4. It’s been estimated that for every 1000kg of cement we produce,
around 900kg of C02 is emitted into the environment and cement
alone is responsible for around 5% of the world’s overall C02
emissions.
One of the main reasons is that cement requires an extremely high
heat to process the limestone used to make it, at a staggering 2,800
degrees Fahrenheit
5. INTRODUCTION
Building materials, from their resource extraction through
manufacturing, use and disposal have become a major component of
the total human effects on global ecosystems and the earth’s climate,
particularly in the two centuries since the advent of the industrial
revolution.
For example, the production of Portland cement alone represents 5%
of total global greenhouse gas releases deriving from human sources
(WRI).
Another highly visible example is the unprecedented degree of
deforestation occurring worldwide to produce wood for building
construction.
6. Globally, over 27% of all wood harvesting is dedicated to lumber.
In the two decades from 1974 to 1994 worldwide consumption of
plastics grew by 194%
In terms of reducing global environmental impact from building
materials production and use, one of the most pressing needs if for
the transfer of low pollution and energy efficient production
technology
The search for environmentally friendly building materials represents
a response from the building sector intended to reduce the
environmental cost of making and using buildings.
10. RECYCLED PLASTIC BOTTLE HOUSE
BUILT IN NIGERIA
Thousands of pieces of trash that would otherwise be clogging
waterways and landfills in Nigeria have been turned into sturdy, and
surprisingly attractive, construction materials in the village of Yelwa,
where the country's first plastic-bottle house is drawing curious
visitors and plenty of press.
11. STRONGER THAN CONVENTIONAL
CONSTRUCTION
The bottles are actually filled with dry soil or construction waste, not
sand (an "unnecessary expense"), John Haley of ECOTEC, the firm that
is training local masons in the technique, told TreeHugger.com in an
email. They are then laid in rows like bricks and bound together with
mud, producing a sturdy, well-insulated, and inexpensive three-room
structure that is resistant to both bullets and earthquakes.
"In Nigeria millions of plastic bottles are dumped into waterways
and landfill each year causing pollution, erosion, irrigation blockages,
and health problems. Bottle houses take this dangerous waste out of
the environment and make it useful," the environmental blog Eco
Nigeria wrote earlier this year as the construction was in progress.
12. Used plastic bottles were collected from hotels, restaurants, homes,
and embassies starting in December 2010 to accumulate the
estimated 7,800 needed to build the inaugural home in Yelwa
According to Eco Nigeria, the bottle house will be "solar powered
13.
14. RAMMED EARTH WALLS
Rammed earth walls (aka pise) are constructed by the compacting
(ramming) of moistened subsoil into place between temporary
formwork panels. When dried, the result is a dense, hard monolithic
wall.
A vernacular green building material as well as in more recent 'Eco
houses', rammed earth is an ancient form of construction, usually
associated with arid areas. There remain plentiful examples of the
form around the world – evidence that rammed earth is a successful
and durable way of building. A few historical rammed earth buildings
are to be found in the UK.
15.
16.
17. HEMPCRETE
Hempcrete, also known as hemplime, is a bio-
composite material that can be used in construction as an alternative
to materials such as concrete and traditional insulation.
Hempcrete is very durable and has a number of other beneficial
properties.
Similar to other natural plant products, carbon dioxide is absorbed
from the atmosphere by hemp as it grows.
20. ASHCRETE
AshCrete is a concrete substitute that relies heavily on the use of
recycled fly ash. Made up of 97% recycled materials
It is produced from blast furnaces used to make iron and, like fly ash,
creates a very strong cement when mixed with lime and water.
21. BAMBOO
Bamboo as a building material has high compressive strength and low
weight has been one of the most used building material as support
for concrete, especially in those locations where it is found in
abundance.
Every bamboo species has it's own structural and mechanical
properties. Most are hollow, some are solid, there are bamboos that
grow up to 130 feet tall and 9 inches in diameter and there are
bamboos that grow only 7 inches tall and 0.07 inches in diameter.
22.
23. FERROCK
Ferrock is created from waste steel dust (which would normally be
thrown out) and silica from ground up glass, which when poured and
upon reaction with carbon dioxide creates iron carbonate which binds
carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into the Ferrock.