Environment

Floors Direct, the leaders in wood and laminated flooring, now stock Bamboo Flooring.

Strand woven bamboo flooring is a natural product derived directly from the stem of the plant, which grows wild in the mountainous regions of China. Bamboo is an environmentally friendly, rapidly renewable resource. It is self-regenerating and grows to full maturity within five years.

Besides the environmentally friendly nature of Bamboo flooring, it is also manufactured with minimum waste and pollution. All parts of the bamboo plant are utilized to produce a multitude of products, which are harder and more resistant to moisture than popular hard woods such as Red Oak and Cherry.

Processed bamboo is harder and more durable than most old-growth forest hardwoods. With a tensile strength superior to cold rolled steel, it has a weight-to-strength ratio surpassing that of graphite and is regarded as the strongest growing plant on earth.

It is environmentally sustainable - the plant naturally regenerate every five years as opposed to the replanting and slow growth of traditional hardwood trees.

The floors are available in 3 colour options: natural, suede and coffee. The variation in colour is determined by the season in which the bamboo is harvested. When bamboo is harvested in spring and summer, the stem is full of moisture, resulting in a darker internal colour. When harvested during autumn and winter the stem contains much less moisture, resulting in a lighter internal colour.

Growing in popularity, these bamboo floors are really stunning, with the natural knuckle of the bamboo giving it the look and the fine grains of the vertical face. Being a vertical cut makes this floor one of the most stable in the solid range. The carbonized colour is similar to that of Oak. Bamboo flooring is one of the hardest natural materials available for flooring and is an excellent alternative to hard wood flooring. Bamboo has a higher fibre rating than any hardwood, which gives it exceptional hard wearing qualities.

Laminate Flooring and Its Impact on The Environment

Laminate flooring was developed in the early 1980's. The product is built as separate component layers, then fused together under heat and pressure. Laminate flooring has evolved quickly in recent years, filling a need for a good looking, durable flooring that is functional, easy to install and has a good environmental story to tell. So how does all this impact the environment?

Laminate flooring has the following attributes:

The majority of laminate floorings are based on cellulose and thermosetting resins. The major component in laminate flooring is wood residue streams such as saw dust, panel trimmings etc, utilized primarily in the core layer. In addition, some paper and agricultural materials are also used.

The product consists of a backing layer, a core layer, a printed décor layer and a protective wear layer. The core is commonly referred to as a HDF or MDF (high or medium density fiber) board. It is composed of wood fibers and resins, cured under heat and pressure. The surface and backing layers are a build-up of paper and resins, merged together under heat and pressure. The decorative layer is typically a paper printed with pigments that provide a stable and color fast visual. The resin system, which is water based, along with the pigments utilized in the production of laminate flooring, typically does not require solvents nor heavy metal components.

Laminate floors are normally given one of the best classifications for low emission levels attributed to volatile organic components (VOC), including formaldehyde. Many manufacturers of laminate flooring participate in some form of environmental labeling or credits (e.g. USGBC LEED, FloorScore, GreenGuard, CHPS 1350, Blue Angel, Nordic Ecolabel, etc.). Although Indoor Air Quality is only one part of environmental consideration, laminate flooring does well in this regard.

The high fiber content, in combination with the chemically stable cured resins, make laminate flooring well adapted for recycling, which is the preferred option. Laminate flooring, similar in characteristics to construction waste, can be land-filled or utilized for waste-to-energy applications, as appropriate. In summary, laminate flooring has several things going for it from an environmental standpoint:

As the laminate product category continues to evolve, environmental considerations will continue to play a part in the next generation of products developed.