The circular economy is a trending concept, currently promoted by several governments. It is viewed as a concrete way to implement the much-discussed notion of sustainable development through the 4R framework (reduce, reuse, recycle, recover). The most influential background conceit wants the future business modelled around a cradle-to-cradle circle run through industrial symbiosis. In this reference frame, ceramic tile manufacturing is often seen as an example of linear economy, where many Rs are difficult to be carried into effect and all the efforts reside on recycling processing wastes in cannibalistic loops. However, this perception is distorted because novel technologies and ongoing innovation are changing the way ceramic tiles are designed and produced. This contribution reviews the current situation in the ceramic industry, assessing the extent by which the circular economy principles are implemented into the tile-making value chain. Attention is paid to Rs (reducing the resource consumption, reusing materials and recovering energy) with special care on challenges of waste recycling (in-house residues, end-of-life products, secondary raw materials from other sectors). This analysis was carried out in the MATER_SoS project (Sustainable materials for refurbishment and construction of new buildings, CUP E32I16000020007) and shows the hindrances to fit a rigid circular model to a complex value chain and products with a long lifetime that are sold worldwide. In conclusion, it must be emphasized that circular economy is a global concept, aimed at improving the resource efficiency under a systemic approach, which various “linear” value chains can take part by arranging in a circular array. From this standpoint, the ceramic tile industry can play important roles: as enabler of new business models, and to close the loop, by converting problematic materials (e.g., waste-of-waste) into safe and value-added products.

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