When planning your holiday this year why not consider an eco-lodge?  They are less harmful to the environment than most holiday homes and they are beautiful in their simplicity.  After writing a blog on the Pembrokeshire eco village I was interested to look at other buildings and projects catering for environmentally aware people.  During my search I came across news of a set of eco lodges which have been constructed in Spain and was delighted to discover that these idyllic buildings had little impact on the environment.  The building materials used most in the construction is European oak, which makes up the walls, floors and ceiling.  The oak, certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, is tougher and more resistant than soft wood timber and was chosen because of the high levels of insulation offered to shelter inhabitants from the harsh winter weather.  Due to the remote location of the building, the timber was carried by hand down existing paths on the hillside. 

 Additionally, the lodge is not connected to mains and is run on solar power alone with a back up generator for emergencies.  The water is gained through water catchment and a purification system and there is a composting toilet.  Even the interior was designed around specifications to remain as sustainable as possible.  Simon Payne, director of the company Blue Forest who designed and constructed the lodge, has said that “The owner specifically wanted to minimise environmental impact by renewable power and rainwater rather than mains supplies.”

 Great attention was paid in order to cause no distress to the surrounding trees, the location itself was chosen so that no trees would have to be felled to make way for the building and when it came to supporting the freestanding building, cement was poured into hand dug holes for the support posts, preventing any roots of nearby trees being damaged.

The lodges themselves look out from the Andalucian Hills with spectacular views across the Straight of Gibraltor.  The natural surroundings coupled with simple yet beautiful buildings make these eco lodges the perfect holiday destination, not to mention their small impact on the environment.  It is safe to say the BuilderScrap team have found their next location for a relaxing and sustainable retreat!

Following the huge explosion and sinking of an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico there are a number of severe, ongoing environmental issues. After the still burning rig sank on the 22nd, two days after the explosion, a 600 mile wide area of crude oil began to appear 36 miles off the Louisiana coast. 5000ft under water a well is releasing a staggering 191,000 litres of crude oil into the ocean on a daily basis; the implications of this are overwhelming and it is vital that something is done to rectify the problem as soon as possible. Plans are underway to plummet unmanned robots into the ocean with which it will be possible to activate the ‘blow out preventer’, which would shut off the well. The process would take between 24 and 36 hours to complete and even then there is no guarantee they will be successful.

In the case of failure further plans have been drawn out to drill a number of relief wells to permanently secure the well, however this will take several months to complete during which time a specialised heavy fluid will be injected to stop the flow of oil or gas and allow the relief wells to be drilled.

Since the explosion on the 20th of April there are still eleven workers missing, who are presumed to have been killed in the disaster which left seventeen others injured. It is because of both the tragic loss of life, which leaves eleven families blind to the fate of their loved ones, and the huge negative impact on the environment which is still happening, which makes this one of America’s worst offshore catastrophes in the last forty years. The biggest worry for the future is the effect the oil will have on the land if or when it reaches it.

There is some good news, well, good news for those who own the environmentally damaging company; they have announced a 135% improvement in their profits in the first 3 months of 2010 they announced profits of $5.2 bn which has risen from 2.4bn a year ago. I’m sure this will serve as a bitter tonic for the families of those who died to increase the profits of a heartless company.

Former Shell CEO Jeroen van der Veer has said several times, the era of “easy oil” is over. It makes you wonder how far we are willing to go to gain oil. How much of the environment will we destroy in order to find this precious substance? How many lives will be lost due to these accidents?

I’m sure that many of the Eco-Warriors out there have been following news of the eco-villages popping up in the world.  I for one find it fascinating to watch how plans become reality when it comes to sustainable living.  It is important to recognise the environmental issues and problems caused by existing dwellings and try to overcome these in eco-friendly ways.  However it is also important to develop the way new buildings are constructed.  BuilderScrap promote the reuse of building materials and this in itself is one big step toward a more sustainable future, but what else can be done?  I have been following the progression of the Lammas project in Pembrokeshire and am excited that this month sees the first tours of the project.  The site will be open for viewing to local people on the 5^th of May and 6^th June and to any others on 8^th of May and 5^th June. 

