French startup Scale has created tiles sourced from fish scales, aiming to reduce the environmental impact of making traditional tiles.
Scalite, an ocean-friendly replacement for ceramic-based tiles, is a new indoor stone product. Scale (the company) removes the residual scales, extracts the biopolymer and minerals that are naturally present in them, blends them and presses the mixture into sheets.
Scale says its new material helps reduce “unnecessary aquatic waste” and “is a stone for the construction of the new sustainable world to come”.
The tiles contain no glues, plastics, or resins, and the selection of seven standard colours is created using natural dies. The tiles are easy to clean and have been independently confirmed as being free of volatile organic chemicals, according to Scale. Colours and sizes can be customised to meet the customers’ requests.
After being used, the waste tiles will be reprocessed back into the production process. The company works with local and regional fishers to develop a sustainable trash stream that avoids unnecessary transportation-related emissions.
In addition, the business expects the tiles to become the norm in interior design, suitable for homes, hospitals and retail locations.
