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Life Cycle Comparison

Raw Materials	Marble/Granite Flagstone	Engineered Stone	Ceramic Tile	Poured Concrete Pavers	Nusantara Beachstone Mosaics
Resource Extraction	Removal of overburden, road construction, core sampling, plant construction, wharf/truck loading platform	Most raw material is crushed stone from quarries, but includes quartz, granite, marble, silica sand, porphyry, pigments, glass, mirror, seashell, fossil, metal, etc	Clay excavation, removal of over burden, dust and heavy vehicle traffic	Portland cement is made from crushed and pulverized quarried stone	Hand harvested from coastline areas with exposure to the Indian Ocean storms and currents
Energy use	Cutting saws, conveyer belts, excavators, trucks, on site electricity for milling and lights, transportation etc	Product formed under pressure and high heat, typical manufacturing plant electricity needs	Typical mechanized quarry operation with excavators and truck traffic	Kiln firing at 2600°F to 3000°F finished clinker is pulverized mechanically, normal manufacturing electricity needs	Transportation of Beachstones to manufacturing plant.
Water use	High water use in saw blade and drill bit cooling, some quarry displacement	Typical quarry water needs	Sprinklers to reduce dust and to clean machinery	Water used in cleaning of end product	None
Noise Pollution	Blasting, drilling, cutting, crushing and vehicle noise	Typical quarry noise	Mechanical excavator noise	Typical quarry noise	None
Air Pollution	Vehicle and excavator exhaust, dust and toxins from blasting	Typical quarry air pollution	Dust and excavator exhaust	Typical quarry air pollution	None
Wildlife Impacts	Severe habitat destruction in overburden removal, noise and vibration from blasting and heavy machinery, dust and water flow disruptions, some marine life disruption is water port built	Typical Quarry wildlife destruction	Typical Quarry wildlife destruction	Typical Quarry wildlife destruction	Very little to none

Manufacturing	Marble/Granite Flagstone	Engineered Stone	Ceramic Tile	Poured Concrete Pavers	Nusantara Beachstone Mosaics
Energy	Milling, polishing, finishing,	Product formed under pressure and high heat, typical manufacturing plant heat and electricity needs	Kiln firing at 2200 oF production line and general manufacturing plant power and heat needs	Some are dried with heat, but most are air dried. Typical manufacturing power needs	Small Ceiling fans and lights when required
Toxic Compounds	Little toxic chemicals used in the manufacture of either marble or granite. Some polishing done with oil based product	organic structural resins	Some colouring compounds, and glue added to self adhesive products, but fluorine and lead compounds are released as impurites	No toxic chemicals added in the production process	Some low VOC Synthetic Rubber Adhesive used in adhering stones to mesh backing
Water use	Most cutting and polishing requires high volumes to cool and clean the finished product	cutting and polishing requires high volumes to cool and clean the finished product	Water is added to clay and other ingredients to form a slurry, water is removed by pressing	Water is an important component in the mixing and bonding process.	Small amounts of water are used to wash dust and sea salt from the stones
Water Waste	Waste water is collected and held in settling ponds. Solid material is separated from water before reusing or releasing into local waterway or sewage system	Waste water is collected and held in settling ponds. Solid material is separated from water before reusing or releasing into local waterway or sewage system	Waste water is collected and held in settling ponds. Solid material is separated from water before reusing or releasing into local waterway or sewage system	Waste water is collected and held in settling ponds. Solid material is separated from water before reusing or releasing into local waterway or sewage system	Water is held in evaporation ponds on manufacturing site

Embodied Energy	Marble/Granite Flagstone	Engineered Stones/Tiles	Ceramic Tile	Poured Concrete Pavers	Nusantara Beachstone Mosaics
Resource extraction	Moderate energy use in excavation, drilling, cutting and milling of raw materials	Moderate energy use in excavation, drilling, cutting and milling of raw materials	Low energy use in the mining of clay	High amounts of energy use production, of Portland cement	Very low energy use in the harvest of beachstones
Manufacturing	Moderate energy use in the cutting polishing and honing of finished product	High amounts of energy used in the pressure and heat used in forming tiles and slabs	High amounts of energy used in kiln firing of clay for ceramic tiles	Moderate amounts of energy used in the production of concrete pavers	Very little energy used in the assembly of mosaics. Most energy is used in the cooking of the assembly teams lunch.
Transportation	From European, Asian, African and South American quarry to port, then to North America	Raw materials shipped from around the world to finished processors in Europe, North America and Asia then by container to North America	From clay mine to manufacturing plants in Europe, Asia and South America, then shiped to North America by container ship	Raw materials produced in Asia and North and South America then sent to regional manufacturing centers across North America	Stones gathered from beaches are trucked to the production facility then shipped to North American ports
North American Distribution Transportation	European stone is shipped to East North American ports then shipped by rail and truck to final sales points. Asia stone shipped to both N.A. coasts	European and Asian product is shipped to both coasts, then by rail and truck to final sales points.	European and Asian product is shipped to both coasts, then by rail and truck to final sales points.	Most finished product is trucked from production facility to final sales point	Nusantara Beachstone Mosaics shipped to strategically chosen North American Ports that assures that each regions furthest distribution point is equal, and to assure an absolute minimum of inland truck movement to the final end users.

