooring.

Types of Green Flooring

Green Cork Flooring

• Better than a renewable resource because it is a harvested resource (only the bark is harvested from the tree)
• A recycled product because cork floors are made from the waste cork that makes wine stoppers.
• A law in the 1930’s called “The 9 Year Law” was passed to keep cork from being harvested any sooner than every 9 years. The tree has to reach 60 cm in circumference before it can be harvested. The first harvest from a cork tree can only occur at age 25.
• The tree is not destroyed or damaged when harvesting cork.
• To complete the environmentally sound process, water based finishes and adhesives should be used.

Green Bamboo Flooring

• Bamboo is a rapidly renewing resource that matures in three years
• It regenerates without need for replanting
• It also requires minimal fertilization or pesticides
• There currently is no FSC certified bamboo so it is important to see what you can confirm about the bamboo you are interested in before purchasing.

Green Carpeted Floors

• According to the Carpet and Rug Institute: The carpet industry is minimizing carpet’s impact on the environment through the new “3 Rs” which stand for reduce, reuse and recycle. When carpet reaches the end of its long life, it is reused to make new carpet or is recycled into a variety of products, ranging from roofing shingles and railroad ties to automotive parts.
• Factors that determine if carpet is “green”: carpet fibers, toxics content, dye, VOC emissions, and recycled content.
• The Green Label and Green Label Plus from the Carpet and Rug Institute ensure that customers are purchasing among the lowest emitting carpet, adhesive and cushion products on the market.

Green Stone Floors and Flooring

There is no clear data on the impact of using stone as a building material on the environment; when the data is collected it will contain information on water and energy consumption, yields from raw materials, recyclability and other measures that are considered in life cycle assessments, energy used in transportation, processing and selling the material.

• Stone does have the following features:
• It’s a natural product
• It has an enduring life cycle so it doesn’t have to be replaced
• Ease of care and maintenance
• Recyclable
• Quarry and manufacturing use best practices
• Can be reclaimed

Green Hardwood Flooring

• Natural Resource
• Renewable
• Recyclable
• Suitable for a “healthy home” environment
• Forests are managed for replanting

Green Linoleum Floors

• Made from all natural materials
• The natural raw materials used to create Linoleum are available in abundance: linseed oil, rosin, wood flour, cork flour, ecologically responsible pigments and jute.
• These raw materials are harvested or extracted with relatively little energy consumption. The main energy resource for the process is the sun. The plants and trees that supply linoleum’s raw materials also contribute to the production of oxygen and the subsequent reduction of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, thus reducing the amount of greenhouse gasses present in the atmosphere.
• Can be recycled
• The energy obtained from incinerating linoleum is roughly equivalent to or even more than that which is used in production.
• Linoleum can be safely added to landfill refuse sites, where natural decomposition takes place. Linoleum is fully biodegradable and does not release harmful substances or gases such as chlorine and dioxins.
• Adhesives are 100% solvent free and meet all low VOC requirements
• Does not require maintenance from harmful chemicals
• Linoleum contains virtually no trace of toxic material and is naturally beneficial to air quality.

Green Ceramic Tile Floors

• Rarely release emissions
• Some contain recycled content
• Long lasting and not replaced frequently
• Requires little maintenance
• Value is unclear due to it’s weight causing more fuel during transportation

Green Carpet Tiles and Floor Cushions

The Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) has established the Green Label program to test for VOCs in cushion used under carpet. This program helps you choose low-emission cushion. You can identify these products by looking for the program’s green and white seal. These products are continuously monitored to ensure that they maintain compliance.
Cushion products are characterized as prime polyurethane, bonded polyurethane, mechanically frothed polyurethane, rubber-hair, rubber–jute, synthetic fiber, resinated or coated synthetic fiber, rubber and rubberized polyurethane.
Cushions are tested for total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), formaldehyde and 4-phenylcyclohexine (4-PCH).
Carpet cushion can be:

• Made from100% recycled bonded cushion from polyurethane foam or 100% recycled content in Rebond Carpet Cushion, a bonded polyurethane product
• Made with 97% recycled rubber for carpet underlayment
• Made with no CFC’s, latex or chemical additives
• Made with 100% recycled tire rubber carpet pad. Withstands temperatures from 40 to 120 degrees. Free of toxic materials such as PCB, mercury, and formaldehyde
• Made from ground tire scrap rubber granules bonded with latex and 92% recycled tire rubber

General Green Benefits and Considerations

• Lower operating costs – less expensive utility bills because of energy and water efficiency
• Increased comfort- green built homes enjoy more even temperatures with fewer drafts
• Durability and Lowered Maintenance – green homes are built with materials that are designed to last longer and require less routine maintenance

Raw Materials

• Ideal products being as a plant (bamboo, wood, cork)
• How products are harvested is critical
• Important to select sustainable harvested products
• Consider salvaged products

Manufacturing Process

• Less a product is altered, the better
• Stone, wood and bamboo require the least manipulation
• Others require chemical processing

Transportation

• Beware of products that have to be transported across the ocean or long distances
• Products within 500 miles are considered acceptable
• Shop locally when possible from vendors that supply locally

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