Royal Mosa Gets Cradle-To-Cradle Certification

Maastricht, The Netherlands, Dec. 21, 2009--Holland's Royal Mosa said it is the world's first ceramic tile factory to receive the Cradle to Cradle certificate.

The company changed the ingredients and materials used in its tiles to make them recyclable for life and cause no damage to the environment. It also launched pilot projects to collect tile waste as raw material to be used for new tiles.

An intensive research and development program lasting two years that looked at its manufacturing process, raw materials, suppliers and products, preceded the certificate, the company said.

Now Mosa tiles contain 10 to 40 percent recycled material. Tile waste from within the factory was already recycled in a closed cycle, but other tile waste often ends up in landfills.

The company has started a pilot project in the Netherlands to separate and collect tile waste from construction sites and use it for new tiles. The result is that most Mosa tiles are being classified as 'to be used in the technical Cradle to Cradle-cycle, but safe for the biological cycle'.

Mosa received the basic Cradle to Cradle certificate for the collection of unglazed floor tiles and the silver certificate for its collection glossy wall tiles. It's the beginning of further investments in sustainability.