What Exactly Is Green Flooring in Santa Cruz, CA?

If you’re looking for more environmentally flooring options, you have a wide variety of choices, including “green” flooring. “Green” means more than just being made from a natural substance. Factors that affect a flooring material’s environmental impact include its ability to be renewed and recycled, whether it comes from a responsible manufacturer, how far it has been transported, its toxicity to the environment, the amount of maintenance it needs and the general life cycle of the material.

Let’s take a look at some examples of a few of the most popular types of green flooring in Santa Cruz, CA:

• Cork: Cork flooring is naturally renewable and generally inexpensive. It is manufactured from the bark of the cork oak tree. This bark grows back after being harvested, which makes it quite an environmentally friendly option. Some of the benefits of cork include natural insulation against hot and cold temperatures and its ability to repel common pests and bugs. Some forms of cork flooring are made with old recycled bottle stoppers, but more commonly it comes from the plant as described above.
• Linoleum: Linoleum is made primarily from oxidized linseed oil, which is made naturally by flax plants. The material is highly renewable and also widely available. Producing linoleum has a minimal environmental impact. The floor can last for 25 to 40 years, depending on how well the owner maintains it. When no longer used, the material can be burned as fuel. In fact, the energy produced through burning a square foot of the material is about the same as the energy used to produce the same amount.
• Hardwood: Hardwood flooring comes from a wide variety of types of hardwood trees. It is entirely biodegradable and easily recycled and used as fuel or for other projects at the end of its useful flooring life. Ensure the wood you choose for your floor is grown in forests that are certified as being well managed by the Forest Stewardship Council.
• Bamboo: Bamboo grows extremely quickly—its harvest cycle is just three to five years. This makes it an extremely renewable source of material for flooring. Its primary drawback is that it is typically produced in the Pacific Rim, which means that if you import it to your area, you could be contributing to quite a bit of pollution.
• Natural stone: Stone flooring is typically more expensive than other forms of flooring, but it is a natural product of the earth and its harvest does not harm the environment. It can be recycled to be used in other flooring projects. The downside of stone is its weight—transporting the material can have a significant impact on the environment if it travels long distances.
• Recycled glass tile: These tiles are often made from repurposed glass waste, such as windows and bottles. By using recycled glass, you keep the material from sitting in a landfill.

For more information about the various types of green flooring in Santa Cruz, CA and their benefits, contact us today.

Categorised in: Green Flooring

This post was written by Writer