Frequently Asked Questions

The product has an organic content of less than 1% and is therefore classified as class A1 in accordance with EN 13501-1 and Delegated regulation 2016/364, EN 13501-1

BioBasedTiles® have been added to the SundaHus Material Data system with an A-rating. SundaHus Material Data is the market leader for environmentally conscious material choices in the construction and property markets in Sweden.

To read more about the specific assessment criteria, please download this document by SundaHus Material Data.

BioBasedTiles® are also listed in the Nordic Swan Ecolabel’s Building Materials Database.

The Building Materials Database, shared with all Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden), is used by building producers to find products that are accepted by Nordic Ecolabelling. Read more.

Due to the nature of the material and the production process, ceramic brick is subject to dimensional tolerances and a certain range.

In the case of WasteBasedBricks®, this is specified as T1/Rm (15-10-10) (Tolerance / Range). In the case of T1/Rm, the deviation on the average size can be no more or less than 6*4*3mm (l*w*h) and the difference between the smallest and the largest bricks can be no more than 15*10*10 (l*w*h).

Dimensional tolerance (T1, T2 or Tm)

In practice, the designer often bases the dimensions on the average theoretical dimensions of a standard masonry brick format. However, the dimensions used by an individual manufacturer can greatly differ from this. Each manufacturer can give its interpretation of the average size of a standard format and the associated dimensional tolerances (T). So standard dimensions do not exist in masonry bricks. This deviation is defined in the classes T1, T2 or Tm.

The starting points are the length, width and height as stated on the CE specification of the brick. The average size of the bricks must fall within the specified tolerances.

Measure spread (R1, R2 or Rm)

After determining the average sizes, the size spread can be calculated. The size difference between the smallest and largest brick in a batch (ten bricks are randomly drawn from a batch) must not exceed the specified size range.

StoneCycling’s WasteBasedBricks are all delivered within the T1/Rm standard. The dimensions of bricks and brick slips are the result of the average dimensions of the chosen brick and the dimensions of the joint. In the case of a tile or herringbone bond or a joint smaller than 10 mm, you want to consider the effects of the tolerances on the design.

The BioBasedTile, both the Honed and the Polished texture, have an R12 rating with a PTV and SRV rating beyond 50. These products are suitable for wet commercial areas such as swimming pools, showers and kitchens. With the BioBasedTile there is a low risk of slipping.

StoneCycling is not responsible for sealant selection or sealant application instructions. Please test the desired sealer before full application to ensure proper results. Follow all manufacturer instructions for application and re-application.

Download a list of approved sealants, including Biomason testing results and environmental information from our website.

Please note that the recommendations in this document are based on Biomason’s internal testing of the listed categories, and are ranked subjectively based on our findings. This is not meant to be a fully comprehensive list of all possible sealants; it is a list of sealants that we have tested.

Biomason makes no claim over which sealant is “best” for your desired application.

The datasheet / NEN specification we publish on our website is an indication of the technical specs of a certain brick type and is based on previously produced products. The document gives you an indication on the water absorption percentage and compressive strength of previous batches of the same brick type.

For your specific project, the technical specifications of the actual production will be separately tested and confirmed. We advice not to use this datasheet / NEN specification for technical decisions such as a mortar advice.

You can download our sustainability document here.

When you navigate to the individual product pages and scroll down, you can find a PDF-files with product information, processing guidelines and a technical datasheet of that specific product under “downloads”.

To make it even easier for you, you can click here directly to download the WasteBasedBrick® Product Information and Processing Guidelines, the WasteBasedSlip® Product Information and Processing Guidelines and the BioBasedTile® Application Guide (Horizontal Use), Application Guide (Vertical Use), Catalog and Data Sheet.

For the datasheets of each of our WasteBasedBricks®, according to the European NEN-EN 771-1 norm, please refer to the specific product pages.

The WasteBasedBrick® is a building material that includes waste from construction, demolition and the industry. It is an intrinsic property of the WasteBasedBrick® that, due to the nature of the used materials and means of production, the products contain a certain colour variation.

Samples of products you’ve received before placing the order are type samples and give an indication of the colour and texture. The actual aesthetical properties of the WasteBasedBricks® will be confirmed with a production sample after placing the order.

