Sustainable Tiles Pave Way for Green Design

There’s no doubt that sustainability is becoming increasingly important to Australians. In 2020, nine in 10 Australian consumers said they would prefer sustainable products, according to an independent panel commissioned by CouriersPlease.

Of course, there are a number of ways people can reduce everyday waste, but is it possible for consumers to have a more large-scale effect on waste reduction?

Every product is transformed from raw materials and transported for sale. Sand becomes glass, bauxite becomes aluminium and raw earth is used to make tiles.

Tiles are made from various forms of inorganic raw earth with no toxins present. They are the most abundant raw materials available and at the end of life have a variety of uses.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the total expenditure on waste collection, treatment and disposal in the construction sector during the 2018-19 financial year was valued at $2 billion. This accounts for 12.7 million tonnes of construction waste throughout that year alone.

“Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do at Earp Bros,” marketing manager Joshua Earp said.

“Our major manufacturing partner Porcelanosa Group noticed the amount of waste in the ceramics industry almost two decades ago and introduced new technologies to help minimise wastewater and materials, reduce energy consumption in production and ensure no toxic or harmful chemicals were used or contained in their tiles.”

The production of ceramic tiles requires the use of large volumes of water as a mixing agent, and for lubrication and cooling.

Since water is a necessity in manufacturing, water reticulation plants were developed at Porcelanosa factories to capture all wastewater used in production to be purified on-site and reused.

Thirty per cent of energy consumed in manufacturing is produced on-site and low-consumption LED lighting is used throughout their facilities.

▲ Australian tile supplier Earp Bros is paving the way for green design, saving 25 million litres of water with sustainable tiles.

All ceramic waste created in production at Porcelanosa factories is reintroduced into the same manufacturing process, so that every tile contains recycled material.

These tiles are made from inorganic materials with zero volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) and are 100 per cent recyclable at the end of their life.

Almost 10 years ago, Earp Bros formed a partnership with Veolia Australia & New Zealand to develop a Product Stewardship Process to assist all Australians in recycling their tile waste.

Through crushing into aggregate, recycled tiles can be transformed into a number of usable products including landscaping aggregate, road base and bedding sand.

In 2020, more than 25.7-million litres of water were saved by Australians who specified Earp Bros green certified tiles.

When compared to business-as-usual tiles, Earp Bros green certified wall tiles consume 59 per cent less raw material, water and energy to produce, while green certified floor tiles use 32 per cent less raw material, water and energy to manufacture.

As Australia's first supplier of green certified tiles, Earp Bros has achieved Global GreenTag GoldPlus and Level A certification with The Living Future Institute Declare—Red List Free status.

If homeowners, builders, architects, designers, and suppliers work together, Australians can not only improve the natural environment but look towards a much more sustainable future, and it all starts with the simple decision to source sustainably.

By using green certified products, you can be sure you are making the most sustainable choice.

The Urban Developer is proud to partner with Earp Bros to deliver this article to you. In doing so, we can continue to publish our daily news, information, insights and opinion to you, our valued readers.