Businesses Go Green in Rockland and Westchester County

Is it possible to revamp your home while doing minimal harm to the environment? 

The owner of Absolute Green Homes, Inc., based in South Salem, thinks so.

Sylvain Côté, president-owner of Absolute Green Homes, said his company is a building and remodeling firm that aims to make homes more energy efficient, healthier and cheaper to maintain. 

They specialize in “retrofitting”—adding up-to-date technology to older systems—homes and remodeling them to produce as much energy as they consume, with finished projects in Bronxville, Yorktown and Larchmont, to name only a few. The main goal of Absolute Green Homes is to produce maximum comfort with a minimum carbon footprint, he said. 

Absolute Green Homes, Inc. has found ways to use reclaimed materials in unique ways. Materials such as discarded wood, stones or leftover flooring can be transformed into functional chimneys, patios and vanities. 

“We bring homes to higher standards,” Côté said. “We've been doing this before it became a trend. We care about the environment and making homes healthier and easier to maintain for our customers.” 

is also an eco-friendly business. Serving Rockland and Orange County and based in Pearl River, Daly Carpet Cleaning specializes in cleaning area rugs, odor removal and flood restoration inside the home. About 95 percent of their products are organic and biodegradable. 

According to Peter Daly, owner of Daly Carpet Cleaning, area rugs and carpets act as a sponge that soak up fumes and dust within the home, which can be harmful to a person’s health, and he recommends getting carpets cleaned at least once a year. 

“Vacuuming daily will remove about 75 person of the dirt and grime within a carpet,” he said. “But that other 25 percent, that’s where we come in.”

The green products used by Daly Carpet Cleaning not only benefit its workers, who have to be around fumes for long hours each day, they also benefit the people living in the homes. 

Non-eco-friendly products can be hazardous to a person’s health, especially a young child’s, if inhaled for an extended period of time. 

Using green products around the home are crucial to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, Daly said. 

For a list of Earth Day-related activities and events, go here.

For other Earth Day 2012 articles and postings, go here.