I recently came across this interesting article on the sustainablebuild website. I enjoyed reading it and thought it was worth sharing with the BuilderScrap readers.

The concept of a green building was developed in the 1970s in response to the energy crisis and people’s growing concerns about the environment. The need to save energy and mitigate environmental problems fostered a wave of green building innovation that has continued to this day.

Green buildings and green building products are not easily defined. Often known as sustainable buildings or eco-homes, there is a range of opinion on what can be classed as a green home. It is generally agreed that green buildings are structures that are sited, designed, built, renovated and operated to energy-efficient guidelines, and that they will have a positive environmental, economic and social impact over their life cycle. Green specifications provide a good set of guidelines for the building industry, but these are still in the process of being formalised into UK regulation and many are open to interpretation.

Elements of Eco Building

Four main areas need to be considered in green building: materials, energy, water and health.

Construction Materials

These are obtained from natural, renewable sources that have been managed and harvested in a sustainable way; or they are obtained locally to reduce the embedded energy costs of transportation; or used building supplies or surplus building materials at nearby sites. Materials are assessed using green specifications that look at their Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) in terms of their embodied energy, durability, recycled materials content, waste minimisation, and their ability to be reused or recycled.

Energy

Passive solar design will dramatically reduce the heating and cooling costs of a building, as will high levels of insulation and energy-efficient windows. Natural daylight design reduces a building’s electricity needs, and improves people’s health and productivity. Green buildings also incorporate energy-efficient lighting, low energy appliances, and renewable energy technologies such as wind turbines and solar panels.

Water

Minimising water use is achieved by installing greywater and rainwater catchment systems that recycle water for irrigation or toilet flushing; water-efficient appliances, such as low flow showerheads, self-closing or spray taps; low-flush toilets, or waterless composting toilets. Installing point of use hot water systems and lagging pipes saves on water heating.

Health

Using non-toxic materials and products will improve indoor air quality, and reduce the rate of asthma, allergy and sick building syndrome. These materials are emission-free, have low or no VOC content, and are moisture resistant to deter moulds, spores and other microbes. Indoor air quality is also addressed through ventilation systems and materials that control humidity and allow a building to breathe.

In addition to addressing the above areas, a green building should provide cost savings to the builder and occupants, and meet the broader needs of the community, by using local labour, providing affordable housing, and ensuring the building is sited appropriately for community needs.

A Holistic Approach

Green building requires a holistic approach that considers each component of a building, in relationship to the context of the whole building, whilst considering the impact on the wider environment and community around it. This is a highly complex approach that requires builders, architects and designers to think creatively, using systems integration throughout their work. There are several technology tools and assessment methodologies that can help builders with this process including BREEAM (Building and Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) and EcoHomes.

Building Hope for the Future

Although still in its infancy, building green is a rapidly growing trade. UK regulations now demand that green specifications are met in all new building design and development, as part of their wider sustainable development strategy, and this means that green buildings are emerging throughout the country. In an age threatened by climate change, energy shortages and ever-increasing health problems it makes sense to build homes that are durable, save energy, reduce waste and pollution, and promote health and well-being. A green building is more than a model for sustainable living; it can build hope for the future.

Last week, wind energy surpassed the 5GW energy generation mark, which is enough electricity to power 3 million homes for an entire year.

This landmark was achieved by the commissioning of 2 wind farm developments this month. The Vattenfall’s 300 MW Thanet offshore wind farm, which came on stream as of last week and the expansion of Fred Olsen Renewables’ Crystal Rig 200MW onshore wind farm in the Scottish Borders which was completed early September.

RenewableUK Chief Executive Maria McCaffery MBE, said last week: “Today’s developments are of tremendous significance for meeting our long term renewable energy targets.

“In 2002 the UK was generating around 2% of all electricity from renewable sources, we are now on the threshold of 10%, having increased outputs five fold.

“This demonstrates that, considering the current pipeline of projects, 2020 targets are realistic and achievable, provided the policies are in place.”

This is really beginning to seem like we may hit our targets regarding the Renewable Energy Strategy published in 2009, in which the Government outlined a scenario for the UK to reach around 30% of electricity from wind by 2020 in order to meet EU targets on reducing carbon emissions.

On the 23 September the Thanet Offshore Wind Farm officially opened, which now has the capacity to power over 200,000 homes.

The site has 100 turbines, the owners Vattenfall say it is the largest offshore farm in the world was opened by Chris Huhne and began producing power the same day.

Mr Huhne was joined by Swedish firm Vattenfall’s Chief Executive Øystein Løseth for the ceremony.

Mr Løseth said: “This is a milestone in the development of renewable energy for a sustainable society.”

“For Vattenfall it is a springboard to the future, both to the British market and to large-scale offshore wind power.”

