tile, stone and environment

Most tile is made from natural products, but most of them aren't renewable: we can’t make more clay, or more stone… Besides, tile manufacturing may also demand large amounts of energy to quarry, to transport, to glaze or to get other finish, or to install…

Incorporation of recycled and by-products

Most types of ceramic tile are made from some form of clay or a clay mixture (conveniently kiln-fired), but they can and should incorporate some by-products and recycled materials.

Clay is a natural and abundant raw-material, but using as less as possible virgin raw materials is a sound environmental principle, and major components of floor tile products can easily be scrap tiles or by-products from roofing materials often disposed of as a waste. Recycling is not only possible but perfectly feasible and relatively easy to achieve by tile manufacturers.

You may demand or prefer tile incorporating large percentages of recycled and by-products.

Tiles and earth disarrangements

The environmental impact of tile manufacturing depends mostly on the type of tile. Stone tile is a good example of what we want to say. Marble and granite, usually demand huge mining works, and disarrangements on the earth’s surface, while stones as sandstone, slate and soapstone have a much meager negative impact.

Energy demands

The energy demands of tile manufacturing varies a lot. Though some simple cured tile demands little energy (that’s the case of many terracotta tiles), most other tiles (including stones tiles) demand large amounts of energy: to quarry, cutting or polishing the tile; to transport the tiles, whenever it involves long distances (prefer local quarried products, whenever possible); to kiln-firing, in the case of most ceramic tile.