Vetrazzo's Recycled Glass Countertops Are A Beautiful and Eco-Friendly Option

There are many choices for beautiful kitchen and bath countertops, floors or backsplashes. One eco-friendly choice is recycled glass tiles called Vetrazzo. The California-based company takes recycled glass from sources such as decommissioned traffic lights, windshields, used bottles and plate glass windows and transforms them into a surface that is durable and heat resistant.

Nearly 85% of each tile’s surface is glass, and 100% of the glass used is recycled. All materials are from the U.S., and the product is also made in the U.S. The glass is combined with a cement-based, resin-free binder. It is as durable as granite and less porous than marble.
Available in various shades. Shown here: blue sourced from Skyy Vodka and other blue glass sources.

Terrazzo releases few, if any, emissions into the indoor environment, and its hard surface allows it to be thoroughly cleaned with just soap and water. Terrazzo floors and tiles are among the best-tolerated by people with chemical sensitivities or chronic respiratory ailments. Terrazzo is extremely durable, comparable to concrete and stone.

Vetrazzo surfaces give an alternative to using non-renewable resources (like virgin granite, for example), and provides a new market for recycled glass, including glass that cannot be recycled elsewhere.

According to former software executive and now Vetrazzo CEO James Shepard, the company’s manufacturing plant is also green -- from utilizing daylight, to a negative-pressure dust booth to minimize air pollution, to a state-of-the-art system that recycles the water they use. If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, you can take a tour of the company’s manufacturing plant, based in a recycled Ford auto plant.

The company recently unveiled four new earth-tone colors, which join their line of 15 other colored tiles that include green, red and blue hues.

Questions? Or just want to chat about an upcoming project that you're considering? Email owner Chris Matey.
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