Oceanside Glasstile Increases Recycling with $1.4 Million Loan from State

Carlsbad, CA - What happens to those old glass bottles you put out for recycling? In North San Diego County, hundreds of tons of them are crushed and melted at the Oceanside Glasstile Company to create handcrafted iridescent tiles for architectural and residential use. With help from a $1.4 million business loan awarded by the California Integrated Waste Management Board— the state's primary recycling agency and a part of the California Environmental Protection Agency— Oceanside Glasstile has newly relocated to expanded quarters in Carlsbad where it will increase its efforts to recycle and keep glass waste out of local landfills.

The company received the low-interest state loan through the Waste Board's Recycling Market Development Zone (RMDZ) program that promotes recycling-based business development.

"The highest and best use for a recycled material is being remanufactured into a new product," Waste Board Chair Linda Moulton-Patterson said.

Oceanside Glasstile takes discarded postconsumer glass bottles that have been crushed into granular form and uses them as 85 percent of the raw material needed to manufacture four glass tile product lines. The tiles, which feature a handmade look, are available in dozens of colors and designs. Oceanside's tiles are used both functionally and decoratively in residences, commercial buildings, restaurants, and cruise ships, as well as in a custom restoration project at Hearst Castle State Park in San Simeon, California. Some uses include flooring, countertops, and wall tiles in baths and kitchens.

The Waste Board's $1.4 million business recycling loan is being applied toward the purchase of manufacturing equipment and fixtures, and to provide working capital. Oceanside Glasstile has purchased the new equipment to increase its capacity to make a mosaic tile line introduced in 1997, to meet its sales growth and production needs, and to divert more glass from California landfills. The company currently employs 80 personnel and diverts 600 tons of recycled glass per year. With the Waste Board loan and the move to new quarters, the company plans to create 26 new jobs and to divert 1,000 tons of glass the first year, up to 3,000 tons of glass within five years.