Vetrazzo…Environmental Award Winning Countertops | It's Our Environment

This post is back from June 4 2099 - off the EPA blog. 

Vetrazzo…Environmental Award Winning Countertops | It's Our Environment

About the author: Sara Jacobs recently celebrated her 10th year working at EPA Region 9. She has spent most of her years in the Drinking Water Office, but is currently on a detail to the Superfund Division, working with the Navajo EPA.

My two-bedroom flat in San Francisco was built in 1926 and I don’t think much has happened to the kitchen since. We still have no dishwasher or disposal and no flooring other than the sub floor since we ripped up the old stained and cracked vinyl. As we dream of some day being able to take on a kitchen remodel, we wonder how we could minimize the environmental impact of our project. Yet, we still need to stay on budget, maintain product quality, and still display our own unique style. Is this even possible?

We know that using recycled, locally manufactured, non-toxic materials are all good ideas, but where do we find these products? There is so much information to dig through on the web and as a busy, full-time working mother of two, I am just overwhelmed by the task. That’s why I was so excited when I read that one of the Pacific Southwest Environmental Award winners, Vetrazzo, takes glasses that are not recyclable elsewhere and turns them into beautiful countertops. (I can say beautiful because I saw the samples!)

Vetrazzo uses old glass from traffic lights, windshields, plate glass windows, dinnerware, stemware, laboratory glass, stained glass, and beverage bottles and transforms them into a superior green building material. In 2008, Vetrazzo transformed 650 tons of recycled glass into countertops, table tops, bar tops, fireplace hearths, shower surrounds and flooring.

Vetrazzo is made from glass processed directly from the recycler without melting. Since 2007, creation of 11,600 metric tons of carbon dioxide has been avoided by transforming recycled glass into Vetrazzo instead of new bottles or fiberglass. That is the same amount of energy saved by removing 2,125 passenger vehicles from the road for an entire year.

“Being recognized by the U.S. EPA is a tremendous honor for us,” said James Sheppard, CEO and Co-Founder of Vetrazzo, LLC. “Our product creates a focal point for green building by boldly and visually demonstrating the value of recycling. When an average kitchen counter can contain as many as 1,000 bottles, the impact of using a sustainable surfacing material is undeniable. It gets people talking.”

So now I have a solution for my counter tops. Does anyone have a suggestion for flooring?

Photo credits: ©2008 Joel Puliatti for Vetrazzo

Vetrazzo's Newest Glass Source

For Senior Designer Melissa Hawkins, some glass recycling programs just don't go far enough. An avid thrift store shopper, Melissa noticed a surplus of glassware that, if unsold, would end up in the landfill. "Due to concerns of contamination, municipal recycling programs only want bottle and jar-container glass. Container manufacturers buy the cullet, (crushed glass) from the recycling programs to remelt and mold into new containers. Contaminates, especially porcelain, can cause expensive equipment damage," explained Hawkins.

Inspired to recycle the multitude of “contaminates” or non-container glass, such as Pyrex cookware, dishware, and vases, Hawkins contacted several of the larger thrift store organizations. Phillip Arca, Executive Director at the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Oakland California, was willing to set-up a test program at their sorting facility.

Now thanks to The St. Vincent de Paul Society and Vetrazzo, chipped or otherwise unsellable glassware is collected in blue barrels for bi-monthly pick up. The quantity is relatively small but it is another example of the community, and creativity, supported by Vetrazzo in effort to keep recyclable glass out of the landfills.

On a side note, I have the pleasure of carpooling 4 days a week with Melissa, also known as Vetrazzo's Sustainability Officer or Waste Cop, if you will. At least one ride a week Mel will start to brainstorm a new way she thinks Vetrazzo can step up its game and cut down its waste. I'm not kidding when I say due to her passion we have barely avoided a number of fender benders when she gets on a roll... or sees a tire tread on the side of the freeway she could turn into art.

Trafficology Pendant Lamps by Melissa Hawkins

Recently with the help of Vetrazzo VP of Manufacturing, John Sabol, Melissa was able to work out a partnership to recycle a previously un-recyclable by-product of the Vetrazzo manufacturing process. Their efforts will save Vetrazzo money and keep our manufacturing waste out of the landfill. More on this and the rest of the Vetrazzo path to sustainability through responsible manufacturing in an upcoming blog...

Vetrazzo Company Culture

As I sit here looking at a couple of empty 32oz Tecate bottles I brought back from a trip to Mexico last year to split with our CFO (who likes the Tecate Light, but graciously accepted the original) I think about the company culture that makes Vetrazzo what it is. See, I go down to Tecate, Mexico once a year with an NGO called Club Dust to build houses in a shanty town called El Nino. I was only 3 months into my job here at Vetrazzo when the management team happily gave me paid time off to go on this trip. I have just now returned from a very successful trip this year.

Many large corporations will have some sort of paid philanthropy policy…what makes Vetrazzo different is that we have 2 people in our entire Marketing Department, so encouraging half the team to take off for a week is a unique choice. Where I went and what I did are only small details that bring me to my main point: Vetrazzo is a different kind of company.

This blog will mainly be about the company culture of Vetrazzo. I am trying to have a conversation about a different way of doing business and, though there are some great examples of this here at Vetrazzo, the conversation will not always be about Vetrazzo.

I want to talk about socially responsible business practices such as providing healthcare to all workers or bringing manufacturing back to the USA. I love to write and everyday I see something different and interesting that happens at Vetrazzo or I read about a sustainability trailblazing company like Interface. It’s not hard to see new ways that we push ourselves towards sustainability or find true life events that validate our belief that there is a story in every surface™ we create.

The stories told by the unique types of glass you will find in a Vetrazzo surface are not the only stories about Vetrazzo. It is the stories like mine or our Office Assistant’s goat that eats our lunch leftovers, that truly determine Vetrazzo’s story. More on Mama Goat in the next post...

If you’d like to become a part of the Vetrazzo family please become a fan on Vetrazzo’s Facebook page or follow us on Twitter!