How To Make Concrete More Sustainable
Concrete is a fantastic building material. It’s easy to source, relatively inexpensive, easy to work with, simple to create and is extremely strong and durable making it perfect for almost any project.
However, as with many building supplies, concrete may not always be the most sustainable choice. Addressing some of the environmentally unfriendly aspects of making and using concrete can help to make this amazing building material greener and more sustainable.
That being said, with concrete being such a long-wearing and durable material, it could be argued that the environmental impact is minimised by the fact it does not have to be replaced as frequently as other materials, so the negative effects are short-lived.
However, there are still many ways that concrete could be made more environmentally friendly.
Concrete is made with cement, which accounts for seven per cent of global carbon emissions. Reducing the carbon emissions made by creating concrete could make it a much greener and friendlier option.
Finding new components to create cement could lower carbon emissions. Alternatively, recycling cement in concrete production and reusing the material could up the sustainability of the product making, reducing the environmental impact and helping the planet.
Cement also produces a lot of dust when being mixed, which pollutes the air around it. There are many ways to increase efficiency and safety of production, such as using water while mixing which binds the dust, so it cannot escape and pollute the air.
Producing concrete uses large amounts of energy. This is unavoidable, but adopting sustainable ways of producing this energy can lower the environmental footprint.
Improving energy efficiency can help lessen the amount of power needed, as well as using sustainable methods of creating energy by abandoning the use of fossil fuels and instead looking to renewable options such as geothermal, wind and hydropower.
Renewable energy sources not only prevent depletion of the limited amount of fossil fuels we have, they also lessen the impact that burning these fuels has on the environment by reducing CO2 production.
Using waste products to produce energy is another way to help lessen the use of fossil fuels and is a good way to recycle unused materials, so there is less waste production – something that also contributes to the environmental issues caused by concrete production.
Looking into better ways of disposing of waste concrete could also be beneficial, as the disposal process also negatively impacts the environment. This could include finding ways to reuse and recycle the materials.
Another way to reduce the effects of using concrete in construction would be to, well, reduce the use of concrete. Finding alternatives for the material which are less impactful could be a way to move forward with sustainable construction.
However, due to the robust and sturdy nature of concrete as a building material, it is unlikely this will be the case. Introducing taxes on cement and concrete production could push the industry into adopting greener methods. This would also prompt more research into other ways to make concrete more sustainable aside from the above.
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