A tile making company has included green technology as one of their primary aims, and is making tiles from sustainable methods. Just recently, they have developed another great technique to manufacture these tiles. This new method, which uses the glass of old monitors and televisions as a raw material, is in line with the company’s aim of using recycled material for their technology.
For many years, TVs were based on CRT or the cathode ray tube. With the advent of LCDs and plasma screens, these CRTs were dumped into landfills. The tile manufacturing company claims that discarded CRT glass weighs over billions of pounds when you consider all the landfills in the country. The problem is that this glass is of no use to the electronics industry and is also difficult to recycle, which is why it ended up in all these landfills.
The tile making company realized this problem and took steps to solve it. They set up a contract with a local e-waste recycler so that they could easily obtain this glass. A process has been developed that crushes this glass and melts the pieces. This liquid form of glass is then used to make new tiles from unique molds which are made by the company itself.
The president of the tile making company told the press that these tiles can be used for the walls, floors, fountains and other elements, whether it is inside or outside.
The president went on to add that using recycled material is beneficial to the environment but has its own sets of problems which must be tackled. Most of the challenges which manufacturers face are supply related. Since raw materials are developed from somewhat different materials in terms of composition, every batch that is produced is not always the same. He further said that variations are always there; sometimes with respect to the color, sometimes with respect to the surface and sometimes because of a number of other things.
The good thing is that all the challenges can be dealt with if experience and knowledge is brought into the picture. Both these two can be used for analyzing the risks and thereby minimizing them. The president also stated that their company had succeeded in doing this.
If you’re in the market for tile, do buy some of these tiles; you sure will be impressed by their stunning appearance.
Source: www.earth911.com
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