I was watching the Discovery Green channel the other night and I learned a new phrase: “cradle to cradle.” In the show, the girl was describing her new faux granite counter tops. Cradle to Cradle means that the product is made from either recycled synthetic material or renewable organic materials and can be recycled again when you are through with them or will decompose naturally. It is a term coined by environmental pioneer William McDonough. The counter tops she was using were made from concrete and glass. They were very pretty, durable, stain resistant, and eco-friendly. In my environmental business class we read a book by Paul Hawken called “The Ecology of Commerce.” He discusses this theory as a business model to reduce waste. If more companies created products that they could reuse all of the components of, it would save them money in manufacturing and it would save us money in garbage disposal and environmental clean-up. I was thinking about this in terms of home building. What materials are truly cradle to cradle? The counter tops are a start, but what about insulation, siding, roofing, and other key components of a house? That’s when I found this Seattle-based competition to build sustainable homes that have materials that can be re-used when the house has reached the end of its lifecycle. Not only is the winning design an eco-friendly accomplishment, it is also gorgeous! However, it doesn’t say anywhere on there how much these technologies cost. So I wonder if it is affordable, or considerably more than normal, or if it pays itself off quickly?
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New Phrase of Sustainability