The short answer is no. Not yet.

The factory that will produce the BioBasedTile on a large scale is located in Denmark. The Biomason EPD team is working closely together with the engineers in Denmark to calculate the environmental profile of the actual product made over here.

To prevent the circulation of multiple EPDs of the BioBasedTiles, we will be waiting for the new publication which represents the commercial product we are selling.

The primary component of traditional concrete is Portland cement. Portland cement is manufactured from crushed limestone (calcium carbonate). There are two main stages in the manufacturing of portland cement.

The first stage, calcination, requires heating limestone to temperatures greater than 800 degrees Celsius (~1,500 F), resulting in calcium oxide and carbon dioxide gas.

The second stage, clinker formation, combines calcium oxide with silicates at furnace temperatures greater than 1,300 degrees Celsius (~2,400 F).

Manufacturing 1 KG of Portland cement releases approximately 1 KG of carbon dioxide into the environment. Half of this comes from the calcination of the limestone, and the other half from the combustion of fossil fuels necessary to achieve the required kiln temperatures. Additional atmospheric byproducts of portland cement production include dioxin, NOx, SO₂, and particulates.

The final material consists of approximately 85% natural aggregate, and 15% biologically grown limestone.

Instead of Portland cement, we use Biocement® to bind loose sand and rock. Portland cement is a calcium-silicate hydrate material that originally comes from liberating carbon from limestone through intensive heating, emitting carbon dioxide as a byproduct.

Biocement® is a reversal of this process, where carbon and calcium are combined to produce a biologically formed limestone material. This means that high heat and fossil fuels are not required in the process, and BioBasedTiles use carbon as a building block, just like nature!

Naturally occurring bacteria are used to produce BioBasedTiles, a non-modified bacteria described as a wild-type strain. The non-pathogenic strain was isolated from a species commonly found in global natural environments.

These bacteria typically create cemented materials over hundreds or thousands of years, but the Biocement® process enables them to do the same work in days.

Bacteria are everywhere in the world around us. Generally speaking, they need two things to survive: nutrients and moisture. BioBasedTiles do retain trace bacteria from the growth process. However, these exist in a dormant state and require conditions beyond those commonly found in the built environment to become active.

The size of the BioBasedTiles does not change from the time it is formed in production. During production, they increase in density. The “growing” happens as biologically produced calcium carbonate forms bridges between the aggregate grains, strengthening the unit from within. BioBasedTiles do not warp during production.

It takes less than 72 hours for our BioBasedTiles to reach full cure strength, and this is continuously improving through Biomason’s rapid research and development. As a note—traditional concrete can take up to 28 days to cure!

Currently, we offer BioBasedTiles in different colours, sizes and finishes that can be applied as flooring, wall cladding and facades. Visit our products page to find out more.

No. Throughout the years, our partner Biomason® developed their Biocement® that we use for the BioBasedTiles. The process relies on bacteria for the growth of cement rather than burning fuels for calcination resulting in a lighter, stronger, and thinner material.

No, we don’t take on any design projects right now. We do clad counters with our materials if it is part of a larger interior project.

If you design an object built from bricks and it exceeds our minimum order quantity of 200 m² within Europe (including the United Kingdom) or 1000 m² on other continents, we can talk through your design idea. In that case, you might want to contact our sales team.

Yes, our products can be combined with insulation panels made for ceramic brick slips. Contact our sales team for references.

In principle, we do not use any pigments. However, we aim to compose the recipes of the WasteBasedBricks® in such a way that it leads to an attractive product. Pigments could be added to manipulate certain colours. The firing curve of the products also has a significant effect on the colour. We aim to primarily use pigments from waste.

Building from waste is still a relatively new concept. Much of the waste that we create in construction (even when recycled) is now used for lower quality purposes, such as road fill, or not used at all.

Local production, close to the waste streams is the way to go. But for that to happen, we need to get more projects in, for example, the United States coming our way. In our growth vision, we focus on production with partners in various regions across the world.

An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is an independently verified and registered document that communicates transparent and comparable information about the life-cycle environmental impact of products in a credible way.

At StoneCycling, we now have a preliminary EPD of our products available on request. If you want to learn more and download the EPD, contact us here. Soon we will publish an updated EPD available for download on each product page.

