Half of the 100.6bn tonnes of materials were sand, clay, gravel and cement for building, plus minerals quarried for fertiliser. Photograph: Zoonar GmbH/Alamy
The lion’s share of the materials – 40% – is turned into housing.
Source: World’s consumption of materials hits record 100bn tonnes a year | Environment | The Guardian
Photos by Mike Chassie
Roughly 80% of the plastic recyclables collected throughout Halifax, Nova Scotia are now being processed by Goodwood Plastic Products Ltd so they can be turned into building blocks.
Source: Company Collects 80% of City’s Recyclable Plastics and Turns It All into Lumber
Supply issues have also driven up the costs of building materials, with brick prices up by an average of 9 per cent, timber and roof tiles up by 8 per cent and insulation increasing by 16 per cent. More than half of the firms surveyed said increased material prices were squeezing their margins, and 56 per cent said they had to pass costs on to their customers.
Source: Biocycler, Kickstarter
The process involves, “embedding mycelium (the vegetative part of fungi, with masses of branching, thread-like hyphae) in agricultural waste to make robust building material.”
Source: This New Machine Recycles Construction Waste into Reusable Materials – GineersNow
If you examine some our most prominent building materials, it quickly becomes obvious that the way we’re doing things is causing a multitude of harm to our planet. The effects include a short list of things like land destruction from mining, deforestation, and significant greenhouse gas emissions from high energy consuming manufacturing.
Erick Vickstrom, research analyst for BCC Research, said increased demand across the sector will “provide an opportunity for both existing players and new entrants into the green building materials market.”
For their research, BCC defined “green materials” as those having at least one of these characteristics:
Made from salvaged, recycled, or agricultural waste content
Manufactured with efficient, environmentally friendly processes
Made from rapidly renewable resources
Beneficial to the interior built environment
Recyclable at the end of their useful life
Turning agricultural waste and fungal mycelium into construction materials, this do-it-yourself kit lets you grow your own compostable bio-plastic objects, from packaging furniture to surf boards and architectural building blocks.
via Mushroom Materials: DIY Kit Grows Custom Compostable Products | Urbanist.
Photo by Staff File Photo/Times Free Press.
Using hydraulic compression, the Chattanooga company’s technology aims to take discarded demolition and construction material and turn it into interlocking building blocks.
“They stack up like Legos,” said David White, RamRock’s co-founder and CEO.