FIRST COMMERCIAL ECOBRICK USAGE IN LARGE BUILDING

TO BUILD was present at the first ecobrick ‘pour’ at The Ridge, a commercial building with significant sustainability features under construction in the Portswood District of the V&A Waterfront.

The building team has found an innovative means of removing polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and other plastic waste from landfill by reusing it inside concrete walling and flooring on site.

“The recycled PET bottles are called ecobricks. To the best of our knowledge, The Ridge is the first large commercial building in the world to do this,” says Mark Noble, Development Director at the V&A Waterfront.

“Often, builders incorporate void-forming materials into concrete slabs. These are of a much lower weight than concrete and contribute to the dematerialisation of the building, meaning less resources used in man-made buildings. Frequently, void formers are made of expanded polystyrene (EPS). Under normal loads, these voids do not undermine the structural strength of the slab. But they offer many other benefits, which is why building professionals use them,” he advises.

The ecobrick project reduces the use of the ubiquitous virgin expanded polystyrene-based void forming shapes, which in themselves carry a carbon-and-energy footprint.

In addition to the PET bottle waste utilised by the ecobricks, thousands of plastic and plastic/foil packets from consumables such as potato chips, chocolate wrappers, cling wrap and shopping bags are used as stuffing inside the bottles and removed from waste. They also provide filler-strength to the bottle to prevent it from collapsing.