Conclusion:

Raw Materials

In the excavation, extraction and mining of raw materials in the stone, concrete and ceramic tile industry a great deal of damage is done. In many instances the damage is irreparable. Quarry reclamation is expensive and in most cases cannot bring the quarry site back to its original environmental and wildlife habitat values. There are many instances of ground water disruptions, depletions and pollution. Mining and quarrying can have down wind effects on wildlife and human health. Mining and quarrying are dangerous work and account for many health problems for workers mostly in developing countries where most of the raw materials for the North American market are sourced.

All materials used in the landscape flooring and wall cladding industry are non-renewable. Even bamboo which is considered a renewable, will after a number of crop rotations, deplete the soil in its plantation site of essential nutrients.

In mining and quarrying, the raw material is found and exploited on site. Nusantara Stone Mosaics are different in that we gather our raw materials at the terminus of a continuing natural process. The materials are very abundant and the shaping and polishing of the Beachstone is a continuous process that is constantly renewed by the forces of nature. While there are mountains, rainfall and steep streams and rivers flowing In Indonesia to the ocean, there will be a reliable supply of Beachstone.

Manufacturing

Marble, granite, limestone, engineered stone, concrete and ceramic tiles all employ energy and water dependent manufacturing processes. Most are highly mechanized with varying material and water waste streams.

Nusantara Stone Mosaics are hand assembled with no mechanical or chemical processes. Our only chemical components are in the 60% recycled content in our mesh backing and small amounts of VOC’s in the adhesive we use to adhere the stones to the mesh. Water use and disposal is minimal, non-disruptive and non-polluting.
The final installation process for all products in our market sector is similar in their need for a solid sub striate, mortar and grouting. The only exception is glazed surface ceramic tile, which does not require the application of a sealant.

Transportation

Over 80% of our direct competition is imported from Europe, Asia and South America. All products in our market have a high embodied energy component from transportation. Even domestically produced stone and tile have high energy and costs due to the weight of the finished product and the energy costs per ton/mile of truck transport. The United States EPA have studied energy use per ton/mile as illustrated in the following graph.

The following table illustrates the energy needed to move one ton of freight one mile in distance.

Energy intensity for freight:

Transportation type	Energy Consumed (Btu per ton-mile)
Single unit truck, diesel	3,136
Tractor trailer truck, diesel	1,945
Rail, diesel	514
Ocean freighter, diesel and residual fuels	190

Using this comparison, North American quarried stone will have similar embodied transport energy than that imported from Indonesia, if shipped by truck over 800 miles from the quarry site. Most Nusantara Stone Mosaic customers are within a few hundred kilometers of our port of entry.

Nusantara Stone Mosaics are shipped in containers using an integrated shipping strategy where the remaining 40 to 60% of the volume of each container that is not used by the Mosaics is utilized with lighter consumer/home furnishing products sold through the company’s retail operation. This insures the maximum value is added to each cubic meter of space used in each shipment.

The per square foot shipping weight Nusantara Stone Mosaics is less than finished granite, marble, limestone and some ceramic tile due to 60% of the finished Beachstone mosaic weight is incurred in the installation process.

We ship almost exclusively with “Ever Ursula” and “Evergreen” two of the largest container vessels in the world. They are both powered by Mitsubishi-Sulzer 12RTA84C-UG Marine Diesel Engines These marine engines are designed for increased dependability, fuel efficiency and lower emissions than conventional Heavy Fuel Oil or Residual Bunker Fuel with a high sulfur constituency.

Due to these factors, Nusantara Stone Mosaics are equal to or slightly less than our competition in embodied transportation energy.