We deliver our products under the general terms and conditions of the Royal Association of Dutch Brick Manufacturers (‘Vereniging Koninklijke Nederlandse Bouwkeramiek‘ – KNB). This involves a 10-year warranty on frost resistance. This is in line with most producers of ceramic materials in the Netherlands.

All our products go through the standard market tests for bricks and are safe to use according to European standards.

This is true indeed. Wood is a great material for building. However, it does require more maintenance than bricks. Our products are fired on forest-compensated gas. This means that the CO₂ footprint during production is compensated by planting trees. It is not the perfect solution yet and fundamental solutions will have to be found in alternative fuels such as H₂.

Our products have the properties to last more than 100 years. Unfortunately, most buildings these days are being demolished much sooner than that. The good news is that WasteBasedBricks® can be recycled and used as ingredients for new WasteBasedBricks®.

This depends on the calculation method you use. In preliminary research from an external agency, a 25% reduction in environmental cost indicators was reported with fully scaled-up production. In general, the WasteBasedBrick®, in line with other bricks, is sustainable because of its longevity (70+ years).

With the WasteBasedBrick®, we focus primarily on waste as a resource instead of digging up natural and limited resources. To decrease the CO₂ footprint of the brick even further, we are testing more efficient firing curves.

We currently compensate for the footprint of the firing process by using forest-compensated gas from supplier Greenchoice. The next big step is switching from a gas-fired production process to an H2-fired production. Visit our news page to learn more about this latest development.

All our waste streams are tested on quality and consistency and comply with government regulations.

We are already able to make products from 100% waste. That said, the machines we are using aren’t currently able to process them. This will remain our focus for the coming years.

Our mission stands: creating building materials from 100% upcycled waste with a positive carbon impact on the planet.

We use demolition waste, industrial waste and by-products from several production and recycling processes.

It depends on the production location and products but in general, our waste comes from the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and England.

We work with carefully selected partners and don’t have the ambition to expand the number of partners right now.

We are running a few pilot projects in the Netherlands to test the complete process of returning waste from a donor building to the project for the first time.

Depending on what we encounter in the process and the results of the final product, we will see if and how we will bring this further. Visit our project page to find out more.

Yes, we certainly do. Contact our sales team to have these sent over to you.

Yes, many! Feel free to use the images on our website (with the proper credits).

You can also download our press kit with loads of high-resolution images. Or reach out to our sales team. They are happy to help you create the best presentation of our products possible.

Yes, we organise monthly CPDs / lunch & learns that you can enrol in for free. Visit our events page to see when the next CPD is.

For larger organisations, we also offer tailor-made CPDs. Reach out to our sales team to find out more.

No, unfortunately not. We don’t have the time for this. Please visit our news page and press page. You can find a lot of information here.

At StoneCycling, we are always dedicated to finding talented, motivated people to join our team. For all current internship possibilities, please look at our career page and sign up for our newsletter to stay updated with any available positions.

No, unfortunately not. We only send sample materials to clients working on a specific project.

The global demand is very high, so we set priorities since sending samples is costly, time-consuming and not the best for our planet. You can always request a digital sample pack.

It depends on the type of technology or material. We specialise in aesthetic building materials that help us to fulfil our mission faster. Does your technology or material accelerate this? Then let’s talk further.

We collaborate in technical development, aesthetic development, commercialisation and investments. Get in touch.

We receive many requests for collaborations. We’ve made it a rule that we only set up new partnerships if there’s a commercial project involved where this new product will be used. Is that the case? Then please get in touch.

This depends on your assortment, network and location. Reach out to our sales department with a short profile of your company.

A circular economy is an economic system aimed at eliminating waste and the continual use of resources. Circular systems create a close-loop system, minimizing the use of resource inputs and the creation of waste, pollution and carbon emissions.

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Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. Read more about how our products are made.

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Up-cycling is the process of transforming by-products, waste materials, and useless or unwanted products into new materials or products of better quality and environmental value. Read more about how your products are made.

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This depends on where you are located and the type of factory you have. Please give us a call, and let’s explore what we can do together.

Not yet, unfortunately. At the moment we only work with larger, very specific and well-separated quantities of waste.