“This is an expression not only of the rapid technological development in offshore wind power, but also of Vattenfall’s development strategy, where the UK is seen as one of the main future markets for offshore wind power.”

Thanet lies in sight of Kentish flats, another offshore wind farm owned by Vattenfall and the two organisations have been merged into one.

Including Thanet Vattenfall is producing 25% of the world’s offshore wind power.

The development of the East Anglia Array, a gigantic offshore wind farm area in the North Sea off the east coast of England, granted jointly to Vattenfall and ScottishPower Renewables.

Birmingham City Council, which is the largest local authority in Europe, has had its motion passed to generate its own power.

On Tuesday 7 September the council passed a motion to develop a Green Energy Action Plan, which will look into government-backed plans for council to generate and sell their own power, through what is known as ‘feed in tariffs’.

This move will give authorities across England and Wales the ability to generate green electricity for their own use through solar panels and wind turbines, any surplus energy left can be sold directly to the national grid.

Birmingham’s deputy leader, Paul Tilsley presented the motion stating it would give the council the power to ‘take a leading role in tackling climate change’.

He added: “We currently spend in excess of £25million per annum on energy; the freedom to reduce this now exists and we should be maximising feed-in tariffs to their full potential.”

Birmingham has already proved it takes initiative when it comes to reducing carbon emissions, as it has three CHP schemes in the city which in total saves around 12,800 tonnes of CO2 per annum.

With the added financial incentive feed-in-tariffs provide for councils, there will be approximately £100 million per year across England and Wales.

Mr Tilsley added: “The development of micro generation facilities that can take advantage of feed-in tariffs is a further step on the road to reducing C02 emissions, cutting our energy bills and via the income generated, allowing us to invest the money in council services.”

With the Built Environment Solutions & Technologies (BEST) show fast approaching, BuilderScrap would like to personally invite you to our stand which is right next to the entrance to hall 5 and is stand no. DO9.

The BEST show is the only event in the UK that has all its focus on the challenges of the major vertical construction markets that UK builders face. Through themed hubs, BEST showcases innovation and excellence across the entire built environment, from education to healthcare, residential to commercial property.

The event will give exhibitors and visitors the opportunity to speak with a number of construction services, building materials suppliers it will also allow you to see all the latest eco building materials and so much more.

So what ever you interest in the construction sector you should come to the BEST show, it’s a 3 day event 18-20 October, while you there don’t forget to come see BuilderScrap stand no. DO9.

We recently attended a really interesting Chamber of Commerce event at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Liverpool.

Mr. Brendon Kenny had a starring role in the networking event as after lunch speaker, he captivated the attention of the audience as he told all there was to tell about the BuilderScrap vision.

The event was certainly a success and we made a lot of new contacts and also had the chance to catch up with a lot of our current contacts.

I most certainly look forward to the next event. We thought we should share some of the photos from the event in order to keep you up to date with all things BuilderScrap.

The oil pouring into the Gulf of Mexico has finally stopped, though the cost of the damage still remains unknown. At present the oil company BP has paid out a staggering $9.5bn (£6.4bn).  They have set up a compensation fund of $20bn which gives the impression the cost is far from complete.

The compensation fund is now run by lawyer Kenneth Feinberg, as President Obama decided the fund would not be put under the control of BP or the US government, but an impartial third party. Since this move the compensation paid out has almost trebled from $3.5m a day to $12.5m a day.

They have paid out 19,000 claims which total $240m; they have had to pay fisherman, hoteliers, retailers and other parties affected by the disaster. It took a shocking 5 months to plug the hole. Thad Allen, a former Coast Guard Admiral who is heading the US Government to the spill declared the well ‘effectively dead’ after a pressure test by BP.

The new incoming Chief Executive, Bob Dudley who officially takes charge at BP from 1 October, said the company expects to pay out less than the committed $20bn and has set up a facility for whatever remains of the fund to be paid back to BP.

I personally feel that the full $20bn should be paid in some form. There has been a lot of bad press since the accident, 11 workers sadly lost their lives and the wildlife and environment has taken a real hit, so perhaps they should concentrate on making amends for this disaster rather than seeing how they can scrape back a couple of quid.

The Great Pyramid of Giza (also called the Pyramid of Khufu and the Pyramid of Cheops) is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis bordering what is now El Giza, Egypt. It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one to remain largely intact.

It is believed the pyramid was built as a tomb for fourth dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops in Greek) and constructed over a 20-year period concluding around 2560 BC sadly back then they didn’t have building supply stores or green materials just solid stone dug from the ground.

The size of the pyramid is astonishing considering when it was built, it’s that big you can even see it from space. It originally stood at 146.478 meters (480.57 ft) tall and each side, 230.37 meters (755.81 ft) long.

