Most environmentally friendly worktop ideas

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We're refitting our kitchen. Can't afford wood cabinets, plywood seems best affordable option, really don't want chipboad/MDF.

For worktop I'd love stainless steel but companies I've contacted wrap them round MDF core. DH thinks it would scratch and look too industrial.

Don't want quartz, banned in Australia for health risks to workers. Would love solid wood but just think we would ruin them as we are quite splashy and not sure I could deal with the maintenance, as with granite/marble. Definitely don't want laminated chipboard. Compact laminates like Fenix NTM have very mixed reviews and not sure about environmental impact, although low Formaldehyde.

My ideal would be a big stainless steel commercial sink unit with cupboards underneath for lots of splashing. But even if we go for that, what would we use for the rest? And the wood joining the stainlees steel would be very vulnerable to water damage.

Nothing is maintenance free.

From your description there seems to be only 2 options:

• steel
• wood

Yes, steel scratches. The industrial look is a matter of taste. It also rusts, over time, if you are concerned with ethics you might not like some of the stainless alloys (mining...). It needs to be cleaned and water kept from accumulating.
Wood requires maintenance. Make a treatment from linseed (unboiled) and pine resin. Or choose one, basically it can be made stain proof with the right suface treatment.

But nothing is maintenance free in any case, and maybe ethics involves elbow grease.

Thanks for the advice. Interesting that stainless steel rusts, it must take a long time to get there, our 14 year old kitchen sink still looks OK.

Needless to say the most environmentally friendly thing you can do is not to replace your kitchen at all. Does it definitely need doing? Can you just paint/wrap/ refurb instead.

I realise that, but yes, it does. But we only want to do it once and do it right.

Depending on space, going back to freestanding may be the way. I think ikea do some.

Get a sink unit that takes advantage of modern materials, and then use wooden free standing cupboards and a table/bench.

we have slate
Cumbrian slate- I would highly recommend, very low maintenance, does not stain, we only have a few tiny chips after about 20 years and they hardly show, and you can stand hot things on it
I imagine it would cost a lot, we managed to save some money by collecting it
the only down side is stuff cools quickly if you stand it on the counter
It looks lovely and still as good now as when we got it which is remarkable as we are a family of slovens