Vetrazzo shows that green doesn't have to be boring

Sparkling slabs sit in Gene McDonald's St. Petersburg shop, Refresh Interiors, waiting to be cut down into counter tops.

The slabs look like fine imported granite, but they're not.

They are Vetrazzo, which is made from 85 percent recycled glass manufactured in California.

And they fit in with one of McDonald's favorite mottos.

"Green is not bland and boring."

Vetrazzo was invented in 1996, according to the company's Web site.

A glass scientist working on his Ph.D, driven by his passion for the environment, wanted to use the beauty of recycled glass by transforming it into a functionally superior building material, according to the site.

Now, 13 years later, McDonald swears by the invention.

Like granite, they sparkle.

But the sparkle doesn't come from quarries.

It comes from glass items you toss into your recycle bin, which are then crushed, sanitized, and mixed with cement.

"Budweiser, some apple juice jugs, medicine jugs, and i think a few Becks might have snuck in," McDonald said about one particular slab. The items, he said, give the counter a mix of browns and greens. Other pieces had blue colors in that come from ground-up recycled windshields.

If recycled glass isn't your thing, McDonald also sells countertops made out of compressed recycled paper.

And don't worry about it turning into a soggy mess.

He says it is one of the strongest materials he uses.

To prove it, McDonald hits it with a hammer all the time and it doesn't dent.

Unlike the Vetrazzo, the paper counter top has a more matte, understated finish, almost like a chalk board.

For those concerned about being unique, McDonald says they can be easily customized with items he keeps around the shop like extra glass, pieces of old credit cards and even Gasparilla beads.

There are more than countertops made out of Vetrazzo.

Refresh Interiors even carries a toilet seat inlaid with a variety of things including an iridescent material that will glow in the dark.