Driven by economic and environmental forces as well as aesthetic considerations, builders across the world are experimenting with a wide variety of reclaimed material in construction
Recycling demolished building waste materials for use in new buildings is not just about sustainability but it is also about savvy innovation and stylish adaptation. Today, driven by economic and environmental forces as well as aesthetic considerations, builders worldwide are experimenting with a wide variety of recycled and reclaimed materials — wood used in previous buildings, concrete reclaimed from demolished structures and so on.
Advocates of recycled materials are also promoting an approach called ‘deconstruction’. Rather than demolishing a building, architects and builders dismantle it so that elements such as wood beams, flooring, and fixtures can be used again. This approach offers dual environmental benefits: It keeps the demolished building out of a landfill and it reduces the carbon footprint of new structures.
In the United States too, residential deconstruction and reuse is seen as a practical and sustainable alternative to demolition. Organisations in the US such as The ReBuilding Center, one of the largest deconstruction and reuse organisations, strives for and attains nearly 85 per cent of a building’s major components that typically end up in landfills during demolition and diverts it for reuse. The overall cost of deconstruction is often comparable to, if not lower than, the standard demolition costs, after tax benefits are factored in.
In India, the building materials reuse industry has always been a half-hearted story. This is attributable to reasons such as poor awareness on the environmental and economic benefits, but more importantly the social beliefs attached to usage of discarded materials in a new construction puts off many, so much so that the architects and builders steer clear of the issue in order to appease the customer who is bent on purchasing an ‘all new’ construction. One of the methods of achieving success in ensuring acceptability of old and recycled material in new constructions is to solidly link it to economic benefits, whether it’s done directly or indirectly.
Direct benefits could be the builder passing on the economic benefits generated due to savings incurred by the use of recycled material, to the customers; indirect benefits could be property tax and property registration rebates for buildings having a certified percentage of recycled building material in them.
Today’s generation is much more attuned to the concept of recycling. The tourism and the hospitality sectors in India are fast adapting to recycling of the building materials in construction of properties such as beach resorts and hotels. These properties are let out at premium tariffs based on the ‘retro-look’ achieved due to the use of recycled building material in the property elevation and interior décor. Even the retail sector in many premium locations across India is using recycled material for achieving that unique old world disposition in order to increase customer experience and enhance footfalls.
But these are insufficient developments as opposed to the potential of the concept. In India, the Government should proactively strive towards inculcating awareness of reuse of material harvested from demolished buildings and should also help differentiate reuse from recycling of building material from demolished sites such as concrete.
Given the rapid rate of old structures making way for new ones, concrete recycling is increasingly becoming the most common method of utilising the rubble, instead of the latter being trucked to landfills for disposal. Concrete aggregate collected from demolition sites is crushed after separating trash wood, paper and other material. Metals are separated using magnets and recycled separately. This type of concrete effort helps reduce the carbon footprint of the building.
The Government should establish a code of operation standards and best practices for promoting safety in the process of harvesting usable material during deconstruction of buildings, by identifying common deconstruction hazards involving asbestos, lead, mold and oil tanks, among others.
In the arena of recycling, the Government should set examples and encourage the industry to follow with friendly policies. But the reality today is different, as one can see many Government-commissioned works being carried out using environmentally-harmful materials such as red bricks for construction instead of fly ash bricks. The concept of sustainability is entrenched within our architectural culture, as our historical buildings prove. But the glitz and glamour of modern- day buildings using energy-hungry material such as glass, has created a deep impact on environment and our resources.
This can be set right by promoting consumer-awareness for recycling of building materials and their widespread usage. Architects and builders can play their role well by meeting the challenge and creating buildings of future, that set examples of energy efficiency and become global benchmarks.