Debris Series

Fireclay Tile is currently manufacturing a recycled tile containing 50% post-consumer and pre-consumer recycled materials. During the last ten years we have worked to incorporate many different post-industrial recycled products into our clay body in order to reduce landfill. We have used granite dust from sandblasted electronic parts, recycled glass, and for a short while, yeast cakes from a large brewer.

The terra cotta body has a warm red-brown hue and a slightly gritty texture when left unglazed.. The glazed tiles are available in 120 standard colors in sizes from 1  to 12 x12 . Surface bullnose, quarter rounds, cove base, sink caps, moldings and stairnosings are available. The terra cotta body is made up of 26% post consumer mixed bottle glass and 26% pre-consumer granite dust.

The glass we use is waste contaminated glass from consumer curbside glass recycling. When bottles are crushed into small chunks to be re-melted into new glass bottles there are small particles generated. This small particle glass can not be reused in the glass bottle making process. The use of this glass is limited so we are using it to make our beautiful handmade Debris Series tiles.

The granite dust we use is a by-product from asphalt production. When gravel is ground to mix with the binder and petroleum components to make asphalt there are fine dust particles that can not be incorporated into the mix. We use this granite dust as the basic ingredient of our Debris Series tile. In fact the Debris Series was developed to keep this dust from going to landfill.

In 1998 Granite Rock asked us if we could develop a product using a granite dust byproduct from their gravel and asphalt production. After 12 months of R & D research we realized that we could not make a viable product from this material. Our trials and many errors lead us to the idea of combining recycled glass and the dust together to make a high quality tile product. After another 12 months of research we launched our Debris Series tile in April of 2000.

All Debris Series glazes are made without lead and toxic materials. In 1988 Fireclay Tile converted to a system of 100% leadless glazes. The first tile maker to make such a step at a time when leadless glaze technology was in its infancy. We collect our waste water and waste glaze and recycle it back into the tile body.

For more information see Floor Tile