There are currently seven families working on their plots on the Lammas project, you can read their bios and interests in sustainable living on the official website.  Each family has their own plans to lead a sustainable and self sufficient life in Pembrokeshire providing much of their own food and products whilst also selling their stock and produce to the local community.  These plans stretch from selling willow products grown on their land to selling cured meats at local farmers markets.  The families will each be working in jobs they love and feel passionate about whilst also living in a sustainable and beautiful environment, how many people in the big cities can say that? 

All of the houses are designed using low-impact architecture which uses a combination of recycled and natural materials.  The different dwellings will use diverse building styles including straw bale, earth sheltered, timber frame and cob and each will blend into the local landscape.  The Ecovillage will be separated from mains services meaning they will have to source their own electricity and water, something that has already been planned.  Using renewables the inhabitants of the village will be provided with electricity and there is an existing spring for drinking water, additionally there is a water turbine system already on the site and this is going to be restored and renovated, all this alongside rainwater harvesting on the roofs of buildings will mean the village will have plenty of water!  Compost toilets, wormeries and compost heaps will be used to compost all organic waste and finally, elephant grass and coppiced willow grown on site will act as fuel for those living in this sustainable village. 

I think it’s great that more “eco-villages” are being planned and on some occasions, developed and I both hope and look forward to seeing more in the future.  The village in Pembrokeshire is set to be an idyllic and eco-friendly place for the dedicated families who are developing their land there and, once completed, will hopefully persuade more people to follow their example and start looking to similar buildings for their own homes.

Top Accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers have received the first ‘outstanding’ environmental rating for their new office building in London.  During the construction of their new building PWC recognised the environmental issues and problems of both new and existing buildings and decided to build their office with the aspiration of reducing their carbon footprint.  A partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Roger Reeves said, “We had the opportunity with the design process for the building, to take a blank sheet of paper and raise the bar, both for ourselves and others, in the environmental and sustainability performance of office buildings.  This assessment sends a really clear message that planning for the sustainable use of resources, in detail and right through the process can make good business sense.”  And raise the bar they have, in order to achieve the BREEAM ‘Outstanding rating’ PWC have worked with design consultancy, BDP to meet a difficult score of 85% against strict rating categories in which they had to evaluate pollution, land use, transport, materials and other criteria.  80% of the aggregates within the concrete used were recycled, furthermore the majority of aggregates used in the build were also recycled, both a sustainable and cost efficient strategy. 

During the initial planning stages Bob Spittle, chairman of environmental engineering at BDP says that they were originally aiming for the “BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating, however during the fit out design we could see the opportunity to lead and innovate, and we set ourselves the target to secure the BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ rating.  You have for to be determined to set and achieve these new standards; involve people early on and make sure the support of your developer, contractors and design team matches the vision of your clients.”  Their decision and motivation to see their plans through to the end have now set a standard for office buildings of the future.  The BuilderScrap team would like to think that future projects to build offices will look to PWC’s accomplishment for inspiration.  Projects such as these could definitely benefit from the services BuilderScrap provide because they could not only use recycled products but also reuse builders materials.  Whilst the shell of the building is now complete it is currently being internally fitted with all that an office of this scale needs.  Once completed in early 2011 the building will provide 5500 people with a place to work, will feature four restaurants, 240 cycle spaces, a roof terrace and onsite energy generation facilities using recycled cooking oil and the use of solar thermal panels.

Bugs and Insects at the Tam O’ Shanter Urban Farm on Bidston Hill, Wirral are currently enjoying a new bug and insect hotel. The hotel, made by volunteers incorporates some materials which have been sourced and acquired through the BuilderScrap website and demonstrates a more unusual method of reusing materials.

The hotel has been specially designed to create additional habitat for a number of bugs and insects including both solitary bees and bumblebees which are both declining in numbers. Loss of habitat and pesticide damage have placed a number of bee species under threat in many developed countries, in fact three species of Bumblebee have already become extinct with another 8 considered to be in serious decline.

We hope the new hotel will provide a fantastic new habitat to benefit the local bug and insect populations.

At BuilderScrap we are constantly looking for new solutions such as this to utilise surplus materials from the construction industry, instead of seeing these added to the increasing amounts been sent to landfill each year. We would love to hear from anyone who has found new and interesting ways to benefit from reusing materials (particularly if you have used BuilderScrap).

