The home siding market is saturated with cheap, toxic, hard-to-justify products. Take, for example, the vinyl siding options that promise easy maintenance, durability and an incredibly low up-front investment. While vinyl and other plastics may be eye-catching, it’s important to remember that they’ll be around in dumps and landfills for thousands of years after they’ve adorned your home.

Luckily, when it comes to green siding, you’ve got plenty of options. To check pricing in your area, click here.

Engineered wood is manufactured by pressing wood fibers together with waxes and resins. It’s long-lasting, affordable, and bio-degrades nearly as quickly as natural wood. Some engineered woods are manufactured with formaldehyde, but you can avoid that pitfall by simply selecting a formaldehyde-free variety.

Unfortunately, metal siding is considered a high embodied energy product. That means that its manufacture, marketing and disposal consume a questionably high amount of resources. Metal siding types should only be used as a long-term siding solution that really justifies their costs.