Guide to eco-friendly countertops

The aim of this guide to eco-friendly countertops is to identify materials that can be used for a kitchen worktop and meet sustainability and health criteria.

When we began our research, we started by cataloguing all the options available on the market in order to decide which ones we should recommend as suitable for use in our projects.

However, when we began to assess each option by weighing the material’s entire life cycle and its impact on people’s health and the environment, we realised that every material has its pros and cons and, while some options are better than others, there is no ideal material that effectively solves a food-preparation surface.

There are natural materials that meet health, environmental, circular-economy and km0 sourcing criteria, but they are not suitable for guaranteeing the hygiene and health conditions required of a surface intended for food preparation, and therefore require treatments that alter their original properties.

On the other hand, there are materials that may initially seem harmless or low-impact, such as natural stone surfaces—materials that can be sourced locally and with little processing—but which carry a high ecological footprint due to the impact of extraction and shaping processes and, in some cases, present a certain radiological risk.

So, is it better to opt for synthetic products?

Products such as porcelain stoneware or quartz surfaces are engineered composites that offer a wide range of finishes and ensure a high level of hygiene in a food-handling area, but they require binders such as cement, which not only emits CO₂ when limestone decomposes, but also requires firing at extremely high temperatures that can only be achieved using fossil fuels, generating further CO₂ emissions.

So, what is better? Using a stone that we know has a high environmental impact, is non-renewable and, in some cases, may emit radon gas, or using a synthetic material with a high CO₂ footprint?

In the following text, we analyse the wide range of options available when choosing a countertop from many different angles: from basic considerations that directly affect our health, such as the material’s hygiene and safety, to broader and more complex considerations, such as analysing the ecological footprint and life cycle of each material.

This guide to eco-friendly countertops is a comprehensive guide in which we break down all the material options for kitchen worktops, analysing the pros and cons of each. The aim is for the compiled, filtered and reviewed information—supported by suppliers, manufacturers and technical professionals in the sector—to be useful for future builders, designers or users, so they can choose a material based on objective, high-quality information, understanding the environmental and health implications of each choice.

Information sources and technical reviews

To prepare this countertop guide, we consulted various catalogues and reference materials databases at national and international level, which serve as a basis for carrying out life-cycle and impact assessments of products and built environments.

In addition, we contacted different manufacturers, distributors and technical experts who collaborated by providing information, interviews and joint reviews of the text. The full list of collaborators and companies is cited at the end of the text.

Reference catalogues and guides for material assessment

EPA. The United States Environmental Protection Agency develops regulations for previously approved environmental laws. It also carries out outreach work on the environment and health, providing information on a wide range of materials.

Transparency by Perkins&Will. The firm Perkins&Will, founded in 1935, is one of the leading architecture companies internationally, both in revenue and number of employees. Through its Transparency department, dedicated to research and R&D, it has developed a materials database that is constantly updated with internal research and information from suppliers and manufacturers on all kinds of materials and construction products. The so-called Precautionary List provides information on the ecological footprint and toxicity of materials, their composition, and hazards to health and the environment, including details on the chemical composition of each product.

Risctox. This is a Spanish public database developed by the Trade Union Institute for Work, Environment and Health (ISTAS) that compiles all substances considered toxic and hazardous, linking them to a CAS number. It allows data extracted from Safety Data Sheets to be cross-checked, classifying substances according to occupational and environmental exposure limit values, as well as their specific health risks.

Friendly Materials. The Friendly Materials website by PMMT, a firm specialising in healthcare environments that strongly supports research and the dissemination of healthy architecture, analyses materials from a toxicological and life-cycle perspective. The website is fed by materials submitted by the manufacturers themselves.

OpenDap. An official, public and freely accessible database where you can consult or submit Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) or environmental information on construction products. It is intended to serve as a basis for life-cycle assessment calculation tools. OpenDAP is part of an experimental European-level project aimed at creating a working network that unifies and compiles environmental data through a common standard for data formatting and high compatibility.

