green
rock, paper, counter? • Composite kitchen and
bath countertops made with rock, polymer, and
other detritus are the rage with eco-minded
renovators, but paper? ShetkaStone (shetkastone.
com) uses pre- and postconsumer paper and fiber
waste to create slurry that is hardened to make
counters, tabletops, and railings. The Minnesota-
based company’s products also have a sustainable
life cycle. In Washington state, Paperstone
(
paperstone.com) offers three levels of recycled
paper counters: Original (made from 50 percent
recycled paper), Certified (made from 100 percent
recycled paper), and Virgin (made from new
papers). Find dealers for either line on the
manufacturers websites.
local color • Who knew? Milk paint, first used to
decorate prehistoric dwellings, is manufactured
right here in New England. The Old-Fashioned Milk
Paint Co. in Groton, Massachusetts, makes powder
milk paint according to historic recipes (milk
protein, lime, and mineral-based pigment). Their
newest introduction, SafePaint, is a formulation
that performs best on sheetrock and previously
painted walls. (The original Old-Fashioned Milk
Paint is better suited to more porous surfaces.)
SafePaint provides more uniform coverage,
eliminating the variegated look of the original
formula. Both powdered formulas cost $46 per
gallon and are odor-free, nontoxic, and
biodegradable. The Old-Fashioned Milk Paint Co.,
436 Main St., Groton, Massachusetts;
978-448-6336,
milkpaint.com.
makes sense • As part of the Environmental
Protection Agency’s WaterSense program, five
builders committed to constructing by this year a
total of 39 homes that reflect the WaterSense
mandates, as well as overall eco-friendliness.
Among the participants in the pilot program is
Clean Tech Homes in Beverly, Massachusetts. The
goal is to help the EPA test its process for awarding
single-family homes the new WaterSense label,
which signifies that houses are at least 20 percent
more efficient than their conventional counterparts.
Clean Tech’s Beaver Lane project in Beverly is nearly
energy autonomous, sourcing power through solar
thermal panels and 20 photovoltaic panels, and a
4-ton geothermal system. To outfit the Leadership
in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
platinum-rated house, Clean Tech partnered with
Kohler for the latest
water-efficient fixtures, and
Color Kinetics in Burlington,
Massachusetts, for LED
lighting support. A
subsidiary of Philips, Color
Kinetics is helping to create
what may be the first home
to use 100 percent LED
lighting. Says Clean Tech’s Jim Farnham: “Our
intent was to demonstrate that a platinum LEED
home can also have universal appeal and be
