A Brazilian startup launched recycled PET tiles for environment friendly construction. The Rivesti Ecological Tiles help cut building costs by generating savings in labor and material.
In 2010, the people at Plaslatina set themselves the challenge of producing a completely sustainable, ecologically correct product made entirely from recycled material. After years of research and development, together with a 2.5 million dollar investment, they created Rivesti (http://www.rivesti.com.br) and have brought the environmentally friendly mosaic tiles to the market.
Produced from a mixture of recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate or PET (85%) and recycled mineral additives (15%), Rivesti tiles are 100% recycled and recyclable. The manufacturing process is also sustainable: it consumes less energy, emits no pollutants and generates no waste. Each square meter of Rivesti mosaic tiles prevents the release of 3kg of CO2 into the atmosphere and removes 66 PET bottles from the environment.
Their business plan projection is that in five years the company will be recycling 6.6 million post-consumer PET bottles per month, which would mean 300 tons of PET being removed from the environment every month. Such figures could make Rivesti attractive as a strategic option for packaging companies seeking environmentally sound solutions to the waste they create.
The tiles also have protective properties. They provide a perfect seal (0% water absorption) for surfaces where they are fitted, and are made with additives that combat the action of UV rays and chemical agents.
Because Rivesti mosaic tiles are up to 66% lighter than conventional ones, CO2 emissions during transport are also reduced. According to Rafael Sorano, who created the eco tiles, "sustainability is the mission of our company”.
Practicality is another concept that applies to Rivesti. The mosaic tile sheets are easy to install and are made in such a way that ensures perfect alignment. Visual uniformity is achieved using the tiles’ unique built-in lateral locators, exclusively developed by the company. “The locators in every tile sheet prevent misalignment, which happens so often when using conventional mosaic tiles”, says Mr. Sorano. This is why working with Rivesti mosaic tiles is up to 6 times faster than with traditional ones, which means savings in labor. The tile sheet has also been designed so that the amount of mortar and grout used to fit them can be reduced by up to 60%.
In fact, Rivesti’s efficient design ensures the individual tile pieces will not detach from the surfaces where they are installed. This is a welcome solution to the usual problem with mosaic tiles, which tend to come loose after a while, leaving gaps.
Another advantage is that Rivesti tiles can be applied to masonry or drywall in both indoor and outdoor areas, such as kitchens, bathrooms, facades or even swimming pools.
The Rivesti tiles are available in 33 vibrant colors. It is also possible to reproduce any Pantone color upon request.
