OK, I'm going to say it and I don't care who hears (or in this case reads) ...
Granite and marble countertops, floors, tabletops and even building facades are -- say it with me -- passe, over, so very "been there, done that." Let's move on people! Honestly, how long can we continue ripping up majestic mountains for the sole purpose of displaying our kill on countertops? This is America, let's use a little of our innovatory sprit to come up with a more enlightened solution.
Beauty and Brains
For those sick of the common countertop, how it looks and where it comes from, this Bay Area company offers enough innovation coupled with its concern for the environment that when your touring its site and reviewing its product line, our future actually seems to get brighter, maybe it's all that glass.
Vetrazzo is a recycled glass countertop manufacturer located in Richmond, Calif. Its sustainable story is rooted in its very location -- the Vetrazzo factory is housed in the old Ford plant, built in 1930 and named in 2008 to the National Registry of Historic Places, out on Point Richmond adjacent to the Rosie the Riveter Museum now being built. The company has planted a small victory garden in honor of the WWII Jeeps, tanks and other military vehicles produced in that plant that were absolutely crucial to the successful war effort back in the day. And perhaps it's locale is also a good reminder that Vetrazzo is in a bit of a war of its own: how to get people to not just talk about "being green" but to actually put their hearts, minds and money where their mouths are when it comes time to build or remodel.
As you enter the factory, it's filled with giant bags that say, "FOR PEANUTS ONLY." But peanuts, whether edible or of the styrofoam variety, are not involved in the manufacturing process, rather the bags are a post-industrial waste product from peanut farmers. James Sheppard, our personable tour guide and co-owner of Vetrazzo, said the bags would typically be used once and discarded because they contained a food product. Now, along with the tons upon tons of glass that Vetrazzo recycles, they also prevent these giant bags from ending up in the landfill.
500 Pounds of Glass In Every Slab
Oh, did I say tons of glass, I meant MEGATONS. Vetrazzo has created a network of used glass suppliers all over the country including the Bay Area's CRV recycled glass (including clear glass such as baby food jars and pickle jars, colored glass from beer bottles, wine bottles, blue Skyy vodka bottles, and the red glass lenses that usually come from traffic lights and, during our tour, beautiful ruby spheres salvaged from a San Jose Airport runway. And all that broken "fused silicate" is bypassing the landfill; and it gets better: Vetrazzo will recycle its used countertops, keeping the material out of the landfill for good.
The glass aggregate is mixed with a secret recipe of Portland cement and other stuff. I asked James if they incorporate fly ash and he said the company considered it but the post-industrial byproduct contains lead. Enough said. Once Vetrazzo has the mix, it is poured into a mold and polished to an absolutely beautiful finish. The sustainable story of each slab only adds to the intrinsic beauty of the product. With many combinations of glass colors and mix colors to chose from, this product can pull together any kitchen, bath, bar or fine-dining establishment; plus it's a truly great conversation piece.
Warning to the Trade
One thing to be aware of, especially if you're ordering large quantities and want the slabs to match, remember to specify slabs from the same batch. Otherwise, the glass-color ratio could vary and therefore slightly alter the look of each slab.
Despite the product's inherent upsides, it's not all smooth selling at Vetrazzo as sustainable products can be wallet-challenging when compared to Home Depot's offshore sourced granite or composite countertops, for example.
Certainly, Vetrazzo is not the least expensive material you can put on your counter, but it is made in the USA and local to us in the Bay Area. Also, the Vetrazzo factory is paying a fair Bay Area wage with full health benefits and when you get right down to it, what's more sustainable than that?
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