The Ever Growing World of Sustainable Construction Materials

1. The Ever Growing World of Sustainable Construction Materials There are nearly 7 billion people living on the planet, many of which have access to heating and electricity during their daily lives. The use of fossil fuel engines and the construction of homes and buildings is growing every year and the use of the natural resources that sit within our planet are being used at an alarming rate. In the modern world that we live in, we use and consume a huge amount of natural resources. Every time we drive to work, switch on our televisions or turn on our vacuum cleaner, we are using a form of natural resource, whether that is gas or electricity. The resources we use cannot be replenished. We all need to be responsible for the preservation of these natural resources, we are all told to be more aware of what we use. The use of energy efficient lights or use public transport to get to work are two of the areas we are being told will help the planet and reduce the CO2 emission produced. The housing market is in need of new builds over the coming years, at the moment there is a big supply and demand deficit in the market. Part of the governments plans for the construction of a new home is that developers should now look at the sustainability of the materials they are using and how these homes can be more green than before. Sustainable homes probably look a lot different than you may imagine. The ‘green’ houses of twenty years ago, a compost toilet and water butts saving rainwater for washing are a long distant memory. Many houses look exactly as you would imagine, like a normal house. The difference being that there are now a huge range of different sustainable construction materials available to the DIY home builder and for those within the house building industry. Although they give very similar results, they are a much more green than before. A major component within the building industry is concrete, it is responsible for 10% of all the CO2 emissions globally. We all look at the CO2 emission of cars and boilers, but over the lifetime of a building 5% of its C02 emissions will be due to the type of construction material used. A recyclable concrete product using recyclable products will offer lower emissions. Another product that is used within the building industry is Asphalt. It is a product used in the building of driveways, 95% of the material used to make driveway can re-used which makes this a great alternative for sustainable construction. The continued use and development of sustainable building products will overtime offer the industry cheaper recycled product alternatives to use, research and development of these products will ultimately make them cheaper and more accessible to all within the trade.

2. The building industry will be under close inspection over the coming years to use sustainable materials that help protect the impact of building on the environment. It will also continue to monitor the techniques and products used to see if any further reductions can be made within its environmental impact. Our landscape is slowly being scattered with huge wind turbines that sit hundreds of feet above the rolling hills in our countryside and solar farms are now filling farmers fields where crops used to grow. All this with the aim to improve the way we generate energy and become less dependant on the dwindling natural resources. The building industry is not far behind in the use of sustainable construction materials that it uses. All of these changes will have a positive impact on what world we pass onto the next generation on this planet. About Us: OCL Regeneration Ltd are a privately owned independent company who specialise in aggregate recycling. They have dedicated depots in South and Central England ensuring they are well placed to service clients nationally. They are fully assured and competency accredited with a priority on health and safety. OCL pride themselves on their excellent customer service. They specialise in value engineering to a wide range of clients and serve a variety of construction sectors. Their recycling and engineering expertise have been approved by many councils throughout the UK. The companies focus on value for money engineering have made them market leaders in the quality, recycled and sustainability industry. To find out more, visit: https://www.oclonline.co.uk