Zak! offers recycled melamine line

There was a time when products made from recycled materials got big points for being environmentally responsible but scored low on the style and comfort scale. The clothes resembled potato sacks and the toilet paper was scratchy.

Today, recycled goods are looking, well, pretty darn good.

Case in point: Zak! Design’s “Confetti” line of melamine mixing bowls, plates and other kitchen essentials.

Melamine is that hard, plastic-like substance used to make durable and oftentimes colorful mixing bowls and dinnerware. In other words, it’s a picnicker’s best friend.

The Airway Heights company makes the Confetti products from melamine that otherwise would end up in a landfill, says Lisa Egger, director of marketing for Zak’s lifestyle division.

“The great thing is Confetti always matches back to Zak’s core line of products because the colors in Confetti match the solid pieces,” she says.

The Confetti line was introduced in March 2007 as Zak’s first green offering. The company recently launched another earth-friendly product line called Kingswell that’s made using a patent-pending technology that mixes sustainable, renewable rattan into melamine to reduce the need for new melamine, Egger says.

And more eco-conscious products are on the horizon at Zak, she says.

You can buy Zak’s Confetti products online (a Google search will direct you to plenty of vendors) as well as locally at Fred Meyer and The Kitchen Engine , in Spokane’s Flour Mill. Don’t see the exact color or style you’re looking for? The Kitchen Engine takes special orders.