Recycled Glass Worktops Are Green By Design

One of the hottest interior design trends on both sides of the Atlantic is recycled glass worktops, made from recovered post-industrial and post-consumer waste material that would otherwise go to landfill. Earlier this year, Granite Transformations launched its Trend G Recycled worktop surfaces, containing up to 72% post-consumer recycled glass, and now it has raised the style stakes by introducing two new green finishes, Dream Green and Azzuro Prato, made from used lager, wine and mineral water bottles. Aimed at the emerging ‘eco chic’ marketplace, both designs display their environmental credentials by featuring green glass fragments bonded together with a clear polymer resin, to create worktops that are extremely tough, heat, stain and scratch resistant, and made from sustainable material.

The darker finish, Dream Green, is described as a lush carpet of crushed crystals and verdant green, while Azzuro Prato is seen as pale morning mist streaked with veins of brilliant emerald. Also new to the Trend G Recycled range are soft and subtle Bianco Spizzio, with its shards of sun-bleached blues and greys, and Beige Supremo, setting fragments of golden brown against a soft white ground. Nor are these recycled glass materials restricted to worktops, since they are equally at home in the bathroom, shower, wet room, lobby or outside living area.
Made with 100% recycled glass, including a high percentage of post-consumer content, these Trend G materials have better environmental credentials than most, making them a truly ‘green’ alternative to granite and engineered stone. Granite Transformations’ unique manufacturing process uses 50% less raw material than other engineered surfaces, for instance, while the ability to fit directly over existing worktops means no debris or landfill waste, nor the need for additional timber and materials for extra reinforcement. Also, unlike cement-based recycled glass countertops, Trend G materials are non-porous, so never need resealing or require harsh chemical treatments; containing pliable polymer resins, they are not susceptible to cracking and have the inherent flexibility to follow the contours of the worktop beneath and curves on island units.

Granite Transformations’ surfaces have been internationally tested and approved for breaking and flexing strength, thermal shock and impact resistance, as well as withstanding stains, abrasion and cigarette embers, and this superior performance means Trend G worktops will last and last. There is even a manufacturer-backed lifetime warranty. The recycled glass material has also been certificated by the Greenguard Environmental Institute for low emissions of VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) and other toxins, helping to create safer, healthier homes.

From an environmental viewpoint, glass is not biodegradable and the energy saved by recycling a single bottle is enough to power a computer for 25 minutes. Granite Transformations employs thousands of empty wine and beer bottles to produce worktops that are as tough and durable as natural granite slab, yet environmentally friendly. Certainly it should appeal to the 1 in 4 UK householders who have already made environmentally conscious improvements in their homes, from energy efficient lighting to solar heating.

Trend G Recycled worktops and other interior surfaces are available exclusively from Granite Transformations showrooms around the country and in most cases can be fitted in just one day.

For further information and nearest showroom, contact Granite Transformations, Unit 28 Decimus Park, Kingstanding Way, Tunbridge Wells TN2 3GP, tel 08700 427 450 or visit www.granitetransformations.co.uk