Ecobob.co.nz have written an interesting short article on recycled building material. Of course no such article would be complete without reference to Earthships (and a plug for this website – thank you!!).
Another interesting part of the article mentioned work out of the University of Nottingham, where they are producing a ‘Bitublock’ out of recycled glass, metal slag, sewage sludge, incinerator ash, and pulverised fuel ash from power stations.
According to Dr Forth, this eco-friendly ‘Bitublock’ consists of up to 100 per cent recycled materials, and uses less energy to manufacture than a concrete block. It’s about six times as strong, which makes it a high-performance product. Dr Forth hopes the Bitublock will completely replace energy-intensive concrete as a structural material.
It sounds great but of course in the three R’s, “Reuse” comes before “Recycle” and its an advantage to be able to reuse a waste material without having to re-process it through another energy cycle. This is where the reuse of waste tyres, bottles and shipping containers for building construction offer a clear advantage (not to mention preventing someone from intervening in the process by repackaging materials and making ‘green’ money out of it).
Check out the full article at: Rubbish good for building your house – Ecobob Forums .
