The use of recycled materials in building is increasingly common. As well as having a lower environmental footprint, recycled materials can help cut costs; and the special texture of materials that have already lived a former life provides a unique feel to a building. On the other hand, there may be some sacrifices to be made in uniformity and speed when working with recycled materials.
Recycled materials for building come in two main types. First, there are waste construction materials—everything from bricks and chunks of concrete, to doors and windows, to bathroom and kitchen furnishings—which are salvaged for reuse.
There’s a lot of construction and demolition waste out there: it accounts for more than a third of all waste generated in the EU. And while more than 70% of this waste is now reused in one way or another, in many cases this is a low-grade use such as backfilling.
So there’s still a huge amount of potential for creative recycling of building materials—like in this ten-storey building in South Korea that’s clad with a thousand recycled doors.
When it comes to sourcing recycled materials, there’s a range of options. Dedicated recycling centres for building materials now exist in many parts of the world. There are also online marketplaces connecting those who have materials with those looking for them—either specifically for construction, such as Enviromate in the UK or Loopfront in Norway, or more general sites, like Freegle or Freecyle.
The other main type of recycled materials is general waste—whether domestic or industrial in origin—which is repurposed for use in construction.
For instance, used tyres are one of the biggest waste problems in the world—and one billion more are generated every year. While in the EU most tyres are recycled in one way or another, worldwide it’s only ten percent.
Tyres can be used in construction in various ways—one option is as containers for rammed earth in retaining walls, like this one.
Another major waste problem is plastic. Worldwide, one million plastic bottles are used and discarded every minute of every day, while five trillion plastic bags are used every year. In total, half of all plastic produced is designed for single-use purposes.
Used bottles can be stuffed with plastic waste and combined with earth mortar to build low-cost, low-impact walls, a technique known as ecobricks.
These are just a handful of the possible uses of recycled materials in construction. The only limits are our imagination and ingenuity.
