When you’re looking to make your home more eco-friendly, the kitchen is the best place to start. Why? According to the U.S. Department of Energy, kitchens account for 41.5 percent of the energy consumption in a home!

In keeping with that idea, here are a handful of green products that can help improve your kitchen:

• Biodegradable Trash Bags: Created by Perf Go Green, these kitchen trash bags can be used and thrown away; they’ll be totally broken down within two years. Made of recycled plastics, they are fully biodegradable, making them a smart, green solution for disposing of your kitchen garbage.
• Energy-Star Appliances: Appliances with the Energy Star rating are said to offer the best performance with the benefit of energy savings.
• New countertops or cabinetry: Today’s building industry offers a variety of eco-friendly materials with which to outfit your kitchen, from concrete to formaldehyde-free to EnviroSLAB. If you’re planning to update your kitchen anyway, why not do it with green products?

For even more eco-friendly kitchen improvements, check out this Buy Owner Blog post from last fall: Green Living: Kitchen.