Create an eco-friendly kitchen

By Roger Fillion, Rocky Mountain News (Contact), Joanne Kelley, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published April 15, 2008 at 3 p.m.

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The kitchen amounts to ground zero when it comes to places in your home where you have lots of options to go green.

Consider for a moment that your oven, refrigerator, dishwasher and other appliances gobble loads of electricity. Moreover, lots of smaller kitchen items can have an impact on Mother Earth, everything from plastic garbage bags made from petroleum to countertops made from non-renewable and non-recyclable materials.

With Earth Day next Tuesday, we set out to look for items to help make your kitchen greener. We trolled the Internet and found many recommendations, including countertops made from recycled office paper and biodegradable garbage bags made from cornstarch and vegetable oil.

We can't vouch for every single product, and we're sure that sticklers could find some issues, such as hauling bamboo to the U.S. from distant lands such as Asia. But we figured these could get us all thinking green.

What's more, you don't have to spend much to get started. You might already have some green products lurking in your kitchen cabinets.

Think of that big cast-iron pan as a new nonstick skillet. If properly seasoned, it will work just as well or better than one that relies on synthetic chemicals, whether or not they cause any trouble when heated to high temperatures.

Similarly, that box of baking soda in your pantry works like a charm when you need to scour dried bits of egg from your stainless omelet pan. A 4-pound box will set you back only about $3.50. That's comparable to the price of the much smaller canisters of scouring powder that lack ingredient labels but carry warnings about what to do if you get it in your eyes, on your skin or ingest it.

As Tom Sullivan, founder of Totally Bamboo, a California-based supplier of bamboo kitchen accessories, told us, "It takes more than vegetables to make your kitchen green."

Naked Sponge #55

Twist, twistclean.com

* Price: $2.79/two-pack

* Available: Ace Hardware, Simple Foods, Sun- flower, Vitamin Cottage, Whole Foods, Wild Oats

* What makes it green: Made from 100 percent cellulose, this sponge is biodegradable and free of dyes. The Boulder company that makes the sponge says the packaging is earth-friendly and recyclable.

Marmoleum

Forbo Flooring, forboflooringna.com

* Price: $5 to $7 per square foot (for material only)

* Available: the Floor Club, LHP Flooring, Natural Interiors, Rug & Carpet Emporium

* What makes it green: Marmoleum is a natural, environmentally friendly form of linoleum. It's made mainly from linseed oil, wood flour and pine rosins. The new Marmoleum product, Click, is designed for do-it-yourself installation: You click the panels into place; no glue required.

Folding recycling bags

Gaiam, gaiam.com

* Price: $15/set of three, or $6 each

* Available: online

* What makes it green: This trio of colorful bags from a Broomfield-based company lets you keep your recyclables attractively organized in the kitchen, pantry or garage. The upshot: You'll be more inclined to keep recycling your bottles, newspapers, cans, etc.

Inspira Series dishwasher

Miele, miele.com

* Price: $1,149 white or black, $1,199 stainless

* Available: Anderson's Vacuum, Arvada Vacuum, Builders Appliance Center, Bulthaup, Ferguson, Specialty Appliance, Studio Como

* What makes it green: This washer uses about a third less energy than a standard washer. And more than 90 percent of the parts are recyclable. The plastic components are marked for recycling, so they won't be dumped in a landfill at the end of the washer's life.

Free & Clear dishwashing liquid

Seventh Generation, seventhgeneration.com

* Price: $2.8 9/25-ounce bottle, $4.9 9/48-ounce bottle

* Available: Sunflower, Vitamin Cottage

* What makes it green: It's biodegradable, with no phosphates or petroleum-based cleaners. This dishwashing liquid also is "free and clear" of fragrances, dyes and masking agents.

Greenlite cutting boards

Totally Bamboo, totallybamboo.com

* Price: $10 to $35, depending on model

* Available: new to the market; expected in stores and online by mid-May

* What makes it green: These boards are made from a fast-growing plant - actually, a member of the grass family. No old-growth, hardwood forests are cleared in the process. They're thin - three-eighths-inch - and dishwasher-safe.

EcoTowl

Pacific Dry Goods, pacificdrygoods.com

* Price: $5.99/two-pack

* Available: online

* What makes it green: Unlike paper towels - which can contain plastic binders that won't break down easily in landfills - these are re- usable and machine-washable. Also, conventional dish towels use cotton, considered a polluting farm crop. EcoTowl is made from recycled wood chips and is biodegradable. Good for spills and counters.

PaperStone countertops

PaperStone, paperstoneproducts.net

* Price: $65 to $80 a square foot (via distributor and installed professionally)

* Available: Invironments, Milestone Distribution, Red Pepper Kitchen & Bath, SmartWorks Development Group

* What makes it green: They're made from 100 percent recycled office paper, avoiding the environmental questions raised over the mining of granite and quarry for countertops. And unlike DuPont's Corian, PaperStone doesn't rely on petroleum. Petroleum-free resins are used as a bonding agent.

Kitchen waste bags

BioBag, biobagusa.com

* Price: $4.99/box of 12

* Available: online

* What makes it green: These bags don't come from petroleum. Made with cornstarch and vegetable oil, they break down in the compost pile. They're great for Boulderites who have access to a food-waste collection program (Denver is creating one).

Endurance compost pail

RSVP International, rsvp-intl.com

* Price: $43

* Available: online

* What makes it green: This stainless steel model helps with the recycling of kitchen food scraps. Designed to fit on a countertop, it comes with two odor-controlling charcoal filters that fit into the lid. A replacement set is included.

Use it to hold your spent coffee grounds and other scraps destined for the compost pile.

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