Health Product Declaration. HPD is a collaborative, non-profit database for compiling health information on building products. The database is configured to work with programmes from the International Living Future Institute, Cradle to Cradle Product Innovation Institute, Clean Production Action, BIFMA, LEED, WELL and a large number of construction industry certification standards.

Carbon Smart Materials Palette. Developed by Architecture 2030, with support from members of the Embodied Carbon Network (ECN), Carbon Palette is a database that provides a materials specification guide for reducing embodied carbon in the built environment.

1 WOOD

1. Wood

1.1. Solid wood

1.2. Wood-based products

1.3. Bamboo

1.4. Finishes

Wood is the only renewable construction material and is also considered to have a negative ecological footprint, meaning it absorbs more CO₂ than it emits during extraction, transport and processing—provided it is locally sourced and obtained from sustainably managed forests, as guaranteed by the European FSC certificate.

In Spain, local plantations in the north of the country—Galicia, the Basque Country and Catalonia—are usually regulated under the PEFC certification, which controls and tracks timber through the so-called “chain of custody”, ensuring that the wood comes from forests with controlled logging and replanting to guarantee a renewable start-to-finish cycle.

Since 2013, the European Timber Regulation has prohibited the entry into the European Union of timber and timber products from illegal logging. For this reason, the Spanish Timber Trade and Industry Association (AEIM) has developed the Madera Legal website for its member companies. [1]

This is the simplest way to obtain eco-friendly wood through a network of suppliers that certify the material meets controlled and sustainable management criteria.

Wood countertops are not common, as wood is a porous material that requires a surface treatment to seal the pores and ensure maintenance and hygiene. Using a porous material with hygroscopic moisture-regulating properties can be interesting for walls or cladding, but when porosity becomes the material’s main problem, choosing wood as a kitchen worktop becomes purely aesthetic.

Even so, it is a material with a very pleasant, warm appearance, and its porous nature can be mitigated thanks to different synthetic and natural finishing options. Its resistance, ease of cleaning and antibacterial capacity will depend on its surface treatment, which is particularly important in this case. In addition, speaking of reversibility, we should not forget that a sufficiently thick wooden countertop is one of the few materials that, at the end of its service life, can be stripped and reused as new.

Solid wood

The most resistant woods are solid oak and beech, although they are also the most expensive. A more affordable option—though less hard in the case of local types—is pine, which is widely available from locally sourced forests. With pine, it is important to bear in mind that there are around 110 pine species worldwide, so hardness and properties can vary greatly from one variety to another. Another optimal locally sourced wood for countertops is plane tree wood. In Spain, pine is the most widely used, followed by oak and teak.

Due to limitations in material length, special attention must be paid to sealing joints, as water and germs can seep in and cause damp stains. In addition, to avoid marks from impacts and scratches, it is advisable for materials to be as hard as possible.

Wood-based products

Some wood-based products include laminated wood, particleboard or MDF.

Laminated wood

Laminated wood consists of joining wood lamellas so that the fibres run parallel to the axis of the element. By joining pieces together, it is possible to create a wooden element of unlimited length that functions as a single structural unit.

The bond between the pieces that make up the thickness of the countertop material is made with glue, which often contains formaldehyde—a substance considered carcinogenic and neurotoxic above certain concentrations, as it is naturally present in foods and materials at much lower levels. [2] The impact of formaldehyde on human health occurs through the release of VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) into the air, and due to its highly volatile nature, formaldehyde is potentially the most harmful substance.

However, these emissions occur mostly during the manufacturing process, which involves high pressures and hot pressing. For this reason, regulations exist to control and limit health risks for workers who manufacture laminated wood panels.

After the manufacturing process, and unless temperature and pressure parameters are modified, emissions are generally very low and may vary depending on the forming process and joint sealing, typically being released through open joints or the edges of pieces.

For this reason, it is always recommended that, to use wood in food-related applications, one or more coats of food-safe varnish be applied to protect the wood’s porosity. Applying varnish remains controversial, as the vast majority of commercial varnishes emit VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) that are released into the indoor environment in small amounts for virtually the entire service life of the product.

