PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Thousands people are expected to flock to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center for the annual Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show.

Companies will show the latest and greatest products for the home. And one organization will be encouraging people to go green.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection wants to you to know that there are many things you can do to make your home more environmental friendly.

One of them is literally the material you have between your walls.

Insulation is more than bright pink fiberglass these days. Some is made from recycled blue jeans and others from old newsprint. But blown-in spray insulation is still the most energy efficient.

“Both of these have recycled content, where this one doesn’t necessarily have recycled content but it does have energy efficiency,” the DEP’s Heidi Kunsh said while talking about some of the products. “So it’s all up to the consumer. They weigh what’s more important to them – recycled content or higher energy efficiency.”

Flooring materials are going green. Marmoleum looks like vinyl, but is made from linseed oil and resin. Cork is all natural and soft under foot.

“We get that compliment a lot when we have this exhibit at the Pennsylvania Farm Show as well. It’s very easy to clean as well. You just take a wet mop to it,” said Kunsh. “You don’t even need to use any cleaning products on it.”

Even kitchen counters are about repurposing.

KDKA’s Rick Dayton: “There are some pretty blues and grays in there. Where is the color coming from?”

Kunsh: “That is recycled glass in there. This is made from 100 percent recycled glass and concrete. It’s called ice stone counter-top and they are very high quality counter-tops. You want to compare them to a granite counter-top.”

The DEP uses a specially rigged bicycle to show how much more energy it takes to power the old-fashioned light bulbs.

Kunsh: “So LEDs — a cinch to light up. Now, we are going to flip this switch.”

Dayton: “Where did the lights go?”

Kunsh: “You’ve got to power up those incandescents.”

The Home & Garden Show will have hundreds of other displays when it opens Friday morning at the Convention Center.

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Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show
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