If you are interested in using BuilderScrap on your own project or have any case studies for reuse please contact us either by email info@builderscrap.com or call 0844 225 3000.

Since new sustainable standards were released by the Scottish Government builders and contractors have been left panicking during what is already a critical time for the industry.  Homes for Scotland (an industry group) are worried that the new plans will increase the cost of building a house by £8,000 by adding a ‘carbon premium’.  If this is the case then house prices are sure to rise to meet the new construction costs.  Jonathon Fair, the chief executive of Homes for Scotland believes that the future of sustainable construction lies with the refurbishment of existing properties.  BuilderScrap tends to agree with Fair as our agenda is all about reusing building materials.  Surely it is more sustainable and cost effective to salvage properties, renovating and restoring them rather than building a new one from scratch? 

 The plans dictate that all new homes built in Scotland as of 1^st October 2010 will have to have to be better insulated against sound and be more energy efficient.  Considering that the Scottish construction industry has “already reduced the carbon emissions of new homes by 60% from 1990 levels against the Scottish Government’s overall reduction target of 80% by 2050” (Jonathon Fair) it seems the government are focusing too much of their attention on driving that last 20% as soon as possible.  Whilst the BuilderScrap team are not against any form of sustainable building we have recognised that we are undeniably still in a recession and the construction industry is one of the hardest hit sectors.  However, whilst the recession is no excuse to ignore the need for more environmentally friendly buildings the Government need to focus more time and energy on trying to save costs whilst also saving the environment.  BuilderScrap is one way to do this and there are others out there (take a look at how we can help you now)!  The problem the Scottish Government and building industry are likely to find themselves in is that during the recession people simply can’t afford to pay up to an additional £8,000 for a house, so work is going to dry up and the houses which are built under the new rules may struggle to find a family who can afford to live in them.  However if Jonathon Fair’s advice is taken into account and more attention is paid to existing dwellings Scotland should still be able to reach its targets as long as, as many materials as possible are salvaged and houses already standing are restored.

Hi i’m Paul , this is my first blog for BuilderScrap. Hope you enjoy!

Every day over 100 different species become extinct, 150,000 acres of tropical rain forests are destroyed, every single day there is a staggering 2 million tons of toxic waste disposed of in our rivers. On top of all that there is also 22 million tons of oil extracted from our lands and 100 million tons of green house gas released into our atmosphere.

The cost of the pollution and destruction caused to the natural environment by the world’s biggest companies would cost them more than one third of their profits if they were held financially responsible, that is according to a major unpublished study for the United Nations.

The damage done to the earth by these major organisations was calculated at £1.4 trillion in 2008, which is a figure larger than the entire economies of every country in the world with the exception of 7. In truth though the figure is likely to be much higher than that as it is not taking in to account the damage caused by household and government consumption of goods and services, things such as objects that require power to work or the amount of waste which is thrown away.

So we have a major problem on our hands at the moment, a problem which is unlikely to be solved by squabbling world leaders. So what is the solution? What is going to save the inevitable destruction of the world? According to one ex lawyer turned campaigner Polly Higgins the way to solve this problem is to create a law which brings the people to blame to justice. Ecocide as it will be called has already had a successful launch at the UN in 2008 and the idea has already been adopted by the government of Bolivia.

Ecocide may well become the fifth ‘crime against peace’ law, alongside; genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression (unprovoked war). It will be The International Criminal Court that would rule over the law if ecocide is passed.

Ecocide is the extensive damage or complete destruction of any ecosystem in the world which leads to a diminished way of life for the inhabitants of that area.

If ecocide was to be passed then it would mean large organisations would no longer be able to use up the worlds fossil fuels, destroy entire rain forests and leave the environment an unusable eye sore.

I for one hope that ecocide is accepted and becomes a law as it will serve as a deterrent for all those oil barons and mining millionaires who never spare a second thought for the baron waste land they leave behind for the future generations.

