In Short

• The bricks are made using waste soil from construction sites.
• They are fully recyclable.
• For now, production takes place in China, and they are shipped to the UK.

Net zero construction in the UK gains momentum as a startup enters the market with eco-friendly bricks that absorb carbon dioxide (CO2).

earth4Earth, a Sheffield-based startup, makes bricks using low-emission methods that capture greenhouse gases from their surroundings, a feature that makes them more environmentally friendly than the regular bricks currently in use.

Co-founder Theodore Hanein said: "We are incredibly excited about how our work is going to help construction projects achieve net zero and the huge difference it will make in restoring planetary health."

The bricks have already made their way to a number of pilot construction projects in Sheffield.

Read More: FRONT Materials to Distribute Alusid Sustainable Tiles

The company floated the idea of using excavated soil from construction sites, which would otherwise end up in landfills, to make bricks that are strengthened by mixing the soil with a newly developed binder.

This is one of the best alternatives to traditional bricks, which are made using lime and produced by heating limestone at around 1,000°C, releasing a large amount of CO2 into the atmosphere.

In contrast, earth4Earth's binder works differently by allowing lime to be made at room temperature. Instead of emitting carbon as a gas, it locks it into solid form, thereby helping store carbon rather than releasing it into the air and causing pollution.

What's more, the bricks are also fully recyclable. After crushing, they can be used either in making new bricks or added to soil as a fertiliser. They are made in Wuhan, China, and then shipped to the UK. However, the company plans to move the production site to the UK to reduce its transportation carbon footprint.

Climate and sustainability expert at Sheffield Hallam University, John Grant, said that the construction industry is one of the largest carbon emitters, and innovations like these are capable of replacing traditional bricks and concrete, which are the main causes of pollution and waste in the industry.

Also Read: The Global Net Zero Movement: How Countries Are (and Aren’t) Getting There

He added that many different technologies should emerge to resolve the climate crisis and support a shift away from the systems we presently use.

"We have created a society based around the emission of carbon, but we need to pivot on that to something that doesn't," he concluded.

Ends/

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Source: BBC