Earth Stone Product produces beautiful recycled material pavers for interior or exterior use. I personally love the look (and the price, at about $6/sf), but of course there’s also a green aspect to their product, or I wouldn’t necessarily be reviewing it here.

According to John Tesh, the sales and marketing director at Earth Stone, (in their website marketing video) the company collects post-manufactured scraps from approximately 18 fabricators around their Greensboro, NC headquarters… so 100% of the materials they collect are diverted from the landfill, which makes their products 100% post-consumer recycled granite materials (obviously a sweet option for projects pursuing LEED certification).

Earth Stone Products (established about three years ago) utilizes their patented process to stamp and tumble the product to make it look ‘old world’ and ‘out of a roman street’ in the words of Tesh. The leftover material that isn’t utilized to make product (pavers) is turned into backsplash material product and the leftover material from that process is turned into asphalt and concrete aggregate. That makes Earth Stone some kind of ultra-recycler… I don’t even know if there’s a term for someone that utilizes 100% post-consumer recycled waste as their raw materials and then generates no waste from their process. The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources even recently certified the company as a ‘granite recycling center.’

Okay, okay. But maybe now you’re thinking (like I am), “Hey Sarah, does that really meet the description of post-consumer for LEED? In your articles here (http://www.green-buildings.com/content/78782-post-consumer-vs-pre-indust...) and here (http://www.green-buildings.com/content/781020-credit-interpretation-requ...) you seem to have said otherwise…” And to that I’d have to say… good catch.

It took me a minute but I believe that the correct term for what Earth Stone is doing is utilizing 100% post-industrial product. And post-industrial content is essentially the same thing as pre-consumer recycled content, i.e. the percentage of materials in a product that is recycled from manufacturing waste. For LEED projects specifically, postconsumer is a term reserved for waste materials generated by households or by commercial, industrial and institutional facilities in their role as end-users of the product. So even though Earth Stone is still a fantastically-recycled product, the descriptor of postconsumer may not be technically correct in terms of LEED certification (anyone that has experience with this product in certifications, I’d love to hear from you.)

But don’t get me wrong, this is still a fantastic option for green buildings. The pavers come in a variety of patterns (which I would incorrectly call ‘shapes’ as a layperson in this area) including wind daisy, stepping stones, 3 piece kit, 4x8, flagstones, scallops, the wave and state of North Carolina. Earth Stone Products can be utilized for backsplash, fireplace surround, patios and walkway applications. There are thirteen resellers in North Carolina, seven in Virginia and one exclusive distributor for Canada, but the company can ship product anywhere.

 

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