1) For every tonne of household waste how much do commercial, industrial and construction businesses produce?
Answer: b. Another 6 tonnes

2) What are the most environmentally unfriendly construction materials?
Answer: b. PVC based products

3) How many lego bricks were needed for James May’s full lego house?
Answer: c. 3.2 million
4) Which animals have been discovered to predict earthquakes?
Answer: b. Toads
5) How much ice is falling into the sea every year?
Answer: c. 250 billion

6) What building material did the Romans invent?
Answer: c. Concrete

7) WWF estimated that how many people switched their lights off as part of their campaign during Earth Hour?
Answer: c. 1 Billion

8) Match the following famous architectural landmarks with the correct names

iii. Petronus Towers

ii. Arc de Triomphe

iiii. Constantine's Arch

i. Kuwait Towers

9) What radical idea have the Chinese planned for their landfill sites?
Answer: a. Spraying landfill sites with deodorant

 
10) What legendary computer game character was spotted on Saturn’s moon Minas?
Answer: c. Pac-Man

Saturn's moon Minas and a map of temperature variations which look like Pacman!

So which is the most eco friendly pet to keep and which pets should come with an environmental hazard warning? I am looking at which pets are more environmentally friendly than others as well as investigating whether green options exist for pet owners.

As you might expect keeping a pet horse or cow is a little more carbon intensive than sharing your home with a hamster or a gerbil. Indeed keeping a hamster or gerbil is probably about as eco-friendly as a pet can be; they eat little; they are low maintenance and generally seem happiest exploring their cage for the zillionth time. Unfortunately other animals are far more environmentally damaging; horses take up too much space, dogs and cats consume large quantities of meat, and more unusual pets such as snakes, exotic fish and budgeries are often illegally trapped, removed from their natural habitats and transported long distances. Not environmentally sound.

Now I can take some moral high ground here, I am not a pet owner since my two gerbils departed earlier this year. To be honest I am generally not a fan of having pets in my home; don’t get me wrong I like animals but having them dependent on me… perhaps not. The gerbils were great though, minimal effort and great entertainment, usually much better than the slim offerings served up by my television.

In the UK by far the most popular pets are the dog (estimated at 31% of UK households) and the cat (26% of UK households) (BBC News 06/02/2010). According to Brenda Vale’s recent book “Time to Eat the Dog” keeping a cat was equivalent to driving a Volkswagen Golf 6000 miles a year, whilst the family dog could be even worse – similar to running a couple of gas guzzling 4×4’s (The Times Online 06/04/2010). I suspect that this statistic probably varies between a Chihuahua and a Great Dane however.

So how can the environmentally aware pet owner ensure that their favourite pet is not an ecological drain and what can they do about it? Most owners probably won’t consider eating said pet but they might want to try creating an environmentally friendly diet.  Many of the large pet food companies are now tapping into the ecological guilt of pet owners and are producing sustainable pet foods, so owners can be safe in the knowledge that their furry friend is not causing excessive damage to the natural world. Also on the market are eco friendly dog beds, pet septic tanks and durable toys.

I guess the current environmental awareness asks us to review every aspect of life to see where we can improve our environmental performance. I don’t suppose that anyone would realistically ask someone to give up their pet for the sake of reducing their carbon footprint, after all there are much worse things we can do for the environment. It does seem that it is now an option that pet owners can now choose from an increasing amount of greener options when it comes to buying pet supplies. This does of course open up another whole can of worms regarding the validity of eco branding but that can wait for another time.

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According to the latest survey from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) the construction industry still faces some major economic challenges in the coming year. Cuts in local authority spending seem to be hitting the industry hard and shows that the sector is still in a period of recession.

The survey has highlighted that the nearly one in three (30%) of building companies fully expect that their workload will fall this year. Further to this over half (51%) have noted that there has been a reduction in the amount of public sector work available, whilst 56% have seen a reduction of private sector housing work in the first quarter of this year.

Richard Diment, Director General of the FMB, added that employment prospects within the industry also look bleak with 55% of companies not expecting to take on any new staff over the next six months. This is particularly bad news for school leavers seeking a career in the industry this summer, sparking concerns that when the sector exits the recession it may suffer a skill shortage as happened after the last period of recession in the 1990’s.

The industry will be looking towards politicians in the run up to the general election to see what support is available for the industry, whether this is through showing a commitment for skills and training or changes to regulations to help the industry recover.