Almost every type of flooring has a green element. But what is right for you? Is it more important to have flooring with 100 percent recycled content or a floor that can be reclaimed? A number of flooring options exist right now for homeowners to consider - some are new to the market, and some are more established.

Rubber flooring is a great new residential flooring option. It has been used commercially for many years but has now found its way into residential kitchens and other home areas. The product is made from recycled rubber tires and colored with recycled roofing material chips. All of the shredded tires and chips of color are mixed and fused together in a cylinder, which produces what is known as a “log.” It is then “shaved” to the desired thickness - 1/8" to 3/8" thick.

“Most of the time we are seeing rubber flooring used for a workout room,” says Mark Smith of ProSource of Metro Detroit. “There I would recommend an interlocking tile, to make the install easier (no need for adhesives) and keep the price down (using the install yourself option). One of the best brands, Nike Training Ground 2'x2' interlocking tile, costs under $4 per square foot.” Prices will vary on other rubber products depending on grade and thickness, but, in general, recycled rubber will install for $6 to $10 per square foot.

While some recycled rubber floors can smell like a tire store, usually it is bonded together with heat (vulcanization). Most now are bound and sealed with urethane to reduce any smell and make them easier to clean.

Jere M. L'Heureux from Contract Options Inc. has been involved in the commercial sale of rubber flooring for years. “Recycled Rubber Flooring from ECOsurfaces is quiet and offers comfort underfoot (reduced back fatigue compared to harder flooring options), extreme resilience (the ability to bounce back quickly), superior durability and ease of maintenance," L'Heureux said. "ECOsurfaces eliminates the 'tire store smell' with two patented processes to remove all impurities that can contaminate recycled rubber floors. You can view the many color options with many creative color names that will make you laugh on the ECOsurfaces Web site.”

What are some other green flooring options? “Cork flooring has made its way back into the limelight after taking a backseat to many plastic options for several years,” said L’Heureux. Cork is actually the bark of a cork oak tree. This bark is harvested and then re-grows every 9 to 11 years and re-harvested.

“Hard to believe, but it is one of our oldest floors - all natural and fully bio-degradable, soft underfoot, resilient, easy to clean and just plain different from most standard floors,” said L’Heureux. “A disadvantage may be that the square tiles do not always line up perfectly square, and you will see several shades in one color, as you would with other natural products like marble.” One of the better Web sites with cork product information is the Duro-design website.

Even with all of their benefits, rubber and cork floors still only make up less than 1 percent of all floors sold, so hardwood flooring continues to have more of an overall environmental impact. However, most wood flooring manufacturers are now practicing managed forest harvesting, and the forests are in better condition than years past.

“These companies 'select cut' the forest, starting with the diseased and the non-native trees,” said Smith, “making room for the healthy trees to grow more quickly. Generally, hardwood is harvested every 20 to 25 years, so it is similar to bamboo (which is harvested on a five-year cycle), but with a longer cycle. However, hardwood is harvested in North America and not China, where bamboo grows.” Interested in more information? Click on the Web sites for Anderson Floors , Lauzon Flooring and Muskoka Flooring.

Carpeting continues to rein as the flooring of choice in homes, owning about 50 percent of the flooring market. This is not necessarily bad news if you lean green! Carpet manufacturers are on the cutting edge of the green movement. “Right now, on of every four plastic pop bottles is made into carpet by Mohawk,” said Smith. “They also have come up with a new fiber called Triexta which is made with 37 percent biomaterial (mostly corn). Triexta fiber uses 30 percent less energy to produce and reduces green house gases by 63 percent. Every seven square yards of Triexta saves the equivalent of one gallon of gas.”

Shaw Industries is another player in the green carpet industry. They produce Anso and Evergreen nylon which right now contains 25 percent (post consumer) recycled content, and that percentage is growing. “The thing I like best about this product is that the type 6 nylon they recycle can be recycled again and again with no loss in quality,” says Smith. “The main hurdle they face is setting up centers to collect the used carpet. I can see a day, in the not so distant future, when we will trade in our old carpet - like a car!”

NARI of Southeast Michigan is a not-for-profit trade association committed exclusively to the education and service of the professional remodeling industry and its customers.