Unfortunately over 3,800 years of erosion has shrunk the pyramid by over 8 meters which to this day stands at 138.75 meters (455.22 ft) tall, the mega structure ways in at a whopping 5,9 million tonnes which was transported from 500 miles away. The volume, including an internal hillock, is roughly 2,500,000 cubic meters. Based on these estimates, building this pyramid in 20 years would involve approximately installing 800 tonnes of stone every day. The pyramids choice of buildings materials were a staggering 2.3million stone blocks, again to do this in 20 years they would have had to shift 12 of the massive blocks into place each hour, every day and night which they weren’t

Many alternatie, often contradictory, theories have been suggested regarding the construction techniques most thought the stones were either rolled, dragged or even lifted into place.

Which I personally think there was something else at work, looking at all the information given, everything seems impossible. Even with modern day technology experts predict that building this exact pyramid would be near impossible, some experts theories point at extra terrestrials saying they help build the pyramids passing on there knowledge and techniques to the Egyptians.

The Pyramid of Giza will always be a phenomenon we will never know how they were truly built. Alls we know as a fact is that the Pyramid of Giza Remained the tallest man made structure for 3,800 years unsurpassed until the Lincoln Cathedral was completed in 1300’s but still what an achievement for the Egyptians being able to build such a mega-structure thousands all with free building materials.

BuilderScrap recently attended an exhibition at the University of Lancashire (Preston), where I  got the opportunity to listen to several seminars on a variety of topics regarding construction and in particular green building.  One which particularly stood out to me was a seminar by the University of Liverpool research on Developing Sustainable Concrete Products.

The group has had a considerable amount of success in developing a number of sustainable concrete products manufactured using recycled building materials from demolition waste materials. They are still in the developing stages of the product so the product range is currently fairly limited. The existing products that are fully developed for sustainable concrete include:

• Paving Blocks
• Building Blocks
• Paving Flags

These products have been proved to conform to required British and European standards.

The aggregate component of conventional concretes consists of a mix of quarried stone and sand in different size fractions.  These aggregates comprise the bulk of the concrete mix.

In Liverpool, they have conducted considerable research into the feasibility of using recycled building materials as a substitute for quarried aggregates, and the effect of using such recycled fractions on the concrete’s physical properties.

Aggregate derived from recycled concrete can replace up to 60% of the coarse fraction and up to 30% of the fine fraction, whereas masonry-derived aggregate can only replace a maximum of 20% of either fraction.

The University of Liverpool are developing a technique for the complete replacement of cement to produce a cementless geopolymer using waste materials such as:

• Incinerator ash
• Basic oxygen steel slag
• Ash disposed from coal –fired thermal power plants

Combining the replacement materials with waste alkali solutions from existing manufacturing processes, will enable them to develop cost effective green precast concrete products, manufactured from 100% recycled materials.

At BuilderScrap, we love to hear about new innovation helping sustainable construction.  Please contact us if you know of any new ideas or innovations.

Our BuilderScrap website, for the construction industry in Wales to trade waste materials usually destined for landfill sites will go live in November.

BuilderScrap is an online way for the construction supply chain to manage its surplus materials builders and others tradesmen can access www.BuilderScrap.com and offer their surplus bricks, timber or other materials online and then be matched to potential buyers of the materials.

Our online materials and recycling exchange platform is being supported by Constructing Excellence in Wales (CEW) as part of an initiative to support the Welsh Assembly Government to reach targets regarding minimising waste and improve recycling in construction and demolition.

CEW estimate that 14% of all construction waste is made up from new materials that are simply thrown away on site.

Our BuilderScrap team is now working with the CEW waste programme team to develop a version of the platform specifically for the Welsh construction industry.

Karin Black, waste strategy adviser for the Welsh Assembly Government, said: “The rhetoric about waste reduction has gained momentum in recent years, but real alternatives have relied largely on the commitment of individual contractors and educated clients.”

“The agreement with CEW to take up the challenge of supporting a significant diversion of materials from landfill by deploying the BuilderScrap materials reuse platform is a major step in the right direction. This is the first government-backed initiative of its type in the UK and is pivotal to CEW’s ongoing strategy to reduce the waste generated by the construction industry.”

Paul Jennings, director of CEW, said: “The issue of waste in the construction industry is now so serious that to not take action and simply try to talk the industry around is no longer acceptable. We are running out of landfill space at an alarming rate and jeopardising the environment by wasting construction materials that could be used elsewhere. It is a win-win scenario that should be welcomed by all the stakeholders in the industry.”

Our very own Brendon Kenny BuilderScrap said: “We have seen a change in attitudes to how construction materials can be reused by others involved in building projects since the launch of BuilderScrap. With the launch of the CEW platform, it serves as a further validation that this initiative can play a pivotal part of an overall waste management strategy.”