An alternative is 100% formaldehyde-free single-component polyurethane adhesives, but they are still thermosetting adhesives in which an increase in temperature can lead to the release of toxic vapours. [3]

Particleboard and MDF

On the other hand, there are particleboards and so-called MDF (Medium-Density Fibreboard). Both are materials made from wood waste, so they meet circular economy criteria. In addition, although they are usually bound with synthetic waxes and resins, these can be replaced with natural resins.

These are very economical panels, but they only serve as a base material and require a final finish, as they are porous and not moisture-resistant.

Finishes are usually synthetic plastic laminates—a material that is not only not eco-friendly, but also releases VOCs throughout its service life, scratches easily and does not withstand high temperatures, releasing toxic fumes in the event of abrasion.

Locally, we have very competitive suppliers such as:

Finsa. This company, based in Galicia, pays particular attention to the presence of chemicals harmful to health in binders for wood-based products, as well as to emissions regulations in different countries.

At Finsa, they manufacture a range of MDF panels called NAF that 100% avoid formaldehyde thanks to the use of isocyanate-based adhesives, which earn them the CARB2 (California Air Resources Board) environmental certification—an international standard established by the United States that regulates and limits formaldehyde emissions.

Betanzos HB. Also in A Coruña, Galicia, Betanzos HB offers a product called Tablex, which consists of a high-density wood fibreboard from local forests, 100% eco-friendly and sustainable. Tablex completely avoids the use of glues, based on the idea that instead of using fewer toxic substances to meet regulatory requirements, one can simply stop using them altogether.

Betanzos HB is able to manufacture boards that use no binder external to the wood itself. The forming process is based on separating the raw material into two components: on the one hand, cellulose—the fibres that give wood its structure—and on the other, lignin—the wood’s natural binder. By taking advantage of lignin’s adhesive nature and using a temperature and pressure process, they produce thin fibre particleboards, also known as hardboard, with a maximum thickness of 6 mm and high mechanical and water resistance. The optimal thickness for a kitchen countertop is achieved by bonding several boards together.

Fustes Esteba. This is a local supplier that ensures PEFC certification for its products and works with wood-based products for kitchen countertops.

Cocinas ecológicas. This is a company founded in Huesca that manufactures functional, made-to-measure furniture using wood-based products from local sustainable forests, such as poplar and eucalyptus plywood.

Cocinas ecológicas also uses recycled solid wood, which is interesting because it follows sustainability principles while also applying circular economy criteria, giving a material a second life through reuse. This is a novel type of product and therefore not very widespread in Spain, and many users remain wary of it.

Supply is very limited, so you have to go to Italy to find the nearest supplier. This supplier collects old furniture from various countries, shreds it and manufactures new plywood boards.

Richlite. Another alternative recycled material that we can consider a wood-based product is the patented Richlite, made up of 65% recycled paper and 35% resin, which provides the hardness and closed-pore surface resistance required for a countertop. This paper is FSC-certified and comes in a wide range of colours resulting from combinations of paper with the amber tone of the resins. However, its high resin content consists of phenolic resins with a formaldehyde concentration that, although stated to be below 1.5%, is one of the most harmful biocides to health due to its carcinogenic and neurotoxic effects.

Bamboo

Bamboo is not, strictly speaking, a type of wood, as it is considered a plant rather than a tree, despite having similar characteristics. It is a species of Asian origin with no tradition of production in Spain, and therefore local availability is uncommon.

However, it is important to consider it as a construction material for the near future due to its rapid growth (less than 5 years), which makes it an economical and highly renewable material.

Its rapid growth and reproduction are due to its underground root system, called rhizomes, from which the stems grow. As a single rhizome connects several stems, it is possible to sustainably harvest 25% of the canes annually without reducing the size of the plantation. The rhizome not only does not die after harvesting, but by harvesting mature canes, the yield and quality of the plantation increase.

In addition, its origin makes it harder than oak and pine, and more resistant to moisture due to its tropical plant nature—surpassed only by other tropical species such as ipé wood.