Florida Tile recently announced that it has surpassed $250,000 in tile donations to charity in 2009. All tile manufacturers struggle to find ways to dispose of scrap fired tile, and most solutions have involved crushing the tile to make filler for asphalt or to re-use it in the body. While this is preferable to sending scrap to a landfill, it requires lots of extra energy. In 2008, Florida Tile began a program to turn scrap tile into opportunity in the homes of people in need.

By partnering with Herb Miller and the Mountain Re-Source Center in West Virginia, Florida Tile started donating tile that doesn’t meet rigorous quality standards to the less fortunate. Anderson Packaging, Florida Tile’s packaging partner, agreed to provide cartons at cost for the project, and some of the shipping is done for free or at reduced rates by service-minded trucking companies.

Florida Tile’s partnership with the Mountain Re-Source Center has been going strong for over a year, and almost 150 tons of scrap tile has been diverted from the landfill into the homes of the needy. Some of the tile has made it all the way to Africa, while most has ended up helping people in the Appalachian region of the U.S., which is close to the Florida Tile factory.

Visit www.floridatile.com for more information.

Links

• Florida Tile
• "Florida Tile Announces Membership in the ASID"