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There are many new products entering the marketplace made from recycled
materials, such as this countertop sample, called SHETKA-STONE, made by All-
Paper Recycling of New Prague, Minnesota. |
"Over the past few decades, there has been an
increasing awareness that as a society we have to redesign the systems that produce and support our
way of life so that we don't continue to squander the Earth's resources. This concept is called
sustainability. Before the Industrial Revolution, the only pollutants entering the thin layer of film
around the earth came from the movement of the Earth's crust, such as volcanoes and earthquakes. But
over the past 200 years, that biosphere has been undeniably affected by the mining of fossil fuels.
Nature's cleaning mechanisms, the green-celled plants that cover our planet, cannot keep up with the
increase in pollutants."
"And with a new emphasis on sustainability and renewable materials, there is an enormous amount of
recycled materials entering the marketplace--from waterproof countertops made from recycled cardboard
to interior trim made from wood scraps. All of these products are quite beautiful, taking on the
colors of what they were originally and exhibiting natural textures all their own. Unlike plastic,
they have some personality. Like a beautiful piece of wood, they tell us something about their
origins."
--from The Not So
Big House by Sarah Susanka
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