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Recycling Granite into Coasters & Drink Chillers. Yea or Nay?

By Rain Noe - July 25, 2012

in Materials | Sustainable Design

These drink chillers/coasters might not be particularly striking, but I'm putting them up because they're an example of a company seeking to do something we all should: Turn scraps into something useful.

Granite slabs are a popular material for countertops, but as with all natural materials that are machined into a finished product, they produce waste. A company called Sea Stones turns those small, otherwise worthless cut-offs into these recessed coasters, which come shod in recycled rubber to protect your tabletops.

The company also produces granite napkin rings that are apparently manufactured using a hole saw type of device rather than a boring bit, as they're able to save the plug from the center of the hole. Those plugs, in turn, then become the drink chillers sold along with the coasters. "They have plenty of thermal mass to hold the cold long enough for leisurely sipping," the company explains.

All in all, it's a good attempt by a company to reduce waste by marrying available resources with customer need. The question of whether they have bridged that gap adequately and tastefully, of course, will be up to consumers like you all to decide.

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Nick Marvin

10 years ago

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I don't like the idea because some granite holds one of the deadliest minerals on earth. Torbernite. Torbernite is the mineral from hell. The prism shaped green crystals form as secondary deposits in granitic rocks, and are composed of uranium. Formed through a complex reaction between phosphorous, copper, water and uranium, the stunning crystal displays have seduced many mineral collectors into taking a sample for a shelf collection. If the uranium decay from a pocket sized Chernobyl were not enough, lethal radon gas capable of causing lung cancer slowly releases from these hot rocks. This is one crystal to leave alone. Torbernite can occur in granite, so your stone countertop just might contain traces of torbernite. The bright green crystal blooms were used by prospectors as indicators of uranium deposits.(Jim Karstell)

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Haul it Louisville Guy

12 years ago

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I like the idea. Especially if they really keep your drink chilled for that leisurely sipping. Of course I think it is great that a company has turned what amounts to garbage into a viable product. I hope they make a ton of money. I think I will try a few for my home.
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Sam

12 years ago

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I definitely appreciate the rock-as-icecube. Each one is unique and of course it won't dilute your drink. Thank you for the post!
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