With its new tile take-back program, Crossville® – the tile industry’s leader in sustainable initiatives – has solved the major environmental problem facing the tile industry today: recycling fired tile.

Until now, pre- and post-consumer tile has been considered non-recyclable. While many tile manufacturers—including Crossville—have successfully reused scrap powders and unfired tile, hundreds of millions of pounds of damaged or otherwise unsellable fired tile (tile in its finished state), have gone to landfills each year. Additionally, there has been no environmentally friendly manner to dispose of previously installed tile that has been removed for remodeling and renovation.

Crossville has developed a proprietary system of processing ceramic and porcelain tile back into powder used in manufacturing new tile. The resulting new products will have a verifiable recycled content, and more than 4 million pounds of tile that Crossville has previously sent to local landfills will be recycled. This is in addition to any tile Crossville will receive through its ground-breaking tile take-back program.

Not only will the new process allow Crossville to repurpose its own scrap tile, but will allow the company to take back samples and previously installed tile, always a concern for environmentally-minded designers and building owners.

“Crossville is known for its innovation and its sustainability efforts and this new process is a testament to both. It has the potential to transform the way the tile industry manages waste and it does so in a truly green manner,” said James E. “Jed” Durbin, Crossville’s Vice President of Manufacturing.

Crossville is now incorporating powder produced from recycled tile in its manufacturing and has begun implementing its take-back program for samples and installed tile.

Click here for additional details about the tile take-back process, including program requirements a take back request form.