Waste streams can be harnessed to create new material for construction. Reducing reliance on raw materials removes the embodied carbon of waste from the environment as well as reducing landfill capacity. Material innovators such as Biohm have been using fruit peel to create waste board, Kava Surfaces use coffee waste to create surfaces and Richlite and Paperstone use waste paper to create worktops. 

 

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Organic Waste

Recycling organic waste streams provides a source of material for new interventions whilst removing waste from the associated industry, resulting in a carbon negative strategy which can then also be easily disposed of at end of its life as organic matter.

 

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At County Hall beetroot and orange peel waste was made into front-facing construction boards and Ecoboard formed the carcassing of all joinery which is made from agricultural waste and is a carbon negative alternative to materials such as MDF or OSB.

 

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Manmade Waste

At the end of a material’s lifespan, it can be reprocessed into a new form to create new use. Plastic is often recycled into new forms - Smile Plastics have been recycling plastic yoghurt pots and chopping boards into worktops and Stormboard turn ‘un-recyclable’ waste plastic into a waterproof, durable construction board.

 

Construction waste can be used to create new materials - either by forming an aggregate in a new material or terrazzo or by being ground down and combined with cement or resin to form a solid surface. Continuing the concept of ‘urban mining’ the preference should be for this to be sourced locally and processed in factories nearby to avoid any unnecessary transport emissions. 

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Read more here. 

 

As a practice we are always looking to think of new ways to repurpose and reduce waste. Within every project we ensure that a fit-out waste management plan is developed in line with the waste hierarchy to identify key fit-out waste streams and additional options for reuse, recycling or other management. Above all, waste should not be sent to landfill. On site waste generated as a result of construction or already on site can form the basis of a wider material proposal. For example, an excess of plaster waste from demolished partition walls could be combined with hemp shiv to create hempcrete blocks as part of new walls. Processing should be done on site if possible.

 

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At County Hall this waste as material strategy transpired through construction rubble made into terrazzo and waste paper coffee cups made into 3D printed lampshades.